10 Tips That Could Help You in Emergency Situations

In tough situations, our body often goes into fight or flight mode, and our mind then decides to either face the problem or run away. More often than not, this means we’ll be nervous. However, if we already know what to do before a tough situation comes around, it might help us keep calm.

For that reason, we at Bright Side have gathered a few tips and tricks on how to act quickly and remain calm during such situations.

1. Learn how to treat a jellyfish sting.

After this happens, you need to get out of the water as soon as you possibly can. Next, you will need to remove what’s left of the fish with tweezers — it’s likely that you’ll see leftovers of the tentacles on your skin. Afterward, soak the affected area in hot water or take a hot shower for about 20 to 40 minutes.

With less severe stings, follow the treatment by cleaning the sores daily and use icepacks. For severe ones, you might need to go to the hospital so that antivenom can be administered.

2. Learn how to survive a shark attack.

First of all, try to remain calm and not splash the water around you, as it’ll draw more attention. It’s important to try and maintain eye contact with the shark at all times to prevent it from ambushing you. Now, if you notice the shark going into attack mode, make yourself look as big as you possibly can in the water. This will make the shark respect you more.

Do the opposite of this if it looks like it’s just passing by, and make yourself smaller. However, if it starts attacking you, you have to fight back. Kick it and punch it, and if you can, do so in its sensitive areas, like the gills. Don’t let it go behind you either. If you succeed in scaring it away, go back to the shore, slowly, without drawing too much attention to yourself.

3. Learn to survive a bear attack.

First, always carry bear spray with you. If you think there might be bears around, make some noise — talk to yourself, sing, whistle, you name it. Don’t leave food on the tracks since this will attract them. If you encounter a grizzly bear, don’t run. Instead, back away slowly and be prepared to use the bear spray.

Try not to show yourself as a threat, make yourself look smaller if you can, and don’t look at the bear in the eyes. If it charges at you, throw yourself to the ground and play dead for about 10 to 20 minutes until the grizzly bear finally moves away. While doing this, lay in a position that protects your head and stomach.

The situation changes a bit if it’s a black bear. If you happen to find one, make yourself look big, wave your arms around, and stand your ground. If it charges at you, you have to fight back. Try to hit the bear in the nose or any other sensitive area you might think of with sticks or rocks. Do this until the black bear runs away.

4. Learn what to do if you get carjacked.

Simply put, don’t risk your life. Give them the car because, more likely than not, they’re only after the car. If you’ve got kids with you, it’s important to get them out of the car first, then leave yourself. If the robber happens to tell you to move over and let them in, get out of the car instead. Never stay in the car when this happens if you can avoid it.

5. Learn how to get out of the trunk of a car.

If you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being locked in the trunk of a car, there are a few things you can try to get yourself out. Pull the emergency release lever of the trunk. If that doesn’t work, try pulling the trunk release cable instead. You can also try to break the brake lights and grab the attention of people this way. Lastly, you can try to escape through the back seat by kicking it.

6. Learn how to treat frostbite.

You can recognize frostbite by redness on the skin as well as accompanying soreness. This happens before it becomes pale and firm. If faced with frostbite, here’s how you treat it: Dry it first by patting it with a piece of dry clothing. Be careful not to rub it because this can make it worse. Then cover the affected area with a dry, clean cloth to keep it protected.

Get to a place where you can heat some water up. The ideal temperature for it would be around 110ºF (43ºC), but it’s likely you won’t have a way to measure it, so go by the way it feels. It needs to be warm but not extremely hot. After this, soak the affected area in the water and add more warm water as you go until you see that the skin is going back to its regular color. Your senses will also get back to normal during this time.

7. Learn how to float by using your pants.

First, you have to take your pants off and tie the legs together in a knot. Now, like you would do to a plastic bag to open it up, hold the waist of the pants and swing them across to your head if possible, and grab as much air in them as you possibly can. Next, put your head in between the tied legs, and hold the waist close to your body, below the water.

As you go, keep splashing the pants with water so they stay wet.

8. Learn how to make a plastic bag rope.

You might need more than one bag, depending on how long you need the rope to be. But first, cut the bags in half, down the middle. Next, make a hole in the bottom of each bag. What you’re going to do now is place one half of a bag through that hole, then pass it through its own hoop so that it’s wrapped around it.

This will make it so you have strands of plastic, ready for the next step, which is adding more bags to make your rope longer. After you add these bags, get a place to hook them on to so you can braid them all together and make the plastic rope bag stronger. This way, it won’t fall apart as easily.

9. Learn what to do if your brakes go out.

If you notice that your brakes have started failing, take your foot off the gas as soon as you can. Next, if you’ve got time, turn on your hazard lights and make noise with your horn to warn others not to come close to you. Then, slowly shift the gears down so you start going slower. As you do this, try to pump the brake pedals as hard and fast as you can, as it might be enough to stop the car.

You can also use the emergency brake, but with care, because this won’t exactly stop the car. However, it will slow it down significantly and you’ll be able to steer the car to safety. If nothing works and you’re in a real predicament, you can try to use the rail guards, especially if you’re on a highway. It’ll scrape the sides of your car, but it’ll help you slow down.

10. Learn how to break down a door.

You’ll need to kick the door in a specific spot, which is next to the lock and not the lock itself. For more efficiency, lean into the kick, and then with your heel, kick down the door. With the foot that’s still on the ground, press on it, giving the kick more strength. Do it this way instead of trying to jump kick the door down or using your shoulder to do it. You might end up hurting yourself if you do it that way.

What are some survival tips of your own that you can share with us? Have you heard about any of the ones mentioned above?