‘What survival myth is completely wrong and can get you killed?’ 19 so-called tips you shouldn’t follow if you want to live
Chances are you know some basic survival tips, but what are you going to do if you find yourself in a dangerous situation? And will the advice you’ve picked up actually help?
To help separate fact from fiction, DraftNo7139 decided to turn to the experts. And they did this by posing the following question to the adventurous users over at r/AskReddit:
‘What survival myth is completely wrong and can get you killed?’
Penknives at the ready, here are the top replies…
1.
‘You are usually better off staying with a disabled vehicle instead of trying to hike out of some dangerous location. First off, it can still provide shelter even if it won’t run. Secondly, anyone coming to rescue you is likely to use the road. Leaving a road, trail, or otherwise commonly-traveled route makes it harder to find you. Finally, a vehicle is easier to spot from the air or from a distance.
‘This sounds obvious, but people seem to regularly die of heat/cold in places like national parks when they could definitely have survived. Their vehicles are almost always found first.’
-NumbSurprise
2.
‘Rubbing frostbitten skin to warm it up. My uncle lost two toes because some guy kept rubbing his feet trying to help after they got caught in a blizzard. The ice crystals in the tissue literally tear cells apart when you do that. You just need to get into warmth slowly, not rub anything.’
-Remarkable-Air1628
3.
‘Eating things raw.
‘Seriously, Bear Grylls would almost always eat whatever he caught raw. Hell, I’m pretty sure he even did it with a fucking bat once.
‘Please do not do this. If you’re in a survival situation and managed to catch something, cook the shit out of it first. You don’t want to be in a survival situation AND get sick/get a parasite.’
-mjohnsimon
4.
‘I feel like moss grows wherever the hell it wants.’
-esp735
5.
‘Don’t try to suck the snake venom out. That’s just your friend Dave being weird.
‘In all seriousness, it can cause a bad infection and can make treatment delayed, especially if Dave adds in some tongue action.’
-KissBumChewGum
6.
‘The idea of walking through the desert in the middle of the day when it’s hottest. Movies always show it; the lone survivor or something needing to find help or water and walking for hours when it’s hottest.
‘Don’t do that. There’s a reason people in warm climate places chill in the middle of the day while the highest temperatures pass.’
-Trzebs
7.
‘If you get stabbed, don’t pull the blade out like they do in the movies.
‘Don’t. Touch. Anything.
‘Just call 911.’
-Araider_35
8.
‘Don’t put wallets and belts and things in people’s mouths to bite down on when they’re having a seizure. It may prevent vomit from leaving their mouths and they could aspirate (choke to death). Just turn them on their side, left side if able. And keep their airway clear. I learned this from a paramedic while taking my EMT cert I just finished.’
-a_duck_in_past_life
9.
‘Running in a zigzag to avoid an alligator or crocodile. Just run in a straight line as fast as you can because they can only run in short bursts.’
-EverydayBlackGuy
10.
‘Drinking Pee. You should not drink Pee, it is said so in some military survival manuals. It will accelerate the dehydration, not slow it.’
-Hereva