The world's a tough place, and sooner or later you're going to get hurt.
Today, we're going to look at how to survive the most common injuries you may suffer in
your life.
4.
Stabbing
Getting stabbed sucks- we know, because we asked our resident challenge expert about
his run-in with the wrong end of a sharp knife, and we'll let him explain:
I was overseas, door-to-door stuff.
Went through a door at the exact same time as a bad guy coming out, we both surprised
each other and as we ran into each other we both dropped our rifles.
I went for my side arm, he went for his knife.
I was just a second slower on the draw than him because of my body armor and the way I
landed, and he pounced and slid a short knife into my side straight into my armpit.
So what's the best way to survive being stabbed, whether on purpose or on accident?
First, the best way to survive being stabbed is to not get stabbed.
If someone pulls a knife on you, it's time to turn heels and elbows in the opposite direction.
Don't try to be a hero or a Billy Badass, and just book it.
But what if there's nowhere to run?
In that case, remember the 5 Ds of Dodgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and Dodge.
But alright, you forgot the 5 Ds of dodgeball and you couldn't run away, how are you going
to survive a stabbing?
First, if you're able to, try to direct the stab into somewhere favorable.
The human body is basically entirely a no-stab zone, but if you must, there's better places
to direct an incoming stab than others.
Places to avoid include your flanks, which will allow a knife to penetrate deeply and
pierce one or more organs.
A stab in the upper flank is especially dangerous, and our lab rat is lucky that the incoming
stab was in a generally upwards direction that completely missed his lungs.
Lungs are extremely allergic to being stabbed, but a stab into the lungs has two-fold dangers.
First, you'll compromise the lung's ability to remain inflated and do its job, meaning
you've seriously compromised your ability to breathe.
Secondly, a punctured lung can fill with blood, leading to disastrous secondary effects to
your health like a rapid death, or a slow, gurgling death as you choke to death on your
own blood while asphyxiating.
So where do you want to take a stab?
If you're able to, put up your forearms to block or deflect the incoming blow.
Even if the knife slips past your guard, you'll take a lot of the kinetic energy out of the
attack, limiting the penetrating power of the stab.
You'll probably get your forearms slashed to ribbons, but better that then taking a
knife through the ribs.
By the way, prepare for some intense pain if the knife manages to ram straight into
your forearm bones.
A less ideal, but more survivable location to take a stab is in the stomach.
Stomach injuries are excruciatingly painful, but very survivable if you can get medical
attention within 30 minutes to an hour.
The recovery process will be extremely long, and you run the risk of serious internal infection
if your stomach is ruptured and the contents spill out inside you.
After you've been stabbed, whether on purpose or by accident, the next important thing is
to administer first aid as quickly as possible.
If the impaling object is still sticking inside you, resist the urge to go all Rambo and rip
it out.
Instead, leave the object inside you and wrap a bandage around it, pressing firmly to stop
or slow the bleeding.
Pulling out the impaling object will open the wound up- as long as it's inside you it's
basically sealing the wound.
If you've been stabbed or impaled in the chest, the most important thing is to seal the wound
as quickly as possible.
That's because if air gets into your chest cavity, it can fill up the chest cavity and
put pressure on the lung, which prevents it from expanding fully.
This is known as a collapsed lung, and will lead to asphyxiation.
A good way to treat a sucking chest wound is to use a piece of plastic directly on the
hole, and then press firmly using gauze, or a dish rag, or a piece of torn t-shirt- whatever
is handy to staunch the bleeding.
3.
Getting Shot
Maybe you're hanging out at a shooting range, or an American public school, and suddenly
it happens- you get plugged.
How are you going to survive getting shot?
First, it's important to assess the situation and get yourself to safety.
Is whoever shot you still shooting at you or at the general area?
Ask them politely to stop.
If they refuse, get to safety.
No point surviving your first gunshot wound only to have to deal with an immediate second.
Next, it's time to apply some immediate first aid, because unlike a stabbing, a gunshot
wound is typically exponentially more destructive to your internals.
That's thanks to the massive shock and expansion your body experiences as a round penetrates,
which can result in the creation of a brief internal cavity which your organs 'snap' back
into.
You're going to be experiencing major blood loss, which if you don't take immediate steps
to address will have you unconscious in as little as 30 seconds, and dead in 60.
So no matter how much bleeding there is or isn't, always treat a gunshot wound as if
you'll be unconscious and helpless in 30 seconds- which means move fast.
If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, immediately forget everything you saw in movies about
digging the bullet out.
First of all, it's in no way immediately important to remove a bullet.
Second, the bullet will likely have fragmented into dozens of tiny pieces requiring delicate
surgery to find and extract.
Third, sticking a knife inside you to dig out a bullet is a good way to compliment a
bullet wound with a stab wound.
The first thing you'll want to do is to stop or slow the bleeding.
Immediately apply pressure to the wound with your hands, while you- or a buddy- tries to
find more suitable bandaging material.
Once more, improvisation is key- a torn t-shirt, wad of paper towels, your annoying friend's
screenplay they won't shut up about... the only thing that matters is that the material
is absorbent enough to take in some of the blood and seal the wound tightly.
Ideally you'll want to use clean material, but a dirty dishrag lying in an alley will
do in a pinch.
You can deal with a blood infection after you've stopped littering the streets with
said blood.
Now, maintain pressure- and whatever you do, do not change the bandaging until a doctor
or EMT does it for you.
Even if you used a filthy rag and later find something much cleaner and are worried about
infection- ripping off the bandaging will tear loose the blood clot that's hopefully
forming to help keep your kool-aid on the inside.
Now that you've got your immediate wound taken care of, check for an exit wound.
Odds are when you get shot your body is going to respond with adrenaline, steroids, and
a whole lot of natural painkillers.
Given enough blood loss and a state of mental shock, you might not even feel any pain.
Many soldiers have died after having one wound treated, only to ignore the second wound they
didn't even realize they had.
That's right, the brain is a tricky thing, and if one wound is readily apparent but the
second isn't, it can completely shut off the pain signal from the second wound as it struggles
to deal with the shock of the first.
Plug your exit wound the same you would the entry wound, then make a move for safety or
help.
If help is already on its way, it's time to conduct a more thorough assessment.
Carefully inspect the rest of your body for additional gunshot wounds or secondary wounds,
and treat each accordingly.
We hope you're never in this situation, but we cannot stress enough how important this
step is.
If you've been shot in an extremity, elevate the wound while you wait for help.
Unless the wound is on your torso or your head, you also want to keep your head at the
lowest possible elevation.
This will ensure that gravity helps blood flow into your brain and keep you conscious
and alive.
2.
Car Crash
Given the frequency of auto accidents, it's bound to happen.
Sooner or later you're going to be in a car crash, hopefully it'll be of a less severe
nature.
First, wear a seat belt.
Seriously, it's 2021 and we can't believe we still have to tell people to do this.
Wearing a seat belt can reduce your chances of a fatal injury by 45%, and of a moderate
to critical injury by 50%.
Seat belts are even more useful in trucks, where they reduce the risk of fatal injury
by 60% and moderate to critical injury by 65%.
It's not enough to just wear a seat belt though, you have to wear it properly.
The upper part that crosses your chest can be uncomfortable on long car rides, or maybe
it puts a total crimp in your style- but not wearing it can be just as bad as not wearing
a seat belt at all.
Even worse, wearing the lap band only can lead to very serious pelvic injuries, especially
for men who happen to like having a fully functional reproductive system.
Next, you want to sit as upright as possible in your seat.
Kicking your feet up on the dash is a great way to not only lose your feet, but have your
knees smash through your face and turn your brain to pudding.
If you're in the front seats, the deploying airbag can cause serious injuries to your
legs, and put you in a position that the subsequent crash will have a greater chance of catastrophic
spine or leg injuries.
Next, if you see the crash coming, avoid throwing your hands up in panic.
The deploying airbags could cause serious injuries to your arms, hands, and even face
in a game of 'stop hitting yourself' that the airbag will definitely win.
The best thing to do instead is to keep your body as loose as possible, instead of tensing
up in anticipation of the crash.
You've probably heard of newborn babies surviving incredible falls or car crashes with relatively
few injuries.
A big factor in their survival is the fact that babies remain loose, allowing their body
to better absorb and redistribute the incoming kinetic energy.
Once the vehicle has come to a stop, conduct an immediate safety assessment.
Even before you start tending to your or your passenger's wounds, you want to check the
environment to see if it's safe.
If the vehicle is on fire, or if you've landed in a ditch that's quickly filling with water,
your first priority is to get yourself to safety.
No point treating wounds if you're just going to burn to death or drown.
If your environment is safe, and your wounds are serious, remain in the vehicle.
Don't try to exit the vehicle as you could have spinal or head injuries you aren't aware
of.
It's generally best to remain in the vehicle until emergency services personnel extract
you themselves.
Only leave the vehicle if necessary for safety's sake, or to treat a life-threatening injury
with first aid.
This also applies if you find yourself at the scene of a car accident.
Leave the victim in the vehicle unless absolutely necessary to move them- always allow medical
personnel to make the decision to move an individual.
If you come across a car accident victim that has been ejected from the vehicle, the same
rule applies- move them only if there's a safety risk.
If possible, treat any life-threatening injuries without moving them, as once more you could
make a spine or head injury exponentially worse by moving the victim.
1.
Acid
For the last decade there's been a persistent trend in men attacking women with acid, with
the goal of splashing it on their faces.
The aim of the attack isn't so much to kill, as it is to horribly maim and disfigure.
Whatever the cause of your run-in with acid is, knowing what to do can not only save your
life, but seriously reduce the scarring of an attack.
If the acid is in powder form, first try to reduce your exposure by vigorously brushing
it off your skin.
You can ideally do this with a shirt sleeve or a gloved hand, but vigorously brushing
it off with a bare hand will not leave much time for the acid to work on your flesh.
If the acid is in liquid form, don't attempt to brush it off with your hand or any other
body part, even if it's protected.
This will only spread the acid around, making treatment much more difficult and potentially
increasing future scarring and disfigurement.
Instead, immediately flush water over the affected area, and continue doing so until
emergency medical services arrive.
Water will help dilute the acid, and if applied quickly enough can help prevent permanent
disfigurement.
If water isn't available, use any other liquid on-hand.
Milk is also ideal, as it'll help neutralize the acid, as well as products with high concentration
of water such as beer.
The key is to pour as much liquid as possible for as long as possible, diluting and washing
away the acid.
If the acid has gotten into the eyes, immediately flush them with water and continue flushing
them with water until help arrives.
Make sure to pry open the eyelids and get water under the eyelids, as the acid can come
to rest there or be pushed there by the water.
Next, remove any clothing affected by the acid, and move from under the puddles formed
by the water treatment to prevent secondary injury to your feet or legs.
Now keep your survival skills sharp by checking out What you should do to survive in the wilderness,
or click this other video instead!