Memo for indoor Rambo: mistakes of survival in the wild (11 photos)

Surely everyone, while watching some show or movie about survival, has at least once imagined how he would behave in one or another critical situation. However, imitating the conventional John Rambo, Bear Grylls or another on-screen “specialist” is not the best idea.





For example, in a movie, any character hastily tries to get rid of a sharp object stuck in his body, be it a sharp branch or a well-aimed enemy arrow. The hero removes the foreign object and, gritting his teeth, continues to limp picturesquely.



But in reality, such “heroism” threatens with fatal loss of blood. According to the rules of first aid in this situation, it is necessary to prevent even the displacement of the object in the wound, so it is worth wrapping it with some kind of cloth so that it remains motionless. This will act as a plug.

Is it easy to suck snake venom out of a wound? If you believe the movies and TV shows - quite. However, they are silent about the existing possibility of causing additional harm. It is known that the poison immediately enters the bloodstream, so trying to collect it at the site of the bite is useless. Due to the fact that there are a lot of bacteria in the mouth, there is a risk of introducing them into the wound.





And the poison itself, when sucked out, can damage the mucous membrane and esophagus. How then should we proceed? Stay calm and don't let your heart rate increase. Before the ambulance arrives, doctors advise drinking more water, removing clothes from the bite site and not moving. If the heroes of the films followed these tips, the action adventure would turn into a leisurely arthouse.

Is it possible to navigate by moss so as not to get lost in the forest? It is better not to do this, since it can grow on any side of the tree, depending on environmental conditions. Therefore, it is better to pay attention to other landmarks so as not to get lost due to belief in moss.



Any food obtained in the wild is potentially dangerous. Therefore, it must be subjected to heat treatment. Otherwise, instead of quenching your appetite, you will get poisoning with vomiting, which accelerates the process of dehydration and exhaustion.

In general, it is better to look for water and shelter from bad weather, which are of greater value than food, without which a person can live up to six weeks. True, for this you need to have excellent health. Why is water more important?



Because you can last no more than 3 days without it. But this does not mean that you need to pour into yourself any available water. Even if it comes from rain or comes from natural sources, it still needs to be boiled. What if you are stuck somewhere in the desert? After all, in the movies they showed that you can get water from cacti.



It’s possible, there are few such cacti. The juice of Echinocactus Gruzon (also called “golden barrel” and “mother-in-law’s pillow”), some cacti of the genus Opuntia, as well as Ferocactus Wislisen (source) are edible. The water of all other cacti contains toxins that cause vomiting and subsequent dehydration. It is advisable to take an encyclopedia of cacti with you to the desert so as not to run into a poisonous thorn.



In films (for example, in "Rambo 3"), heroes sometimes cauterize wounds with gunpowder or a hot iron.



There is an opinion that high temperature will destroy bacteria, but in fact it increases the risk of sepsis and creates comfortable conditions for the development of infection. This conclusion was reached back in the 16th century by the surgeon Ambroise Paré, who noticed that soldiers who refused to cauterize their wounds with hot metal were more likely to survive in war.

Maybe I should have used plantain? After all, it is they who in the wild try to cover up all the wounds. In fact, this plant is really useful because it contains painkillers and substances that accelerate recovery. But this effect can be obtained if you rinse the plantain thoroughly, crush it so that it gives juice, and mix it with aloe vera.



But the usual method from childhood of “plucking it, drooling it and sticking it on your knee” does not work.

Remember how Luke Skywalker survived a freezing night on the planet Hoth inside a horned tonton in Star Wars? And how DiCaprio hid in a horse in The Revenant. Survival experts say that this trick will not work in cold weather. At first you can really warm up, but after a few hours the animal’s carcass turns into a refrigerator.



Well, let’s end with the opinion that by pretending to be dead, you will be able to escape from predators. Rescuers advise that in the forest, where you may encounter a bear, make a lot of noise so that the animal knows about your presence. If, nevertheless, an unwanted meeting does occur, then you must show with all your might that you are larger than the bear, and if you are larger, that means it is too tough for him. If all methods have failed, then there is nothing left to do but pretend to be dead.



However, most animals are overly curious. So pretending may not work either. By the way, their plans to attack are most often caused by the desire to drive you away from their territory.