People Share The Survival Tips That Actually Saved Their Lives

Surviving life is difficult.

And I'm talking about just the basics.

A walk down the street can be an emergency situation if you have a stroke on the corner.

We're in the middle of a VERY brutal summer... who knows the best ways to survive heat stroke?

This information is key.

We need to be debriefed on the best ways to live through it for as long as possible.

Redditor Key_Sheepherder_2546 wanted to hear about all the things we should know about survival, so they asked:

"What was the 'survival tip that will save your life' that actually saved your life?"

Water Issues

"Drowning. I saved my son from drowning in a pool. He had swallowed so much water that he couldn’t breathe. I put him on his back, rolled him to his side, and hit him on the back. He ended up throwing up numerous times. His first words to me were, Thanks for saving me, Dad. I still get choked up, 15 years later."

- Courtaid

lifeguard GIF by Stranger Things Giphy

Gut Check

"Someone else’s life: I’m glad those Heimlich maneuver posters are everywhere. I was having lunch on a Monday in a mostly residential neighborhood, so it was just me and one other person at another table. He choked on a piece of carrot, and I successfully did the Heimlich on him. I have zero other emergency preparedness skills, but I’m glad I had that one that day!"

- that_was_way_harsh

Do NOT Ignore It!

"If you are sick, injured, or have just gone through a medical event. If you get that feeling of impending doom or something just doesn't feel right, do NOT ignore it!"

I had this happen to me after I just had my second baby. The nurses brushed me off, but the doom feeling didn't go away, and I could feel myself bleeding too much. I physically felt weaker and colder. I looked at my husband and told him I was going to die. I ended up coding shortly after because I had severe postpartum hemorrhaging that they missed. They brought me back, but I had to undergo several blood transfusions, be put on medicine for the bleeding, and have the bleeding/clots passed closely monitored."

- Awkward_Apricot312

30+ Minutes

"Used to work in the fire service. Maybe not a glamorous tip, but a lot of people were saved by bystanders knowing basic first aid and CPR. In a rural place, we were arriving at a scene 30+ minutes after the person stopped breathing. 30 minutes without new oxygen or circulation makes a massive difference in survival odds. And for traumatic injuries, attempting to manage blood loss is always better than nothing."

- Possible_Ad_4094

If you run, it's a game...

"I rehabbed aggressive dogs and learned how to act in a dog attack situation."

"If it's one dog, stay still. Don't run, don't fight. Put your hands up so it doesn't grab your arms or nip your fingers, and don't give it any stimulus."

"If you run, it's a game. If you fight, it's a fight. Either way, you're going to lose."

"Then the day came, I was getting out of my car, and my neighbor's untrained pitbull that he was walking without a leash decided to charge me."

"I did all the things, and as he got up to me, he was confused because nothing was happening. It stopped and tried to goad me into doing something, leading to him trying to nip my leg."

"So I took the bag of Arizona Ice Tea cans I had just bought and swung like that. Cracked it right between the eyes and on top of the nose and backed it off. I'm not sure it even knew what just happened."

"And THEN the owner showed up, so who knows what would have happened?"

- Select_Entrance9311

Basic Information

“'Always let someone know where you’re going.' Many hikers, travelers, or solo drivers were rescued because someone knew their route and raised the alarm when they didn’t return."

- ColdAntique291

See Ya Goodbye GIF by Boomerang Official Giphy

In the Midst

" Woke up around 1 am and went to use the bathroom. Started sweating profusely from what felt like every pore in my body. Then started feeling like I had to throw up. Individually, they were concerning. Together, they were not good."

"Woke my wife up and said 'I need to go to the ER… like right now.' Got there, told them what was going on, and sent them straight into a room. Wife was let in a few minutes later, and we were told I was in the midst of a heart attack."

"Asked my cardiologist a few days later what would’ve happened if I had just tried to sleep it off and see how I felt in the morning. He said 'You wouldn’t have woken up.'"

"Don’t ignore the signs, folks."

- ATHYRIO

Panic

"Knew nothing about it, so took a scuba diving certification class during grad school. I was paired with a strangely nervous guy; the rest were couples. He had to retake the pool test a few times. On the first open water dive day, we swam out in pairs as a group with wetsuits, flippers, maybe bc and a weight belt. Halfway out, and in mild surf, my designated dive buddy had a full panic nutty after swallowing some water and tried to climb on top of me."

"Had long ago been a Boy Scout and took the lifeguard merit badge, where they described this exact scenario and what to do. I gulped air, dove down so he’d let go of me and swam up behind his panicked a**, put him in a light headlock as I recalled taking for that ancient merit badge test and swam us both in to shore like that."

"The dive master was apoplectic, screaming at us, swimming away from the rest of his group, and turned everyone around and brought the entire group back to shore. He was pissed until he understood what had happened. They expelled him, and the dive master was my diving buddy for the rest of the sessions and final dive with full gear."

- Jayches

DIY

"Self-heimlich. I choked on food while driving on a busy street, didn't breathe for over a minute because it was standstill traffic, and I was in the middle lane. Ended up cutting people off at the slightest sight of room, put my car in the ditch, and 8th grade Home EC came to mind as I heimliched myself on the spoiler of my car. Cracked a rib, spit the food out, and cried for 10 mins because my vision started to go black."

- Gaberino_

Just Breathe

"Stay calm. One time, I stupidly decided to go for a hike later in the day and ended up breaking my phone, no flashlight. It got pitch black in the forest really fast, and I got completely lost off the trail. I felt myself starting to panic, so I sat down for a few minutes, collected myself, and finally ended back on the main trail and back to my car."

"If I had panicked, I'd probably would have spent all my energy hiking in the wrong direction and broken an ankle in my madness. The main thing in any emergency is to do everything you can to keep yourself calm."

- blazingmonk

Is that Mahi?

"Electrical fire smells like fish. Caught it before a fire even started."

- A_Go**amn_Princess

Weird Fish Reaction GIF by MOODMAN Giphy

The Signs

"Pay attention to your gut and other animals if you are out and about."

"If you are walking in the woods or swimming and suddenly it is very quiet and there are no signs of any animals when there was something before, very bad is about to happen either to you or to the area that you are in."

"When the world goes silent all of a sudden, you need to listen and find out why."

"Along those lines, if something feels off and your stomach is doing knots and your body is telling you that you are about to put yourself in serious harm or danger, you need to listen."

"It is much better to just say no, and to be thought of as a coward than to die for doing something stupid when every muscle in your body already told you not to do it."

- VisualConfusion5360

On the Floor

"When a child/person is having a seizure, get them on the floor and on their side and do nothing until paramedics arrive."

"My wife saved a seizing 4-year-old from her mother, who was flinging her around like a ragdoll, screaming for help."

- ironwheatiez

Listen

"If you think something isn't normal in your body. Listen to it. Your body WILL tell you if something isn't right."

"Literally saved my life from a major brain stroke. Started having the worst headache of my life, except it wasn't like the rest. So I got up somehow and managed to get my dad on time. And today, now I can continue to live just because I listened to my body when it told me something."

- Commercial_Search249

Commit all of this to memory, if you haven't already.

Life is unpredictable.

Any second can change everything.

Knowing how to survive in any situation is necessary.

The smallest of details and knowledge matter.

Good luck out there, friends.

Who else can share some survival tips?