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Survival skills

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This article is about survival techniques. For the hip-hop album by KRS-One and Buckshot, see Survival Skills.
Astronauts participating in tropical survival training at Albrook Air Force Base near the Panama Canal, 1963. From left to right are an unidentified trainer, Neil Armstrong, John H. Glenn, Jr., L. Gordon Cooper, and Pete Conrad. Survival training is important for astronauts, as a launch abort or misguided reentry could potentially land them in a remote wilderness area.

Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation (e.g. natural disasters) to save themselves and others. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life: water, food, thermoregulation,[1] shelter, habitat, the ability to think straight, to signal for help, to navigate safely, to avoid unpleasant and possibly fatal interactions with animals and plants, and to cure any incurred injury or ailments. Survival skills are often basic ideas and abilities that ancients invented and used themselves for thousands of years.[2] Outdoor activities such as hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, fishing, and hunting all require basic wilderness survival skills, especially in handling emergency situations. Bushcraft and primitive living are most often self-implemented, but require many of the same skills.

First aid

Main article: Wilderness medical emergency

First aid (wilderness first aid in particular) can help a person survive and function with injuries and illnesses that would otherwise kill or incapacitate him/her. Common and dangerous injuries include:

The survivor may need to apply the contents of a first aid kit or, if possessing the required knowledge, naturally occurring medicinal plants, immobilize injured limbs, or even transport incapacitated comrades.

Shelter

Main article: Bivouac shelter
Shelter built from tarp and sticks. Pictured are displaced persons from the Sri Lankan Civil War

A shelter can range from a "natural shelter"; such as a cave or a fallen-down tree, to an intermediate form of man-made shelter such as a debris hut, a tree pit shelter, or a snow cave, to completely man-made structures such as a tarp, tent, or a longhouse.

Fire

Making fire is recognized in the sources as significantly increasing the ability to survive physically and mentally. Lighting a fire without a lighter or matches, e.g. by using natural flint and steel with tinder, is a frequent subject of both books on survival and in survival courses. There is an emphasis placed on practicing fire-making skills before venturing into the wilderness. Producing fire under adverse conditions has been made much easier by the introduction of tools such as the solar spark lighter and the fire piston.

If you have a black powder firearm along, you can sometimes start a fire by ramming tinder down the barrel against the powder charge. Use charred cloth if available. Fire the gun up in the air, run and pick up the cloth and blow it into flame. Have a supply of tinder at hand so the cloth can be placed against it to start the fire.[3]

Fire is presented as a tool meeting many survival needs. The heat provided by a fire warms the body, dries wet clothes, disinfects water, and cooks food. Not to be overlooked is the psychological boost and the sense of safety and protection it gives. In the wild, fire can provide a sensation of home, a focal point, in addition to being an essential energy source. Fire may deter wild animals from interfering with a survivor, however wild animals may be attracted to the light and heat of a fire.

Water

Hydration pack manufactured by CamelBak

A human being can survive an average of three to five days without the intake of water. The issues presented by the need for water dictate that unnecessary water loss by perspiration be avoided in survival situations. The need for water increases with exercise.[4]

A typical person will lose minimally two to maximally four liters of water per day under ordinary conditions, and more in hot, dry, or cold weather. Four to six liters of water or other liquids are generally required each day in the wilderness to avoid dehydration and to keep the body functioning properly.[5] The U.S. Army survival manual does not recommend that you drink water only when thirsty, as this leads to under hydrating. Instead, water should be drunk at regular intervals.[6][7] Other groups recommend rationing water through "water discipline".[8]

A lack of water causes dehydration, which may result in lethargy, headaches, dizziness, confusion, and eventually death. Even mild dehydration reduces endurance and impairs concentration, which is dangerous in a survival situation where clear thinking is essential. Dark yellow or brown urine is a diagnostic indicator of dehydration. To avoid dehydration, a high priority is typically assigned to locating a supply of drinking water and making provision to render that water as safe as possible.

Recent thinking is that boiling or commercial filters are significantly safer than use of chemicals, with the exception of chlorine dioxide.[9][10][11]

Food

Culinary root tubers, fruit, edible mushrooms, edible nuts, edible beans, edible cereals or edible leaves, edible moss, edible cacti and algae can be searched and if needed, prepared (mostly by boiling). With the exception of leaves, these foods are relatively high in calories, providing some energy to the body. Plants are some of the easiest food sources to find in the jungle, forest or desert because they're stationary and can thus be had without exerting much effort.[12] Skills, and equipment (such as bows, snares and nets) necessary to gather animal food in the wild include animal trapping, hunting, fishing.

Focusing on survival until rescued by presumed searchers, the Boy Scouts of America especially discourages foraging for wild foods on the grounds that the knowledge and skills needed are unlikely to be possessed by those finding themselves in a wilderness survival situation, making the risks (including use of energy) outweigh the benefits.[13]

These two pictures of the same tree trunk in the Northern Hemisphere are an example of a navigational terrain feature. The left picture shows the northern side of a trunk, where darker and more humid micro climatic conditions favor moss growth. The right picture is south, with sunnier and drier conditions, less favorable for moss growth. The shady side is not always opposite the noon side.

Survival situations can often be resolved by finding a way to safety, or a more suitable location to wait for rescue. Types of navigation include:

  • Celestial navigation, using the sun and the night sky to locate the cardinal directions and to maintain course of travel
  • Using a map, compass or GPS receiver
  • Dead reckoning
  • Natural navigation, using the condition of surrounding natural objects (i.e. moss on a tree, snow on a hill, direction of running water, etc.)[14]

Mental preparedness

The mind and its processes are critical to survival. The will to live in a life and death situation often separates those that live and those that do not. Stories of heroic feats of survival by regular people with little or no training but a strong will to live are not uncommon. Among them is Juliane Koepcke, who was the sole survivor among the 93 passengers when her plane crashed in the jungle of Peru. Situations can be stressful to the level that even trained experts may be mentally affected. One should be mentally and physically tough during a disaster.

To the extent that stress results from testing human limits, the benefits of learning to function under stress and determining those limits may outweigh the downside of stress.[15] There are certain strategies and mental tools that can help people cope better in a survival situation, including focusing on manageable tasks, having a Plan B available and recognizing denial.[16]

Important survival items

Main article: Survival kit

Often survival practitioners will carry with them a "survival kit". This consists of various items they deem necessary or useful for short durations in the wilderness. Supplies in a survival kit normally contain items like a sharp knife (such as a Swiss Army Knife), matches, a first aid kit, fish hooks, a sewing kit and an LED flashlight. Often these items will have multiple possible uses as space and weight are often at a premium.

Common myths

Some survival books promote the "Universal Edibility Test".[17] Allegedly, it is possible to distinguish edible foods from toxic ones by a series of progressive exposures to skin and mouth prior to ingestion, with waiting periods and checks for symptoms. However, many experts including Ray Mears and John Kallas[18][failed verification] reject this method, stating that even a small amount of some "potential foods" can cause physical discomfort, illness, or death.

Many mainstream survival experts have perpetuated the act of drinking urine in times of dehydration.[19] However, the United States Air Force Survival Manual (AF 64-4) instructs that this technique should never be applied. Several reasons include the high salt content of urine, potential contaminants, and sometimes bacteria growth, even though popular belief is that urine is "sterile".

Many classic cowboy movies and even classic survival books will teach you to suck the venom out of a snake bite. This is actually dangerous to both you and the snake bite victim. Once the venom is injected into the blood stream you can not suck it out. By trying to you may be exposing your self to any venom on the surface which may enter open wounds you have in your mouth. Furthermore the venom may cause serious life threatening respiratory issues. For the snake bite victim, you are exposing there open wound to all the bacteria inside your saliva which may cause there wound to become infected. If you are bitten by a poisonous snake, you best chance of survival is to get to a hospital with the anti-venom as quick as possible. [20]

See also

References

Civilian pilots attending a Survival course at RAF Kinloss learn how to construct shelter from the elements, using materials available in the woodland on the north-east edge of the aerodrome.
  1. ^ The Basics of Thermoregulation and Why It’s Important to Your Survival at More Than Just Surviving.
  2. ^ Boulder Outdoor Survival School https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulder_Outdoor_Survival_School
  3. ^ Churchill, James E. The Basic Essentials of Survival. Merrillville, IN: ICS, 1989. Print.
  4. ^ HowStuffWorks by Charles W. Bryant
  5. ^ Water Balance; a Key to Cold Weather Survival by Bruce Zawalsky, Chief Instructor, BWI
  6. ^ "Army Survival Manual; Chapter 13 - Page 2". Aircav.com. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  7. ^ "U.S. Army Survival Manual FM 21-76, also known as FM 3-05.70 May 2002 Issue; drinking water". Survivalebooks.com. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Water Discipline" at Survival Topics
  9. ^ "US EPA". Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Wilderness Medical Society". Wemjournal.org. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources". Dnr.wi.gov. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Master The Great Outdoors". www.SurvivalGrounds.com. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  13. ^ Wilderness Survival Merit Badge pamphlet, January, 2008, at 38,
  14. ^ How to Find Civilization When You Have No Idea Where You Are at More Than Just Surviving.
  15. ^ Krieger, Leif. "How to Survive Any Situation". How to Survive Any Situation. Silvercrown Mountain Outdoor School.
  16. ^ Leach, John (1994). Survival Psychology. NYU Press.
  17. ^ US Army Survival Manual FM21-76 1998 Dorset press 9th printing ISBN 1-56619-022-3
  18. ^ John Kallas, Ph.D., Director, Institute for the Study of Edible Wild Plants and Other Foragables. Biography
  19. ^ Peterson, Devin (2013). "Effects of Urine Consumption". SCS. DNM International. p. 1. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  20. ^ Lawson, Malcolm (2013). "Top 10 Survival Myths Busted". SCS. DNM International. p. 1. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
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