Random survival facts. Can you add more?

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Survivalmike, May 31, 2018.


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  1. Survivalmike

    Survivalmike Monkey

    Random facts I found out today that may be useful.

    (Let me know if you find evidence to the contrary)
    • Sucking venom from a bite wound will only do harm. Venom will already be in the bloodstream and your mouth might only add bacteria to the site.
    • If you get lost in the wilderness don’t make finding food your first priority. Most people depending on starting point can survive around a month or more without food. WATER and SHELTER is first priority.( or weapons. I like those)
    • Drinking water straight from a cactus is likely to make you vomit and become dehydrated faster. There is certain cactus that you can extract and filter water from but you have to know how.
    • Moss doesn’t grow on the north side of trees it can grow on any side (sorry if its an obvious one)
    • Just because an animal can eat it doesn’t mean you can. Some things like certain berries and mushrooms can be eaten by some animals but fatal for humans!
     
  2. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Moss grows on the North side of Trees that have usually Southern Prevailing Winds....
     
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  3. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Don’t the animal Food, eat the animal... bothe for Protien & Fat....
     
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  4. Dont

    Dont Just another old gray Jarhead Monkey

  5. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    In a cold climate, especially wet, "Cotton Kills". It soaks up water and wicks heat away from the body. It provides no insulation. Wear wool.
     
  6. AxesAreBetter

    AxesAreBetter Monkey+++

    Using up 5000 calories without having a meal will leave your brain at somewhere between 80% - 90% operating efficiency, which is why everyone goes stupid on survival shows.

    3 weeks without food is basically a warning to stay your butt put while emergency services hunt for you...you ain't going much of nowhere after that long without eating, and your thought power is barely above remembering to breath.
     
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  7. RouteClearance

    RouteClearance Monkey+++

    Constructing a survival solar still requires water than what they will put out.
     
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  8. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    @Survivalmike

    "...Random facts I found out today that may be useful.

    (Let me know if you find evidence to the contrary)
    • Sucking venom from a bite wound will only do harm. Venom will already be in the bloodstream and your mouth might only add bacteria to the site. (1)
    • If you get lost in the wilderness don’t make finding food your first priority. Most people depending on starting point can survive around a month or more without food. WATER and SHELTER is first priority.( or weapons. I like those) (2)
    • Drinking water straight from a cactus is likely to make you vomit and become dehydrated faster. There is certain cactus that you can extract and filter water from but you have to know how. (3)
    • Moss doesn’t grow on the north side of trees it can grow on any side (sorry if its an obvious one) (4)
    • Just because an animal can eat it doesn’t mean you can. Some things like certain berries and mushrooms can be eaten by some animals but fatal for humans! (5)..." Random survival facts. Can you add more?
    1. Sucking venom from a snake bite is a waste of effort and can actually be harmful. Venom actually travels through the body via the lymphatic system, instead of the cardio-pulmonary system.

    New method of first aid for snakebite › News in Science (ABC Science)
    Molecular Imaging Shows Movement of Snake Venom via Lymphatic System - Preclinical Imaging Blog
    First aid -Snake Catchers Brisbane

    2. The rule of 3's is a useful rule of thumb, Wilderness Survival Rules of 3 - Air, Shelter, Water & Food However, like most rules of thumb it's best to consider the disaster / survival context. Sometimes shelter and water may not be first priorities. The starting point is not making things worse for one's survival prospects.

    Some suggestions:

    1. Remove oneself from immediate danger...or remove an immediate danger from oneself
    2. Triage casualties and render treatment to casualties accordingly
    3. Conserve immediately existing resources that may aid one's survival which might be imminently lost due to fire, immersion, contamination, theft, spoilage. You will have to balance potential gains with potential risks of injury / loss of life in attempting this action.
    4. Think and plan and prioritise other actions.

    Depending on the number of people in the situation, some priorities can be actioned concurrently. All members should be allocated tasks within their capabilities, to contribute to the survival of the group...that includes the elderly, children, and even the injured.
    3. Although not all Cacti are suitable for drinking directly from, useful moisture may be won via solar still.

    4. Green moss is apparently an unreliable indicator of (general) direction, however, brown moss apparently is a more reliable indicator than green moss.

    The Truth About Moss | The Natural Navigator



     
  9. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    Animals communicate through body language .
    The fearful wide eyes and backing up are sure indicators of fear.
    Trying to make friends with it is also a passive prey move that too invites attack . Animals see fear and test for fear , bear do a bluff charge "some times" and cats will pace back and forth in front of you trying to inspire you to run , K9s in a group tend to run circles around the intended victim, elevating the frenzy, often kill for sport .
    1. your not going to out run any predator in the woods. there fore It is best to face the critter/s and prepare to attack. If you display an aggressive stance, weapons drawn ,this presents a problem because the probability of getting hurt/injured in the fight has just risen. dealing with an individual this usually works well. HOWEVER a group have one another to inspire fearlessness (frenzy) . in this case I find that becoming by becoming more aggressive to them, this does not compute , not normal ,they usually don't know how to deal with this.
    They are usually more fearful of getting hurt than you are. UNLESS they are injured or particularly pissed off, or protecting their young .
    An environment rich in other prey, don't usually pick on humans, but the reverse is also true.
    2. If you have stood your ground and they leave , don't for one minuet believe that they have abandoned you altogether.
    3. If you went to the woods with out proper protection, knowing what lives in the woods you've offered your self as food for them. it's on you.
    Most animals do not like things pointed in their direction , the probability of injury is a fear.
    Making a spear can help, but if your afraid to use it , they see that in your stance and eyes and your feet .
    Fearful moves backward you make, even while holding a spear or a gun, can inspire them to advance .
    Despite the fact your shaking on the inside, do not let emotions take over.
    This is where a warrior mentality training pays off.
    If there is a fight don't expect it to be fair , take all the unfair advantage to the fight you can . If an animal has taken on a human and you merely dissuade it ,that is not a deterrent for future encounters.
    the animal needs to be put down.
    That's way I don't believe in bear spray.
    And not just fire arms, but practice on moving targets .
    Also I believe in having a significant knife and the proficiency to use it in a fight . After all most predators com packing with well more then one sharp cutting instrument.
    I don't even go in oceans or lakes with out a significant diving knife.
     
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  10. ochit

    ochit Monkey+

    Hogs are a different breed of cat :D they do not always bluff in some cases if they do you can't tell until the last moment when the run past they can just as easily run you down and cut you all to pieces in a fraction of a second. if you hurt them they will seek immediate payback most predators will do that as well.

    My addition, is to expect the unexpected bad things happen in 3s, 4s, and then it gets worse. I have never seen a plan go bad that was not thought out by the best minds available at some point. On the other hand if bad things didn't happen we wouldn't have much exciting to talk about. If your lost shelter in place if your trying to get lost or hide keep moving. Everything that looks good is bad and not everything bad is sometimes good, Example found a rive but it;s in the bottom of a canyon or crashed on top of a hill but, it's all down hill from there,
    Whatever you leave behind, you need or you never appreciate what you have until you son't have it. the moon rises and sets in the same general direction as the sun depends on how far off as to the time of year but still generally but people need to watch and get a feeling of the positions of both rising and setting.

    You may not can carry a knife on a plane but you can carry a tiny magnet and a needle the needle I place in a tiny eyeglass repair kit I also carry readers (glasses) and a tiny sewing kit.
    a platted belt of 550 paracord with a proper buckle you can sharpen and use as a tool.
    A Fresnel lens or pocket magnifier,check them because they wear and break in a billfold.
    Dental floss you can carry fires starter they are called alcohol wipes.
    Carry a battery I like 9 volt batteries 2 one with a Paklite flashlight.
    Snacks are OK to take on a plane.
    Pill meds OTC and scripts. bandages that fit in a quart zip lock bag
    You can carry a empty water bottle I would have a life straw type or buy one after security check and bring it on the plane.

    There are a lot of places we go other than flying where we should take a small back pack or butt pack with items appropriate for surviving is we are stranded lost or foul weather catches us I keep a Tyvek full suit it is water proof wind proof high visibility white and weights nothing. make it larger so you can wear or wrap any thing to help keep in heat even leaves or straw.

    survival is personal responsibility taken to another level you can be resourceful but if you did not prepare and have no source to pull from your screwed. There are plenty of places where I can find two sticks to start an ember but finding something else to burn well now that is another layer of difficulty or everything is tinder dry and if you start a fire will it rage out of control like in a field of grass.

    common things that can be used as preps so you can appear innocuous just another traveler. just another part of OPSEC.
     
  11. Ura-Ki

    Ura-Ki Grampa Monkey

    Fire, shelter, water! In that order!
    Snake bit, it all depends, best is to open the wound and get the blood out with out adding germs with your mouth! Mechanical suction is best, along with natural bleeding. Any activity will burn up your water intake, best to work slow and at early morning or dusk! Water should be stored in the body allowing the body to regulate it's reserves!
     
  12. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    The aim is of course to get the VENOM out, blood just naturally has to be out as well. One thing to bear in mind is that panicky responses simply speed up the heart rate and move the poison along a lot faster. Sit down, and try to relax while you work on the wound, or better, get your woods walking partner to do the job. (You don't go off wandering on your own, do you? And not without your snake bite kit in your FAK in snakey woods, ever?)
     
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  13. Ura-Ki

    Ura-Ki Grampa Monkey

    The old quote, " The Blood that Moves the Body" applies here, the toxins are about worthless with out a working delivery system, so, interrupting that is the best action short of applying a toruniquet, which is BAD. We're actually arguing the same point here! Lol
     
  14. AxesAreBetter

    AxesAreBetter Monkey+++

    Snake bite kits don't work though...
     
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  15. ochit

    ochit Monkey+

    about the only thing you can do is put salt in a rag slap it on the bite area and tie it down, salt draws lucily we have few deadly snakes the ones to look out for is the cane brake and the desert sidwinder. the rest of the rattlesnake family are toxic and to some deadly from anaphylaxis ( allergic reaction ) many times a rattlesnake like a brown recluse or black widow can cause severe rotting or infection not much to do without a doctor but keep it clean and irrigate it with salt in clean water.more than likely permanent nerve damage and loss of motor skills in the effected area.
     
  16. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    I don't know about poisonous critters but Garlic in one's diet will reduce the attraction to most parasites.
    Garlic also has some medicinal value as well .
     
  17. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Another bad thing about sucking the venom out, if you have any open sore or cut in your mouth, YOU get envenomated. Bummer.
     
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  18. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    About 40% the time when a adult snake bites a human it is a dry bite and no venom is injected. Another 30% very little venon is injected, and about 30% of the time the snake unloads in you. Pretty easy to tell if you got a dose of venom aside from the obvious symptoms associated with the venom you will get a metallic taste in yer mouth, the stronger that flavor the more venom was injected. I am not going to give advice on what method of field treatment beyond sucking and spitting is a really bad idea. No matter which method of field treatment (And most folks would be better off just getting to the hospital asap and getting the anti venom shot instead of wasting their time working on the wound) Get the anti venom shot even if you think it is a dry bite. Don't be a dumb ass and try to catch the snake that bit you to take along to the hospital...... you are just going to piss the hospital staff off. All the hospital needs is the color of the snake. The hospital knows which venomous snakes are in your area. In my AO its Timber Rattlers, Cottonmouths, and Copper Heads all Pit Vipers that use the same anti venom. Most healthy adults will not die from bites from these snakes but they can make the strongest man feel like a little sissy man for a few weeks, the anti venom reduces that time and sissy feeling considerably. The anti venom comes with a very high risk of having a heart attack when you get the bill for it and you see how much that shot cost........... It runs around $13,000-$14,000 locally for the Pit Vipers.

    Best advice is DON'T Get bitten! No snake wants to bite a human and the only reason they do bite humans is when they feel threatened. almost all snake bites are due to people F'ing with the snake and trying to handle it or poking sticks at it.

    Spiders I get tagged by brown recluses fairly often or atleast a couple times per year. They have smallish fang and don't bite very deep. I carry a pair of scissor like nail clippers in my small belt pack and just nip the bite area out just a couple layers of skin down a few seconds after a bite. Removes the infected tissue and gets a little blood flowing to purge any remaining venom and only makes a small wound to treat with some iodine as a rinse and a bandaid with some antibiotic cream. The one time I didn't do this and the reason I started doing this...... I ended up with a quarter size stinking rotting hole on my forearm, that ended up having to have a half dollar size area of tissue cut out to get rid of the spreading necrosis. Never been bitten by a widow but I would probably apply the same tactic if I was. Probably not the right or accepted way but it works for me :)
     
  19. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    @Thunder5Ranch I have never heard of that method of fighting brown recluse bites, sounds reasonable, I too was bitten by one and had the same size hole in my thigh muscle. took I years to grow back
     
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  20. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    The expiration date on the can of Spam is just a recommendation, right? It's up to you. The last time I was food poisoned (Only the second time in the U.S.) was from Hot & Spicy Spam that had been expired for a month.
     
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