Life-Saving Tips That Everyone Should Know

Memorize "Ah ah ah ah... Staying alive..."

"CPR should be done hard enough that you break ribs and done to the same tempo as 'Staying Alive.'"

- TurnMeIntoAGameCube

"It's also important to note that CPR will very very rarely bring someone back to life like in movies. The purpose of it is to keep the blood and oxygen flowing enough that when professionals arrive they will be able to revive the person with minimal brain damage."

- Chicken-Alphredo

Stop Driving Tired

"Driving tired is just as dangerous as driving drunk. I got up at 4 AM to make a 7 AM flight from Toronto to LA, but I got bumped, and routed via Vancouver instead. Instead of getting into LA at 11 AM local time, I ended up getting in at 4 PM, and hit a massive traffic jam heading south."

"This was before cell phones so I had no traffic info that I understood, and I just stayed on the highway. By the time I turned off the highway, I'd been up for 20 hours. I could feel my head falling as I micro napped and jerked awake, but I had only a few miles to go, so I kept going."

"Bad move. Another micronap, crossed the median, and hit another car. Just a broken foot for me, and a few bruises for her, but it could have been much much worse."

"If you're that tired, pull off and sleep."

- FratBoyGene

This Should Be Basic Knowledge

"Use condoms."

"Take care of your oral hygiene."

"Ask for help when you need it. If you don't get it, ask someone else."

- accordionwidow

Avoid the Bystander Effect

"If you ever need someone to call 911, make sure you specifically point someone out of the crowd of people. 'You in the red shirt, call 911.' If you don't, nobody will, because they assume someone else will."

- eplurabis

Know the Bear Rhyme

"If you come into contact with bears, there is a rhyme. 'If it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lie down. If it's white, say good night.'"

"In the case of black bears, they're generally smaller. If one is attacking you, then you have a chance of survival by fighting back. You'll probably be in awful shape, but you'll live."

"In the case of a brown bear, it's best to show it that you are not a threat to it or its cubs. Lie down, and protect your neck and head. Make sure it's gone before getting back up."

"In the case of polar bears, things are very different. If you notice a polar bear hunting you, then it's already too late. Make peace with your gods because you are going to die."

- Chicken_Alphredo

These Are Not Just for Training Purposes

"If someone is drowning do not dive in to save them, throw something that floats."

"If you suspect someone is being shocked by electricity, use wood or rubber or anything non-conductive to help break their contact with the energy."

"If someone is breathing and knocked out or fainted, or blacked out from drugs, turn them on their side to avoid the risk they might drown in their own vomit."

"If some people are working overhead, with fall arrest systems, have a game plan to get them down if they fall. FAS has a time limit before the constriction on their legs risks permanent damage or death."

"If someone is buried alive from a tench collapse, you need to unbury them all the way, because of the pressure on their body. Especially their legs."

"Confined Spaces contain invisible, senseless death. It can be any heavy gas in there, stay out."

"Small falls kill."

"And one thing I tell the kids I train, 'You gotta be smart if you want to be dumb.'"

- 10_Virtues

Know These Heart Attack Symptoms

"Heart attack pain for women is often different than men. The classic symptoms of chest pains radiating down your left arm isn’t what most women feel."

"It’s often a chest tightness, horrible gastric reflux feeling, and an impending sense of doom. It’s also described as the worst pain you’ve ever felt and women don’t go to the dr for it because 'childbirth was worse,' etc."

"So women, don’t ignore any sort of tightness, pressure, or twinges in your chest."

- jahoefs

No Signal? Try Anyway.

"In the US, by law, every cell tower has to receive and connect 911 calls. It’s entirely possible that your cellphone says 'no signal,' because you’re not in range of your specific network and you have roaming turned off, but if needed you could call 911 without any issue at all."

- BAbe_Linc0ln

Prepare Your Vehicle

"If you live in an area of extreme temps, keep stuff in your car in case you break down and can't get help immediately."

"For any temp, keep water and high-density food such as protein bars."

"For cold, keep a sleeping bag or blanket."

"For heat, keep more water and something to make shade."

- awhq

Trust Your Gut

"An obvious and simple one, but it's saved me on numerous occasions."

"Trust your instincts and your gut when it says, 'Don't do it,' or 'Something doesn't feel right.'"

"We sometimes forget to trust ourselves."

- safeathome3

Immediately Seek Out the E.R. for These

"If your vomit ever looks like coffee grounds, you are bleeding internally and need to go to the ER immediately."

- freestyle43

"Sorry to be gross, but if your poop is black, thin, and sticky, go immediately to get help."

- Anneisab***h

Be Aware of Other Forms of Fire

"If you smell fish in your house, it could be the start of an electrical fire."

- 9umopapisdn

The Coughing Shouldn't Stop

"Choking is silent. All a choking person can do to signal distress is a sign for it."

- Corgi_with_stilts

Please Learn How to Swim

"Knowing how to swim."

- Consistent-Chicken-5

"I find it disgusting that there are adults who still try to defend, not being able to swim. They say things like 'maybe they grew up in the desert,' or 'maybe they’re scared.' But they always expect someone else to risk their life to save them."

"Quite often, they panic so badly and attempt to drown their rescuer so much that they have to be punched in the face until they’re unconscious to be dragged back to the shore."

"This is all because they needed to try riding a JetSki while on vacation and life vests are uncomfortable, so they took it off. It’s all just selfish entitlement."

"Source: spent my teen years and early twenties as a lake lifeguard."

- forgetyourhorse

Basic Human Decency

"Maybe not directly saving your life or a life, but being kind of at least giving respect to everyone you wind up meeting. Of course, not everyone is going to get along and some people are going to cause you problems, but at least being a decent human being is going to get you much further in life."

"It's because the world, while big, is smaller than you might think. The person you bumped into on the street could be the barista you wind up getting served by when you go to Starbucks, that nurse you saw during your doctor visit could have a child in the same daycare as yours, and your tax guy could wind up talking you up in a bar."

"As ridiculous as that sounds, meeting people you've only briefly met before happens all the godd**n time."

"Being a good person, or even being a decent person, nets you great connections when you choose to use them. That barista could possibly give you a discount or even recommend a cheaper drink if you were polite about the bump in the street; that nurse could give you great tips for your child's health when you meet again at that daycare, and you could have a great friend that can teach you all of the taxes when you see each other at that bar."

"But the most important note, you have to be willing to do the same for them. If you're able to help those, they'll help you, and that CAN save your life, or at the very least really enrich it."

- Crestego

These honestly are all fairly basic concepts that everyone should know but often do not.

And that very last one is just the sign of being a good human, but when you're willing to help someone, they're much more inclined to help you in return by calling 9-1-1 or giving you a ride home after a party, which really could save you at some point.