These Tricks Could Save Your Life (16 pics + 10 gifs)

As a life long Floridian, I see this all the time here, and else where in the news. In the event of a disaster, stay the fuck away from downed power lines!! Don’t walk along the street with them, don’t drive your car over them, don’t take selfies with them. They’re thunder noodles and have been known to kill.

If you ever feel intense pressure in your chest that radiates up into your jaw you are probably having a heart attack.

Source: Had heart attack last month.

You can perform the heimlich maneuver on yourself by making a fist and pushing upword quickly on the space between your rib cage and navel. You can lean on a piece of furniture and quickly thrust your abdomen against the edge.

I’ve done it twice. Still alive.

If you you have a skin mole that has blurry edges, isn’t symmetrical, is a weird shade of red, weeps fluids or acts like an open wound that won’t heal, you might have skin cancer. Go to a doctor IMMEDIATELY. Melanoma kills fast.

If you have benign skin moles, keep an eye on them. Get an idea of how they should normally look so you’ll notice if any begin to change like I mentioned above. Don’t forget to put on sunscreen!

Prop someone on their side when they’re drunk and passed out. If they’re laying on their back and start vomiting they could asphyxiate themselves.

If you’re in a crowd and there’s a possibility of a human crush, go with the waves of people instead of against it and, when possible, go backwards to the left to get out of it. If you’re rigid, you’ll get pushed over and trampled to death and you absolutely don’t want to get to the front.

If you’re in the passenger seat of a car, never put your feet on the dashboard. In the event that you’re in a car accident, knee bones into your skull won’t end well.

If a nuclear bomb is dropped near you, seek shelter immediately. Close all windows and doors and turn off anything that circulates air, such as heating, AC, and fans. Take off your clothes, shower well, shampoo your hair, but do NOT use conditioner (which could trap contaminated particles in your hair). Stay inside for at least 24 hours, 72 if you can. Don’t go outside for any reason, not even to look for family. If you do this, nuclear attacks are surprisingly survivable.

So many people think they don’t need to have an emergency plan because they think they’d automatically die in a nuclear attack… don’t be like those people!

DO NOT jump in the water to save a drowning person unless absolutely necessary i.e. a child etc. Drowning people tend to clasp on their rescuers and drag them under with them. Find something to throw or a some sort of lifeline.

Metal handcuffs in the bedroom can cause serious nerve damage, so don’t use them. Any tingling sensation means that it needs to come off IMMEDIATELY and medical attention may be necessary. Buy good fabric handcuffs that can be tightened and loosened to your comfort level from a sex boutique and have a quick release latch.

If you drop a loaded gun, DO NOT try to catch it. Let it fall. Modern firearms do not just “go off” for like no reason. Trying to catch it makes it easier to accidentally pull the trigger.

Before people go off about antique guns and blah blah yadda yadda. Unless you are at the range, your antique needs to be in its case or you are an irresponsible gun owner. Modern firearms do not just fire off like that. Even hi points.

If you have been on the fence for a while about being too cold to continue, in a backcountry situation, you are already too cold. Immediately make emergency efforts to get warm. Being hypothermic severely clouds your judgement.

Have a glass breaker/seatbelt cutter in your car. A lot of knives come with both on them and can be as cheap as $15-$20. Better to have something you don’t need than to need something you don’t have.

If you find yourself close to an electrical hazard, like a downed power line, keep your feet together and carefully hop away from the danger. The electric differential between your legs can fry you if the charge is high enough. Ever wonder why sometimes there are whole herds of animals that die from a single lightning strike? This is why.

We had a sheriff come in to talk to us about active shooter situations. Going through that training taught me a ton, but the one piece of advice I got that stuck with me was: “Have a plan, and every day go through the plan in your head. This will help you to not panic if it actually happens. Never try to engage but if, God forbid, you must defend yourself then you swarm. Be savage and do not let up. Their due process was done when they decided to bring a gun into your building”. Can’t state enough how much they advise to never engage but have a plan for everything.

Pain on your right side? Push down slightly on it and cough, if pain intensifies it’s most likely your appendix and you should get it checked out.

Wife had two surgeries on it this year.

If you ever get kidnapped and are in the kidnappers vehicle, wait until you are around a lot of traffic and pull the steering wheel to make the car crash. People will immediately go to see if you are okay and call emergency vehicles. You’re going to be injured or killed whether you cause an accident or go to the second location anyways. Might as well pull attention to yourself.

Know how to swim. You don’t need to be Michael Phelps, but it’s great to be able to swim decently and tread water. Also, if you’re ever kidnapped try to leave personal items along the way, like drop a ring or earring in the car or something. It can be helpful to find you and is evidence in trial.

If a police officer tries to pull you over in a dark isolated area, don’t stop until you reach a public place. People pretending to be police to rob or kidnap people is a real thing.

If you’re hiking/doing anything else outdoors alone, TELL SOMEONE where you’re going and when you should be back. If you become incapacitated, this will increase survival chances by a lot.

If you’ve been stabbed, leave the sharp object in the wound until it can be treated by a professional. Sometimes the knife/stick/whatever is the only thing sealing the wound so you don’t bleed out.

On a similar note, if you for some reason get stabbed in the eye with a stick, cover both eyes. Moving your injured eye can cause more damage, and it’s impossible to move your eyes independently- and if they aren’t covered you’ll instinctively look around with the uninjured one.

Don’t mix household cleaners. Especially don’t mix bleach with ammonia. That’ll produce a toxic gas that can kill you.

If you feel an earthquake start and the shaking doesn’t piddle out after five or ten seconds, assume it will be big and take cover under something sturdy or run outside where there is no powerlines or bits of building above your head.

Sometimes large earthquakes start out huge right away, and sometimes they wobble a bit before they hit oh shit strength. It depends on how far you are from the epicenter.

If there was an earthquake at the beach you’re on and you see the water receding away, run to higher ground immediately because a tsunami is coming. If you’re in a town near water and see the water in ditches or rivers flowing the wrong way, seek higher ground because a tsunami is coming.

Get a CO gas detector in your house. One near the furnace and one near your bedroom! Cannot smell or see CO leaks from regular household furnaces. They are pretty inexpensive too.

Learn the signs of an emotionally/mentally abusive person. It’s slow and disorients you first, then causes symptoms like low self-esteem, then depression and fear. By the time you’re toward the latter stages, it’s harder to get out and can cause suicidal thoughts and actions.

If you should be foolish enough to crash your car into water, find a sharp object. Attempting to open the door is fruitless until the pressure equalizes. Break the window glass and swim out that way.