39 Survival Tips That Everyone Needs To Know

"If a service dog comes to you for attention, immediately locate their owner, they could be using a last ditch effort to get help.
A few months ago when I was on a delivery for work, I was stopped by a dog who ran out in the middle of the road (residential). I got out and tried to move the dog, but it followed me all the way to the door of my delivery. Once I was done I checked the dogs tag to bring it home, and I noticed he had all kinds of medical tags. After I realized what the dog was trying to do, I ran towards the correct address and the dog led me through a screen door on the porch. His owner was passed out on the floor, and I called 911.
The individual had a phone (brought by the dog) by its head, and a bag of medications by his side. The dog had done everything it was trained to do, but the person had passed out before it could do anything. The ambulance came, got his pulse back, and took him to the hospital. I don't know if he ended up surviving, but if I hadn't checked the dog's tags and realized it was a medical animal, I wouldn't have hurried, blatantly invite myself in his house, and ultimately get him to a point of survival."

"Nuclear warfare is a serious threat that hasn't been mentioned yet. The following was common knowledge during the cold war era, but most people my age don't know what to do in a nuclear disaster. In a nuclear explosion most of the damage and death is caused by the shockwave the blast creates, not the fireball which has a comparatively small radius. One day you may find yourself outside or looking out a window to see an extremely bright flash. As bright as if you were staring straight at the sun. Do not attempt to locate the source of the flash. You have maybe 8-10 seconds to respond if you're far enough away from the fireball. Lay face down on the ground and put your thumbs in your ears and fingers over your eyes. Breathe through your teeth. Since you're laying face down the shockwave will mostly pass over you. If you're standing up it can cause your lungs, eardrums, and other organs to explode. Once the shockwave passes over you, you need to find shelter immediately. I said before that most death from the explosion is caused by the shockwave. Well, FAR more death is subsequently caused by nuclear fallout AFTER the blast. Do not attempt to travel anywhere. Just get underground. If you're next to a complete stranger's house or a business, don't hesitate to go inside and hide out under as much concrete and steel as possible. You need to remain in this location for the next 48 hours. This is critical. Even if you survive the blast if you attempt to go home and spend just 20 minutes outside traveling you will more than likely die of radiation sickness. Radioactive material after a blast decays exponentially and you will be safe to try and find your loved ones after 48 hours. If you don't wait this out, you definitely won't be alive to find them. When you're ready you need to leave the city and get as far from the fallout as you can."

"If you find yourself hurt in a public place, direct your pleas to one person, not to the crowd cause everyone will think that ”somebody else will help you”. It is called the bystander effect."

"If you ever get lost, the first thing to do is stop moving. Sit down, stop freaking out, and think. If you give in to panic and lose your head, you can screw things up so badly for yourself that help will never find you.
Remember the rule of three:
Starvation will kill you in three weeks. Thirst will kill you in three days. Cold will kill you in three hours. Lack of oxygen will kill you in three minutes. Panic will kill you in three seconds."

"If you think you're being followed turn right four times. Since you'll get to the same place they shouldn't be following you anymore. If they do, you might be in trouble.
Since it's a common warning that you shouldn't go home when you think someone is following you, the smartest is to go to a police station."

"If you're outside in a lightning storm and your hair starts floating, seek immediate shelter. You're about to be struck by lightning.
If immediate (within 15 seconds of movement) shelter is not available, put both your feet together, squat down on the balls of your feet, and grab your ankles. If you're struck, this will give the lightning a direct path down to the ground and hopefully minimize damage."

"If you fall into water, don't panic. You don't have to be able to swim; you just have to float. Hold your breath and let yourself bob to the surface.
If someone is in trouble in the water, they will absolutely kill you in mindless panic. Bring something with you - a float, a rope, a towel - and use that to bridge the gap between you so you can tow the person in.
If you must make direct contact, come up from behind and slip your arm across the victim's chest. Pull the victim's back to your chest and keep his/her arms facing away from you. I've been in the deathgrip of a fat little 8 year old and he nearly took me out.
If a panicked drowner does grab you, do everything in your power to go down toward the bottom. Most will let go; that's the last place they want to go.
Recognize that even if you are both a strong swimmer and a trained rescuer, you are still risking your own life if you go to the aid of a swimmer in trouble. Take it very seriously."

"A few survival tips for mainly the desert but also a lot of places.
If you are lost in the desert, or a lot of places for that mater, the number one thing you can carry to increase your chances of being found is a small reflective mirror. Anytime a plane flies overhead you can reflect light towards them and you greatly increase your chances of being found. This seriously is more important than carrying more water with you (not that water doesn't help, its just not realistic to carry that much water on your back).
Furthermore, if you get stranded in the desert with a vehicle, do not leave your vehicle to find people. You are a lot harder to see than your vehicle and your car can provide shelter (your car has some good reflective mirrors to signal with, especially the rearview mirror). People die all the time doing this, often found only mere miles from their car.
Finally, the universal sign for needing to be rescued is waving two arms up and down. If you wave only one arm to a passing plane, you will not be helped, or at least are less likely to be helped. Also, because a few people have been wondering what to do if you can't use both of your arms, there is another universal way to signal for help that is more versatile. The way I can best describe it is three of anything quick signal. Three gunshots, three whistle blows, three flashes of a flashlight, three flashes from a reflective mirror, etc. Just make sure they are spaced widely enough (at least one second) and that you spend a considerable time before making your next three signals.
There have been many deaths that could have been prevented had this advice been followed."

"A person who is drowning doesn't look like people drowning on TV. When someone is drowning they rarely cry out, can't wave their arms around, and will often just bob/sink at the surface for a very little while, often gasping, before submerging.
Don't expect it to look like the movies when you're keeping an eye on swimmers."

"Do not pull objects (knife, glass, splinter etc) from a deep wound. They might be sealing or slowing flow from an artery or they might cut an artery when you pull them out.
Put pressure around such an object to slow bleeding till emergency responders take over."

"If it's brown lie down, if it's black fight back, if it's white you're f**ked. For bear encounters. I've met so many casual hikers in bear country with no idea there are bears in the same woods as them."

"Pay attention to your gut and natural intuition. If you feel like you're in danger, it's because you're in danger, even if you can't quite articulate why. If a person seems sketchy or threatening, it's because they are. Intuition is finely developed by evolution, and generally speaking it will only fail you when you mindf**k yourself and deny it in order to appease an extremely modern sense of political correctness.
Read "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker. Frequent pre-victimization indicators displayed by predators include:
1. Forced Teaming. This is when a person implies that they have something in common with their chosen victim, acting as if they have a shared predicament when that isn't really true. Speaking in "we" terms is a mark of this, i.e. "We don't need to talk outside... Let's go in."
2. Charm and Niceness. This is being polite and friendly to a chosen victim in order to manipulate him or her by disarming their mistrust.
3. Too many details. If a person is lying they will add excessive details to make themselves sound more credible to their chosen victim.
4. Typecasting. An insult is used to get a chosen victim who would otherwise ignore one to engage in conversation to counteract the insult. For example: "Oh, I bet you're too stuck-up to talk to a guy like me." The tendency is for the chosen victim to want to prove the insult untrue.
5. Loan Sharking. Giving unsolicited help to the chosen victim and anticipating they'll feel obliged to extend some reciprocal openness in return.
6. The Unsolicited Promise. A promise to do (or not do) something when no such promise is asked for; this usually means that such a promise will be broken. For example: an unsolicited, "I promise I'll leave you alone after this," usually means the chosen victim will not be left alone. Similarly, an unsolicited "I promise I won't hurt you" usually means the person intends to hurt their chosen victim.
7. Discounting the Word "No". Refusing to accept rejection."

"Buy a plunger and fire extinguisher before you need a plunger or fire extinguisher."

"If you’re being tied up, puff yourself out as much as possible so it’ll be easier to wiggle out of. Tense muscles, inhale deep and stretch out your arms and legs to make more space."

If you’re having trouble starting a fire due to damp tinder, any high-calorie food can help, especially chips. Simply take a few chips and light them on fire - it won’t deplete your food supplies and will greatly aid starting a fire.

"If you work around stuff that can cut someone easy (metal scrap, sheet metal or really any factory or construction work) wear a belt. I don't care if you don't need one to hold your pants up. A belt can be a quick easy tourniquet and save a life."

"If I'm having a seizure, don't move me, wake me or try to stick a spoon in my mouth.
Instead, start timing it, move things out my way and ring an ambulance, if it's the persons first seizure/you don't know them.
If you know someone with epilepsy, ask them what to do in their case.
When someone comes round from a seizure, they are usually confused and dazed. They may have memory loss and not be sure where they are or who you are. It's okay to say 'you had a seizure but everything is okay. I'm such and such, your friend/husband/random stranger, and you're here at X place.'
If you want to find out more about epilepsy, I recommend Epilepsy Action."

"If someone is choking but they are coughing/talking, DO NOT INTERVENE. Let them cough it out. The ability to cough is a sign that air is able to get in and out and that they only have a partial obstruction in their airway. If you try to intervene with the Heimlich or backblows, you could force it out, or you could dislodge the blockage and cause a full obstruction.
Obviously, if they're not breathing or coughing then you should definitely administer backblows, just remember to check in between each one incase you partially dislodge the object."

"If you get caught in a rip current, swim horizontally / parallel to the shore at the fastest speed you can comfortably maintain. Don't worry that you're going further out. Eventually you'll be out of the current and can slowly head back inland. Try to swim against it and you'll just tire yourself until you drown."

"Look behind you every so often when you’re hiking. If you think you’re being watched, chances are you probably are, have been for quite a while. Bring a mirror as well. If you turn around you ruin the element of surprise for any hungry predators, and they’ll likely scurry away or at least give you time to escape.
If you turn around and DO see something, start making as much noise as you can, don’t stay quiet, and do not, for the love of god, turn back around if you think it’s gone. Back away slowly for as long as you can."