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Date Published: September 10, 2024
Survival skills aren’t just nice-to-have, they’re your best chance to thrive and remain in charge during an unforeseen circumstance. Whether you're in the woods for wilderness sports, on an outdoor adventure, dealing with a natural disaster like a hurricane or earthquake, or handling a crisis like a car breakdown in a remote place, having basic lifesaving survival skills, outdoor survival tips, and survival kits can secure your safety and well-being. can secure your safety and well-being.
You may not be able to prepare for every situation, but there are some basic survival skills you can learn that can greatly increase your chances of staying safe and overcoming unexpected challenges.
The only thing that could make a survival situation more difficult is going about it with an injury. On the contrary, an injury could be what puts you in a survival situation. So, having a solid understanding of first aid can prevent further complications or improve your situation until advanced help is available.
Here are a few first aid techniques for survival skills to consider learning today.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is a life-saving method used to maintain consciousness in patients experiencing sudden cardiac arrest and other situations until advanced medical treatment is available.
Learning CPR is a vital survival skill that gives you the information, self-assurance, and abilities to help someone in need and remain composed in a medical emergency.
Be prepared: Protect your loved ones
Be confident: Act with hands-on training
Peace of mind: Know how to handle emergencies
Help your community: Use lifesaving skills when needed
Take a CPR Class
Traumatic wounds are defined as sudden acute (ripped or torn skin), cuts or lacerations, and puncture wounds (penetrating, stabbing, or gunshot). Blood loss is a grave concern for someone whose endured a traumatic wound. Significant blood loss is a life-threatening situation, and if that loss occurs quickly, loss of life can follow.
Knowing trauma treatment and bleeding survival skills could prevent loss of life and increase healing.
It only takes a moment. A child or weak swimmer could drown in the time it takes to reply to a text, check a fishing line, or apply sunscreen. The necessity of water safety in all activities involving water is highlighted by this sobering reality.
Increasing water competency — including swimming abilities, water smarts, and aiding others — can prevent emergencies but also increase your survival skills in any water situation.
Shelter should be a top priority when you find yourself in an extended survival situation. You may not have the ability or resources to set up a complete camp, but building a shelter of any type limits your exposure to natural elements — which can be dangerous, even in weather that isn't harsh. A lack of shelter can make it difficult to maintain body temperature, leading to hypothermia.
Additionally, shelters create a barrier from predators and offer a sense of security.
There are a few things to consider regarding shelter building survival skills.
If building a shelter is a top priority for survival skills, building a fire and keeping it going is easily the second. A fire provides warmth, light, and a source to cook food. It can also be used as a signal for rescue, if necessary, and to ward off predators.
Starting and maintaining a fire can be challenging, especially in wet or cold conditions, unless you know how to do this proficiently, so learning and practicing this survival skill is vital.
Foraging and hunting for edible food and water are vital survival skills. You can live up to three days without water and one week without food. While nature does afford many natural resources for food and water, understanding what is safe to eat — berries and edible plants — is an essential survival skill. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a more severe situation fast.
Water is necessary for wilderness survival or any survival situation with limited water supply. Wild water sources can have harmful viruses and pathogens that could cause waterborne illnesses.
Purifying water can be challenging if you have little to no gear. If you don’t have tablets, iodine drops, or a UV light purifier, boiling water may be a good solution. Knowing how to handle this situation — like what water is safe to cook, how long, and how to make a pot if you don’t have one — is an invaluable survival skill.
Navigating without technology is one of the most essential survival skills. Using a compass (which helps navigators determine where north, south, east, and west are) and a map isn’t just a good survival skill for wilderness sports like hiking or backpacking. Being able to navigate is an essential survival skill for finding your way in emergencies.
Signaling is your lifeline when it comes to an emergency or wilderness sports survival skills. How you signal may differ depending on the situation and available resources.
An often-overlooked skill, knot-tying increases your chances of survival by helping you build a shelter, set snares, and create tools. Tying secure knots takes time and practice, so grab a rope and brush up on your knot-tying skills.
Survival skills are essential because they equip you with the knowledge and abilities to protect yourself and others in dangerous or unpredictable situations, ensuring safety, security, and confidence in facing adversity.
Learning survival skills requires theoretical knowledge, applied experience, and ongoing practice. Here are a few ideas to get you started developing essential survival skills.
Knowing survival techniques are best suited when prepared with the proper supplies you may need in an emergency or disaster. Keep your survival kit supplies in an easy-to-carry emergency preparedness kit that you can use at home or take with you in case you must evacuate. Be prepared in the outdoors with a Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide. Find out what you need in a survival kit.
The Red Cross has pre-packaged survival kits to help you get started. Here are a few options to consider:
Training Services is a division of the American Red Cross. Our mission is to advance lifesaving education so you are better to prepared. Our robust training curriculum includes CPR and AED, First Aid, Basic Life Support (BLS), Babysitting and Child Care, Lifeguarding, Water Safety and more.