People Are Sharing The Safety Tips That Genuinely Saved Their Lives, And I Am Taking Notes

Yahoo

2 days ago

Recently, Reddit user Key_Sheepherder_2546 asked, "What was the 'survival tip that will save your life' that actually saved your life?"
1."Calling 911 without cell service still works. It can piggyback off any cell service available in the area. I got stuck in a ditch in heavy snow, and it saved me big time."
—u/spidercousin
2.Also, just..."Call 9-1-1. Airway, breathing, or circulation. If any of these is in ANY doubt, just call 9-1-1. This saved my life when a major artery burst in my neck, closing off my airway. 1-2 minutes of delay in calling or arriving at the Emergency Department and I would either be dead or as good as."
—u/DreadnoughtPoo
3."If you are sick, injured, or have just gone through a medical event and get that feeling of impending doom or something just doesn't feel right, do NOT ignore it! I had this happen to me after I just had my second baby. I was brushed off by the nurses, but the doom feeling didn't go away, and I could feel myself bleeding too much. I physically felt weaker and cold; I looked at my husband and told him I was going to die. I ended up coding shortly after because I had severe postpartum hemorrhaging that they missed. They brought me back, but I had to undergo several blood transfusions, be put on medicine for the bleeding, and have the bleeding/clots closely monitored."
—u/Awkward_Apricot312
"BTW, for anyone with anxiety who gets the 'something is wrong' feeling just out of nowhere: the medical 'impending doom' feeling is DIFFERENT. I have a friend with a congenital heart thing who had a heart attack (?) before it was discovered (they made it thankfully), and they also have anxiety; they told me that the impending doom wasn't a normal anxiety fear thing. It was a CERTAINTY. It was something they'd never felt before, and it wasn't panic-inducing. It just made them calm, a sense of knowing that something horrible was coming, and the calm certainty was what got them the absolute most attention at the hospital."
—u/snugglyaggron
4.And..."Listen to your instincts. I was minutes away from getting to the neighborhood ATM when something in my mind told me to head back home NOW. So I did. When I got home, a friend who lived nearby messaged me that a lady just got mugged at our neighborhood ATM minutes ago. Still gives me goosebumps."
—u/Agitated_Stretch_974
5.Relatedly..."If you think something isn't normal in your body...listen to it. Your body WILL tell you if something isn't right. This literally saved my life from a major brain stroke. I started having the worst headache of my life, except it wasn't like the rest. So I got up somehow and managed to get my dad in time. And today, I can continue to live just because I listened to my body when it told me something."
—u/Commercial_Search249
"I woke up around 1 a.m. and went to use the bathroom. I started sweating profusely from what felt like every pore in my body. Then started feeling like I had to throw up. Individually, they were concerning. Together, they were not good. I woke my wife up and said, 'I need to go to the ER…like right now.' We got there, told them what was going on, and were sent straight into a room. My wife was let in a few minutes later, and we were told I was in the midst of a heart attack. I asked my cardiologist a few days later what would've happened if I had just tried to sleep it off and see how I felt in the morning. He said, 'You wouldn't have woken up.' Don't ignore the signs, folks."
—u/ATHYRIO
6.Oh, and speaking of heart attacks..."My stepdad thought he was having a heart attack and chewed an aspirin. It turns out he was right, and the doctors said it likely was why he lived."
—u/scarlettceleste
"A heart attack is a blockage of blood flow to the heart for one of many reasons, but usually because of a blood clot. Aspirin is a mild blood thinner, which means it makes it harder for blood to clot. This makes it harder for any existing clots to grow, including the one that may be causing a heart attack.
Aspirin is also an extremely common thing to have around the home, which is why it's often popularly said to take one if you think you're having a heart attack. It can help prevent things from worsening, and might give you enough time to get to a hospital safely under the right circumstances."
—u/bbbbbthatsfivebees
7."Used to work in the fire service. Maybe not a glamorous tip, but a lot of people were saved by bystanders knowing basic first aid and CPR. In a rural place, we were arriving at a scene 30+ minutes after they stopped breathing. Thirty minutes without new oxygen or circulation makes a massive difference in survival odds. And for traumatic injuries, making an attempt to manage blood loss is always better than nothing."
—u/Possible_Ad_4094
8.Along those lines..."Bad CPR is better than no CPR. If a person is at the point of needing it, they are already technically dead, and you can't make the situation worse."
—u/LazuliArtz
9.Oh, and when giving CPR..."When administering chest compressions, you need to push a lot harder than you think. The old adage is, 'if you broke a rib/sternum, you did it right.'"
—u/jesrp1284
10."Electrical fire smells like fish. I caught it before a fire even started."
—u/A_Goddamn_Princess
"For a week, I told my work that there was something wrong with the wiring or a plug because the smell of fish would come and go. Maintenance came out to look, but didn't find anything in our office, and the guy didn't have a good sense of smell, so that didn't help.
They eventually found a plug on the other side of the wall (shared wall with a courtroom), and it was partially melted. I'm glad they found it before there was a major fire."
—u/anom_aly
11."'STOP THE CAR, I'M GOING TO VOMIT.' I used this twice. Once with a friend who was driving super SUPER high and I had no clue (she actually crashed her car two days later), and once with a guy who wasn't taking no for an answer. He stopped and I booked it. If you're freaked and need to get out of a car, and if the person is not listening and stopping, say you're going to be sick."
—u/Ieatcrunchybees
12."I was told if you had a cramp in your leg accompanied by redness, it's a life-threatening blood clot and to get emergency help immediately. My friend had been complaining for two days about a cramp in his leg, so I made him pull up the leg of his jeans, and his skin was bright red. I tried not to panic as I told him he needed immediate help. I was visiting and set to catch a train in 30 minutes, so he promised he'd go in."
"He did not go in but called the NHS, and they were like, 'Do not move. Do not panic. Keep your heart rate calm. We're sending someone right away.' And it was then he realized I wasn't kidding. He made it in, and apparently it was REALLY bad, and if he'd waited any longer, it would've dislodged and he would've died. The doctor told him I'd saved his life. He reminds me of that from time to time, too. I'm so glad I knew the signs of a clot."
—u/omfgsquee
13."To go to the hospital immediately if you notice a red streak coming from a wound. Thanks to my quick action, I still have ten toes."
—u/Standard_Lecture_59
"I once saw a post on Reddit about someone who had a weird red line going up their arm. Everyone told them to go to the ER, that it was an infection leading up to their heart. A couple of years later, my husband cut his elbow. Two days later, he started having a fever, and when I looked at his arm, I saw the line and made him go right away (we were on vacation, and he wanted to wait until we got home). Three days in the hospital and a surgery later, he was ok, but the nurse told us he could've lost his arm or died if he had brushed it off like he tried to. So thank you to that Reddit poster!"
—u/stardust8718
14."I'm glad those Heimlich maneuver posters are everywhere. I was having lunch on a Monday in a mostly residential neighborhood, so it was just me and one other person at another table. He choked on a piece of carrot, and I successfully did the Heimlich on him. I have zero other emergency preparedness skills, but I'm glad I had that one that day!"
—u/that_was_way_harsh
"I saved my mother's life. Go learn the Heimlich maneuver. You don't need to be fully trained, but it is definitely better if you are, but at the very least, make sure you understand every part of how it works, because panic will set in in the moment. She started choking on a piece of steak at a restaurant, fully blocked airway, I did the Heimlich and got it out while cracking a rib in the process. That shits terrifying through and through especially on family.
When I say you don't need to be fully trained, I mean if you aren't going to do a CPR class, at least make sure you have looked up a proper YouTube video on the subject.
It's not something you can really do in the moment, and you might save someone's life."
—u/silverfoxxflame
15.And don't forget about self-Heimlich: "I choked on food while driving on a busy street, didn't breathe for over a minute because it was standstill traffic, and I was in the middle lane. I ended up cutting people off at the slightest sight of the room and putting my car in a ditch. Eighth-grade home economics came to mind as I heimliched myself on the spoiler of my car. I cracked a rib, spat the food out, and cried for 10 minutes because my vision started to go black."
—u/Gaberino_
"I will note this advice from an actual paramedic who taught my CPR/First Aid class. Self-Heimlich should be the LAST resort.
If you can get help, get help. In your example of driving in standstill traffic in the middle lane? Put on your hazard signals. Put the car in park. Exit the car. Hail down someone in one of the other cars to come help you.
Or if you're home alone, call 911 immediately (or the emergency number for your country) and open your front door. That way, emergency services are on their way and can access you. THEN you can give self-Heimlich a shot."
—u/Frnklfrwsr
"My first aid class said if you live in an apartment building, to run out in the hall and pull the fire alarm so people have to come look what's going on and find you. I thought that was a smart idea. Or if you're in a house, bring a chair outside and do it on your front lawn."
—u/foxiez
16."Do NOT swerve for deer in the road. I was coming home from college late one Friday (like 1 a.m.) on a road bordering a state park. As I was tooling along, a deer jumped out in front of me. I hit the brakes, but still hit the deer, which went tumbling off into the dark. I limped up to the next point where I could pull off and look. There was no real damage, just a dent in the hood and some blood. Come Sunday, I was heading back to school along the same route in daylight. I got to the spot where I hit the deer and realized that the road was running along a ridgeline with slopes going down about 75 feet on each side. So if I had swerved for the deer and gone off the road, there's a non-zero chance I'd have been down that bank and invisible from the road if I were incapacitated. Moral of the story, don't swerve for deer/animals that weigh less than your car."
—greenmachine11235
17.But..."Do swerve for a cow or a moose."
—u/Flying_Fortress_8743
"Either of those will flatten your vehicle!
I remember seeing a mid-sized hatchback that had hit a cow, which had obviously rolled over the car. The roof had been flattened down to dashboard level."
—u/Fandanglethecompost
"The issue with moose is not them flattening the vehicle. It's taking their legs out from under them and having 2,000 lbs of animal come through your windshield and into your lap."
—u/JimTheJerseyGuy
18."Forward rolls over the shoulder, not somersaults over the neck. Motorcycle accident. This saved me from cracking my head open on the street. First time Martial arts class saved my ass."
—u/Firm_Reality6020
19."A Mythbusters episode that showed how to protect your neck/head in the case of an accident might have saved my life. I was in a horrific car crash (long story), and, as I was waiting for the inevitable to happen, I remembered that episode. So I used my arms to protect and cushion my head and neck as much as possible. I did still break my lower spine, but my doctors told me that extra cushioning I provided (and the cushion from having landed on the one patch of grass in a big parking lot) very well may be why I didn't die or get paralyzed."
—u/sundaypie
20."Go limp before a collision. I did this when I flipped my car and hit a rock wall. I only ended up with a couple of bruises despite my car looking like a crumpled piece of paper."
—u/loreandhoney
21."'Give up everything without hesitation' was the lesson I learned when I was robbed at gunpoint. As the robber turned, he fired the pistol out of panic — it could've been at me."
—u/canoisle
"I had my purse snatched once. I did not fight back, just let go. I was doing everything right. I was in a generally safe, populated area and was paying attention to what was going on around me.
I have had so many people tell me I should have 'hung on to my purse tighter,' or 'must not have been aware of my surroundings.'
I would not have won a tug-of-war over my purse against two men, and me being aware that two normal-looking men were walking down the street near me didn't magically stop them from robbing me.
The cops caught up with them half a mile down the road. One of them had a knife, the other a gun. Who knows what would have happened if I tried to fight or run?"
—u/WoodlandHiker
22."I saved my son from drowning in a pool. He had swallowed so much water that he couldn't breathe. I put him on his back, rolled him to his side, and hit him on the back. He ended up throwing up numerous times. His first words to me were, 'Thanks for saving me, Dad.' I still get choked up, 15 years later."
—Courtaid
23.Also..."Many people who drown are liable to develop an infection in their lungs and should still be taken to the hospital even if they regain consciousness."
—u/Euphorix126
"And we did. There's also secondary drowning, where all the water doesn't get all out, and they go to sleep and drown. We took him to the ER and had them check him out. That night, I checked in on him at least 12 times to make sure he was ok."
—u/Courtaid
24."Veteran here. I was in a vehicle that hit something and caught on fire. There were only civilians around able to respond. After several minutes of trying to break the window with rocks and sticks, one of them remembered that they had a novelty knife with a window breaker on the handle. They pulled it out, and within seconds broke the cracked window, and pulled me out as the flames were kissing my face and chest. I always carry a small knife with a window breaker handle in my civilian life. You never know whose day it can make a difference to."
—u/ItsMeMonk
25."Never remove a knife or other object from a stab wound. It may be acting as a plug. It also helps doctors assess how deep the wound is to allow for more informed treatment."
—u/minrenken
26."Always let someone know where you're going. Any hikers, travelers, or solo drivers were rescued because someone knew their route and raised the alarm when they didn't return."
—u/ColdAntique291
"This one nearly got me killed/in a really bad spot as a teenager.
I was camping with my dad deep in the Rocky Mountains. He was out for something I didn't want to do, so I decided, "I'm going to climb that mountain. It's short." Went up 1/4 mile, then leveled off. Just another 1/4 mile up. Same thing. Then it finally settled into a steady general slope. Finally, after 2-3 miles, I turned around, realizing it was too far to find the top. About a mile later, I see a road. I never crossed a road. The way I thought might have been back led deeper into the mountains. Finally, I turned around and kept walking, hoping I wasn't helplessly lost. Stumbled across a cabin that was fortunately occupied and got directions. I was a mile and a half off the direction I came from. Dad had no idea where I had gone or even left. If I hadn't found that road and cabin, I could have been permanently lost and not found my way out."
—u/Pure-Introduction493
27."Always remain calm. I got lost on a snowy moorland once. I was alone, hadn't told anyone where I was going, had no phone signal, and the afternoon was starting to draw in. I knew which direction to go in, but I was worried it'd go dark before I got to civilisation. In a panic, I started running, trying to navigate rough and snowy terrain. Thankfully, something clicked and I just stopped for a second, gathered my senses, and continued to plod on at a sensible speed. I'm still here (more wise!), able to tell the tale."
—u/Careful_Trip7694
"Staying calm is so important. I was stuck in the Boundary Waters on a rental kayak that was way too old to be in regular use. I started panicking and was just about to get out of the kayak to try to swim to a nearby island when I realized that this was the worst idea I ever had and it didn't matter that I was a strong swimmer, this was dumb as shit.
I called for help. I was in the early stages of hypothermia when they picked me up. The kayak was about to capsize. I would probably have died if I had gotten out of it and into the water with no one knowing where I was."
—u/SunnyOnTheFarm
28."If you are lost and you need to be rescued, don't wander off. Stay nearby someplace as open as you safely can, find water or whatever, then make a big mess. Make it easier to spot from the air or through the trees. You'll last longer if you don't waste energy moving, and the mess will stand out even a little bit for a search team. I've seen it work more often than the alternatives. It's easier to find a person than to track a person (after first finding where they had been)."
—u/KertDawg
"I got caught in a snowstorm while hiking. I remembered a tip: 'Don't wander, stay put and warm.' I made a small shelter and waited. Hours later, rescue found me. If I'd kept walking, I probably wouldn't be here. That tip legit saved my life."
—u/msmar_77
"(In central Australia), your car is easy to spot. You are harder. You with heat exhaustion in the shade of a bush is difficult.
Stay with the car. Build shade. Wait for rescue. You can help that arrive faster if you phone people at the destination as you leave for the drive."
—u/kombiwombi
"If lost, find a road and sit down and wait. I was lost in the middle of nowhere BFE Oregon when I was 12 years old, because we left the truck early in the morning when it was still dark to get to our hunting spot by daylight...later that day, my dad was having a medical emergency so couldn't walk back to the truck so I walked to the road and couldn't find the truck. I sat there, waited and sure as shit, a random truck with these two older adults come rolling up and asked if I needed a ride and drove me down the road to my truck. I ended up walking a mile in the wrong direction. They told me that something in their gut told them to take the left road instead of the usual right turn they take to go home, and found me chilling by the road.
They gave me a Payday and a bottle of water because it was HOT that day and I had layers of camo on…to this day my favorite candy bar is a Payday."
—u/Hydraytion
29."Always pack a map and compass. Yes, you have GPS. Yes, you can download a map. Yes, you even have a charger to make sure your equipment stays charged throughout the hike. None of that is a guarantee. Always pack a map and compass."
—u/SunnyOnTheFarm
30.But, if you don't..." Moss grows on the north-northwest-west sides of trees. Doesn't seem like much until you need to decide which way to hike to safety, lost in a national forest for four days."
—u/Intelligent-Loss5731
"Yes! Or follow water downhill. There's a much more likely chance you'll find people near the coast/ocean/riverways.
BUT, if you're lost in the wilderness and there's no waterway near you, stay where you are and just try to survive. If you hear a helicopter, go to the most open place you can find. Thermal camera will find you."
—u/Rubyhamste"
"Just to note that's northern-hemisphere centric. It does not apply on the equator, and the inverse is generally correct in the southern hemisphere."
—u/shovelly-"oe
"The slightly more reliable one I use a lot is that shadows point north at solar noon (in the northern hemisphere)."
—u/Pays_in_snakes
31."I rehabbed aggressive dogs and learned how to act in a dog attack situation. If it's one dog, stay still. Don't run, don't fight. Put your hands up so it doesn't grab your arms or nip your fingers, and don't give it any stimulus. If you run, it's a game. If you fight, it's a fight. Either way, you're going to lose. Be prepared to fight if you have to, because running, you'll die tired. Hit it hard, hit it fast, and get ready to have a really bad day."
"The day came, I was getting out of my car, and my neighbor's untrained pitbull that he was walking without a leash decided to charge me.
I did all the things, and as he got up to me, he was confused because nothing was happening. It stopped and tried to goad me into doing something, leading to him trying to nip my leg.
So I took the bag of Arizona Ice Tea cans I had just bought and swung like that shit downwards like a medieval flail. Cracked it right between the eyes and on top of the nose and backed it off. I'm not sure it even knew what just happened.
And THEN the owner showed up, so who knows what would have happened?"
—u/Select_Entrance9311
32.And if it's a bunch of dogs..."On the outskirts, just a couple of hundred meters away from the tourist-filled area, a pack of wild dogs appeared. I was alone, thinking fuck... I need to make my way back to the crowds for safety. As I began walking backwards, the dogs began to advance towards me, barking viciously. Then I remembered a video I saw online, saying if you fan out your body to look big, they'll back away. So I began running backwards and opened my arms towards the sky when the dogs got too close. They backed away for a bit every time I did this. After a while, I finally made it back to the crowds safely, where the dogs decided not to follow any further. TLDR: I made myself look bigger by extending my arms out to scare away a pack of wild dogs."
—u/SushiRollFried
33."A motorcycle neck brace/protector saved my nephew's life (according to his surgeon). He broke both legs and back, but his neck was fine."
—u/Inevitable_Boss5846
Also, "Dress for the slide." (I.e., wear clothing like a leather jacket that will protect your skin if your motorcycle causes you to slide across the pavement).
—u/FeedMeAStrayCat
34."Wear a seatbelt. Was a passenger in a single vehicle accident where the car rolled at high speed. Totalled. Would have been very dead if it wasn't for the seatbelt and crumple zone."
—u/SprayingFlea
35."If you're going to be on a ladder, wear a bicycle helmet. Also, most falls off ladders happen at the bottom few rungs."
—u/RN4Bernie
36."A buddy of mine was put into a coma when he was in the 'chicken' lane trying to turn left. He had his wheels already turned in anticipation of turning when a car slammed into his rear end, lunging his car forward and turning into oncoming traffic, resulting in a head-on collision with a car going 45mph."
"I took his trial as a cautionary tale and always kept my wheels straight when waiting for my turn in a chicken lane. A couple of years ago, I got rear-ended in the exact same manner as he did, but I was able to come to a safe stop in the same lane just a few yards forward and didn't have a collision. His near-death experience saved my life, and I still think about him every time I'm waiting to turn."
—u/throwback84"
"I watched this happen in real time. Car One, waiting to turn left, has its wheels already turned. Car Two gets rear-ended by Car Three... Car Two hits Car One and sends it into oncoming traffic, striking Car Four and sending it head-on into a tree. Don't turn your wheel until you are touching the gas!"
—u/FlawedFirstHand
37."Bicycle helmet."
—u/D-S-S-R
"Yes!!!! I have a friend who refused to wear one. Her bike accident has rendered her nonverbal and severely impaired. When I see parents riding with their helmeted kids and NOT wearing helmets themselves, I shudder."
—u/-LollyLlama
38."I don't know if this actually saved my life, but somebody hit me on the highway while I was driving with cruise control on 75 mph on a 70 mph highway (hit on my left passenger side) and my car spun out across two lanes of traffic and spun in full two circles (I believe). The entire time it was happening, I stared right at my steering wheel with my dad's voice in my head saying, 'Ease into the turn, do not overcorrect or try to go the other way.' So with my death grip on the steering wheel, I slowly went with the motion of the car, and we didn't flip over or anything. It was TERRIFYING. I remember at some point seeing my dog in midair in the backseat (she had a seatbelt leash, THANK GOD). I totaled my vehicle, yet the man who hit me somehow was able to stay on the road and got away with it."
—u/AStoryIsASeed
39."My godfather told me when I was about 10 that whenever he was first in line at a traffic light, when it turned green, he waited three seconds before taking his foot off the brake. This has carried over into my adult life (I'm 40 now), anytime I'm at an intersection, whether I'm driving, walking, or riding my bike. It has saved my life several times. He was killed in a head-on collision when I was 13. I feel like this is an important thing to pass on."
—u/Chemistry-Least
"To add to this, I assume other drivers are all going to do the wrong thing: that guy pulling out, who's supposed to give way to me? He's not paying attention and didn't see me. That driver isn't checking their blind spot. I've learned the hard way with these and more scenarios that people don't do the right thing, so I drive like everyone else doesn't know what they're doing now. :/ This approach has since spared me and my car a few times."
—u/30-something
40."The most dangerous thing I usually do is drive. These tips are about 63% of my driving knowledge, and I do pretty well. 1) Don't pass if it's a double yellow, but especially don't pass another car going over a hill or around a curve. 2) Look before you change lanes. 3) If your car engine is over-heating, turn the heat on full blast (maybe just older cars 🤷‍♂️ saved my ass in a traffic jam outside Nashville coming back from spring break in '01)."
"4) Assume every container on the road is filled with nails (as in try not to run it over).
5) Brake. Don't swerve. Unless you need to swerve, then do what you gotta do."
—u/I_think_were_out_of_
"One tip I'd like to add:
If you're in a tunnel, and your car is overheating or otherwise seems like it's about to break down, do not stop. Do everything you can to get out of that tunnel as quickly as you can. Broken down in a tunnel is one of the worst situations you can be in, and the fatality rate for fires in tunnels is catastrophic."
—u/ConstableBlimeyChips
41."Always wear wool (and never cotton) next to skin, then hiking somewhere cold and/or wet. Wool has saved me from hypothermia on many occasions."
—u/run_kn
42.Speaking of hypothermia, if you encounter someone with it... "Heat the person up with body heat, NOT hot water. Also, warm socks and a hat. I also improvised some warm heating pads with towels in trash bags soaked in warm water. Spent an entire night saving someone's life, guy doesn't remember it because hypothermia can affect your memory."
—u/Amonette2012
"For future reference, the warmth goes in the underarms, back of the neck, crotch, elbows, and behind the knees. If you have limited heating packs, concentrate on the underarms, neck, and crotch.
That is where your veins are closest to the skin and will help carry the warmth to the rest of the body. Skin to skin contact under a blanket also works very well for heating a hypothermic person."
—u/LightOtter
43."When a child/person is having a seizure, get them on the floor and on their side and do nothing until paramedics arrive. My wife saved a four-year-old from her mother, who was flinging her around like a ragdoll, screaming for help."
—u/ironwheatiez
44."The best way out of a rip current is to swim parallel to the shore."
—u/mermaidonmars
"When I was around eight, I got caught in a rip tide and somehow, after panicking for a few seconds, remembered to swim parallel to the shore. I swam and swam, but eventually made it to shore. I then had to walk all the way back to where my aunt was sunbathing. When I finally made it back, I collapsed on the sand, and she told me not to swim too far down the shoreline again. I never told her what happened because I was worried she wouldn't let me come back. "
—u/MISSusingThePeter
45.Also..."If you are swimming in the sea and you are in danger or drowning or a current is taking you away, DON'T PANIC. Look for the best way to swim in to safety. Don't waste your energy. Adrenaline will help, but you need to dose your strength and keep swimming, even if you think it's a lost cause. It saved my life in the Atlantic Ocean."
—u/corgi_crazy
46."If you're underwater, struggling and disoriented, blow bubbles to know which way to swim. I inhaled water coming out of a big water slide that dropped me from a height into water. The water from the slide pouring down directly on me created a current, and I was stuck and didn't know which way was up. I'm a fairly strong swimmer, but I panicked. I blew some bubbles and was able to work out which way to swim. I just about dragged myself out of the pool on time and coughed my guts up while the lifeguard carried on staring into space in the other direction."
"I think the original advice I was thinking of was to spit when buried in an avalanche to know which way is down."
—u/Physical-Cheesecake
47."Get a Pap test. It's uncomfortable and embarrassing, but if you're afab (assigned female at birth), it can save your life! It did mine."
—u/Soggy-Account1453
"Same here! I had strange stomach aches in the lower abdomen, so I went to get a Pap smear done. The pain later turned out to be IBS-related; however, while the Pap excluded this to be lady-parts-related, they did discover that I was in the very early stages of developing cervical cancer. I was in an age bracket where I wouldn't get routine checkups for that yet, it would have stayed undiscovered for possibly years! Nowadays, after the removal of the cancerous tissue, I just some months back got the heads up that the treatment was successful and I'm cancer free!"
—u/Covfefetarian
"Adding on to say, depending on where you are, you may be able to do your own swab either at the clinic or through the mail. If there's something abnormal, you'll need to follow up with a regular Pap smear, but I think it's a great option for those who are hesitant to have one due to embarrassment."
—u/catcontentcurator
48."Get your skin checked (especially if you're in Australia). Just had a rapidly growing melanoma cut out that thankfully hadn't invaded deeper."
—u/TerribleGoat7899
"My partner's Stage 0 melanoma was caught bc he had a regular checkup after having a basal cell cut off.
It just looked like a small raised pink patch! Like a little bug bite or irritation."
—u/NoninflammatoryFun
49."Not quite life-saving, but it sure felt like it at the time: I didn't realize I had heat exhaustion and got on a roller coaster. When my vision started going gray at the edges, I remembered the Mythbusters Blue Angels episode where they talk about the full-body-muscle-clench thing they have pilots do to counteract the G-forces pulling blood away from your brain. I did those clenches for the rest of the ride, managed to avoid passing out, got off the ride, and toddled off to a sheltered area to drink water and cool off. Lessons about my heat tolerance were learned that day, but the pre-existing lesson about Hook Maneuvers meant I got to learn them while conscious and in private instead of from an impatient EMT after they revived me."
—u/Reasonable_Cranberry
"My dad got full-blown heat stroke a couple of years ago while living in one of the hottest parts of the world. Outside temperature was around 50 °C
It permanently damaged his gums. Shortly after, several of his teeth fell out. He developed severe gum diseases, and his salivary glands were damaged, so he now has permanent dry mouth. The teeth that remained are all messed up.
I knew heatstroke was a medical emergency, but I didn't realise how badly it messes you up for a long time after. Don't get heatstroke!"
—u/BigBlueFeatherButt
50."If you feel like you're going to faint, sit down before you fall down. A fall can kill you, even on a flat surface."
—u/mutemarmot42
"Can confirm! I have a condition and have fainted too many times to count, but the only memorable ones were when I didn't have time to get to the ground first! Broke a tooth in Berlin, banged up my knees and face a bit at Versailles, hit my head in Las Vegas after my wedding, threw my back out on my grandparents' stairs."
—u/sgsduke
51."It wasn't quite life or death, but I had a fire start on the stove top, most likely from spilled oil or other food stuffs, and I remembered some insurance commercial that said to use baking soda to put out small grease fires, and was able to get it out before it became too big."
—u/Local-toads
52."Stranger danger saved my butt. I was driving late at night in the countryside for a job, and a car with at least one passenger (plus the driver) pulled up real fast, and real close behind me, flashing its lights. I know that's a signal for 'help,' but it was dark and I was just a girl on a lonely road at night. Anyway, I pulled over to the side, they stopped, got out of the car, and then I sped off. They followed, but they left real quick when we reached another car on the road. Idk what they had in mind, but at that time of night, it couldn't have been anything good. Made it safely to my lodgings for the night. Shaken, but alive."
—u/pottedplantfairy
53."If you are being followed, act out of your mind: flail around, talk to yourself, make weird noises. Make it appear a burden to engage with you in any way you can. This has saved me twice."
—u/DangerDuckling
"My Gido (grandfather) was a jovial man. He was short, a Ukrainian-Canadian immigrant, a WWII RCAF vet, bald since he was 30 with a combover, and a retired railroad man who grew vegetables and roses. Nothing really bothered him.
But we were getting ice cream when I was 12, and some guy in his 30s tried to flirt with me and squeezed my butt. My Gido, who was shorter than me with a grandpa gut, squared up on this tall, muscular man and growled out a threat I don't remember. Something about that silent generation cold fury made this dude retreat.
He turned back to me, gently took my hand, and we went back to the ice cream window and ordered. I never felt unsafe because I had always felt protected with him. I told him that.
He said, 'I won't always be there. You're going to go to high school and university, and go off with your friends, and sometimes you'll end up alone. What you have to do is be scarier than them. I learned that in the war.' If we ever came across a 'Jerry', we were supposed to act wild, like rabid dogs, and start shooting. 'The bullets don't scare 'em, but you put the two together and they panic, and you can get 'em in the back.'
When I was 20 (before cell phones), I was walking home alone, three beers and some magic mushrooms deep. Gido had been dead for a year after a massive stroke. But a man following me had just made it on my radar, so I turned right. He followed me. I turned right again. He followed me. And I remembered Gido telling me if I saw Jerry…
So I turned around and started howling like a trapped dog. Just screaming and awooing and thrashing in the air. He stopped. I screamed FUCK YOU YOU SON OF A BITCH FUUUUUCK. I flailed some more. I acted like a feral werewolf in a movie. I knew it was partly the mushrooms and beer uninhibiting me, and Gido's rage in my veins.
And the guy turned around and started walking, then jogging, as I screamed and spat. When I was sure he was gone, I ran home in my heels.
If you see Jerry…"
—u/RadioSupply
54.And finally, this may seem simple, but..."Look both ways when you cross the road."
—u/avspuk
"Always. For every reason. And it'll save you if you're tired and in a foreign country where you forget which side of the road they drive on. It saved my BFF's life then."
—u/NoninflammatoryFun
"Yup, and do that even when you have the right of way (a walk sign). This has saved my life on two occasions.
First time was downtown core of a city and a FedEx truck running a red light, I had one foot off the curb, and as I turned to look, that monkey brain instinct froze me to the spot — and the FedEx truck passed 1 foot in front of me.
The other time was looking both ways before stepping off the curb on a one-way street - would have been run down by a delivery scooter going the wrong way down the street right alongside the curb.
I'm now starting to 'shoulder check' before changing direction while on a sidewalk, because of all the idiots with stick board scooters blowing up and down the sidewalks at 30km/h."
—u/ekdaemon