The world can be a mad place, and several things can go wrong before we even know it. One moment we’re happily hiking along a trail, and in the next, we’re stuck in a life-or-death situation, forced to rely only on our wits to survive.
That’s why it’s essential to know necessary survival skills should you ever find yourself in such an urgent situation.
Here are twelve survival hacks to help you not only survive but also to fight the elements. Make sure you remember them because they could save your life someday.
1. Use an empty egg carton to start a fire quickly: It’s important to know how to build a fire to stay warm when in cold temperatures. An easy way to do so is to stuff a bundle of small twigs or coal in the slots of an egg carton. Once they are inside, use a lighter or matches to light the bottom. You can then add other materials to keep the fire burning.
2. Filter water by using a T-shirt: Staying hydrated in the wilderness is essential, but it isn't always easy when the water is not clean. To make a DIY filter, you only need to cut the bottom of two soda bottles in half. Then fill one with the dirty water and keep the other one empty. Tear a piece of cloth, dip one end into each container, and then place the dirty water on an elevated surface. Over time, the water is going to filter itself through the cloth and then into the empty bottle.
3. Light a fire using a wax crayon: There are several ways to start a fire in the wilderness. Another brilliant example works much like a candle would. Unless you have a candle to burn, you can use crayons instead. But how could crayons work? Well, they contain a combustible material. You just need to ignite a crayon using a lighter or a match. You will be surprised to find out that each crayon can burn for upwards of thirty minutes. Of course, it will not hurt to carry a full box!
4. Put branches, twigs, and grass under your clothes in order to stay warm: If you are facing plummeting temperatures and are not wearing enough gear to keep warm, do your best to find bundles of grass as well as twigs. By placing them underneath your clothes, they will help work as a layer of insulation. Remember to make sure you aren't using anything which will cause an allergic reaction, such as poison ivy.
5. Keep mosquitoes and other pests away by burning various types of herbs: Research has proven that pesky insects, such as mosquitoes and flies, don't really love the scent put off by burning pungent herbs.
Likewise, it is suggested that among the best herbs to burn are thyme and fresh mint leaves. Peppermint is exceptionally strong to humans, as it can clear your nasal passages in a flash—so simply imagine how strong it is to the tiny faces of an insect. They will not want to come anywhere close to you!
6. Rub toothpaste on your skin to soothe insect bites: Everyone who likes to camp outdoors or enjoys recreational activities knows precisely how irritating a mosquito bite can be. It doesn't matter how much you scratch, as it will keep itching even more.
Well, now there is a solution to such annoying bug bites: toothpaste! It appears that toothpaste’s anti-inflammatory ingredients not only lower redness but swelling as well. The menthol can also lower the overall itchiness and cool the skin.
7. Use ChapStick to seal cuts and scrapes: If you have ever been rock climbing or hiking in the woods, there is a high chance you have suffered some minor nicks or scrapes from various shrubs and sharp rocks. To avoid infection, you’ll need to clean them as soon as possible.
Unless you have an emergency medical kit readily available, you could use a tube of ChapStick instead. It will work as a sealant for small cuts, and the antibacterial components will also help clean the injury.
8. Stop the bleeding by using a tampon: There is no denying how absorbent a tampon truly is—that’s its whole purpose, after all. However, did you know that it can also help stop severe bleeding from any sort of injury? Not to mention, it is sterilized and ready for use upon opening.
9. Convert a condom into a water reservoir: As you might know, condoms are made from extremely strong, clean, and flexible material. For this reason, they can easily be used to store big amounts of fresh water for extended time periods.
All you need to do is place a tube at the condom's base, pour the desired amount of water (up to 1 liter) into it, and wrap it in a large sock. Then, you need to place a lid or cap on the tube and simply save it for when you're dehydrated. Pro tip: it helps to use condoms that don't have lubrication on them.
10. Use an old guitar pick to light a fire: Guitar picks are not only useful for shredding solos on stage. While you may typically use them in order to ignite the energy in a concert crowd, you can also employ them in extreme cases of survival, as well.
Use a pocket knife or another sharp object and shave little pieces of the guitar pick into a pile. Then, use a lighter in order to ignite a small fire. That's made possible due to the celluloid in the pick, which makes it incredibly flammable, even if it is wet.
11. If you become lost, you can build an easy DIY compass: Getting lost in the wild is something many people fear, and it’s easy to occur with no trail markers. However, if it happens to you, try not to panic, because making your own compass is simple!
First, you will need a pin or a needle. Rub one end of it rigorously against your jeans or another rough fabric so that you can create a charge. Then, grab a leaf and put it in a shallow dish of water. Place the needle on the leaf and finally the end you rubbed on the fabric will point North.
12. Know the difference between venomous and non-venomous snakes: In general, snakes are scary enough, but encountering one in the wild might be increasingly frightful. Fortunately, there are some ways to identify whether or not a snake is venomous.
First of all, their bite marks look completely different. A venomous snake's bite always has two holes at the top of its bite as well as one row of teeth. On the contrary, non-venomous snakes have two rows of bite marks. Also, a venomous snake has cat-like pupils, whereas the pupils of the non-venomous kind will be more rounded. Finally, a venomous snake has feature rows of scales on the bottom of their bodies, while a non-venomous snake has forked scales.
Reference: Boredom Therapy
This was really very useful tip.We all get panic in some situation and we think we are lost but 5there will be always a solution within us and this is one of the example for that.Glad to visit this blog.I feel very happy visiting here, because I'm getting lots of information from here which is very useful for me in gaining knowledge about many topics of this site.Those information become very valid for preparing papers for my work in best essay writing service.Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSee the instruction how to use Microsoft windows shortcut keys here on this site.shortcut keys of laptop This website helps user to avoid the use of mouse and touch pad.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see this brilliant post, all the details are very helpful and useful for us, keep up to good work.
ReplyDeletedriving directions
Here is one more thing https://writemyessay4me.org/blog/sweden-schools that you should know!
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed reading your blog posts Buy Custom Papers Online
ReplyDelete