Survival myths that could get you hurt

Part 2

Just about every single area of interest has myths surrounding it, but when it comes to survival, those myths may end up getting you hurt, or at the very least wasting a ton of time and effort. Here are some of the most popular and commonly believed myths related to survival and bushcraft.

Peeing on a jellyfish wound makes it hurt less

It isn’t certain where this myth started from, but it is completely false. When a jellyfish stings someone, its tiny barbs shoot into the skin and inject venom, much in the same way as a snake would through its fangs or a sting from a wasp. After getting stung, the venom is inside your body and working its way through your system, so all that peeing on it would do is cover your itchy and painful sting in urine.

It’s ok to drink from moving water sources

While rivers and streams are generally cleaner and safer than static bodies of water, they are still far from being considered safe. The problem with moving water is that unless it’s filled with a huge amount of waste it always seems to look clean at a glance, tricking people into thinking that it’s ok to drink. The next time you’re downriver from an animal field take a look at the water and it will indeed appear clean, but the huge field of animal waste seeping into it from upstream shows the true story. Always filter and boil water you find in the wild, no matter how clean it looks or safe you think it is to drink.

(A clean looking source with crystal clear water, it also happens to be about 100 meters downstream from the edge of a field of sheep)

The plunge pool at the bottom of waterfalls is safe to fall into

We’ve all seen those movies where the people in the raft don’t notice the roaring 50-meter waterfall a short distance away until it’s too late, causing them to go over the edge and land in the deep plunge pool at the bottom. One realistic movie scene where this happens would be in Apocalypto, where several tribe members jump over the falls only to smash their heads on the rocks under the water. Not only are plunge pools generally not very deep, but they can create a cycle of rotating water that traps people long enough to drown them. Never ever think it’s ok to go over a waterfall and always take the safest way around.

You should pull out a left over sting

When you get stung by a bee or certain flying pests, the sting can snap off and be left poking out your skin. It goes without saying that the sting needs to be removed, but never pinch the sting to pull it out, always use an upward scraping motion. The reason is that in all animal stings, the venom has to travel the full length of the sting, which means that it’s in all parts of it. If you pinch or squeeze the sting to pull it out then you’re going to squeeze all the venom that’s inside it out of both ends, and considering one of those ends is in your skin, this could cause extra venom to enter your system. Try to scrape it out with a fingernail or a knife, but if you absolutely have to pinch it to get enough grip then make sure you grab as low down the sting as possible.

Rubbing two sticks together makes fire

There are many ways of making fire from friction, but simply rubbing sticks together isn’t one of them. It takes a lot of practice to be able to make friction fires, and the various pieces have to be carved and made properly before even trying to start a friction fire. Even with all the right tools and the general know-how, most people would struggle greatly to start a fire this way as one of the many things that could go wrong probably would.

(A pre-made fire bow available on Amazon, as you can see its much more in-depth than just rubbing sticks)

Cooking makes things safe to eat

No bacteria can withstand high temperatures, which is why boiling water is the best way to make it safe, but this rule doesn’t apply to food. Many wild foods contain things that are destroyed by heating, such as the toxin in rowan berries which will make you very sick unless you heat them first, but this method isn’t safe for everything. The worst case scenario is that a person would accidentally forage a death cap mushroom which contains a poison that is thermostable, which means it isn’t destroyed by heat. The other big one to watch out for is meat from certain creatures that are prone to parasites which are able to move around in the body. Unless meat that contains parasites is cooked to the point of being very, very, very well done, there’s a good chance some parasites might survive, and in a survival situation that’s basically a death sentence.

(These are death cap mushrooms, they look similar to many edible types but contain a very powerful poison of which there is no cure, the poison is also resistant to heat which shows how important it is to understand exactly what you are eating and not just relying on cooking to make things safe.)

You can suck venom out of wounds

It would make sense that causing suction at the point the venom entered the body would draw it out, but by the time you’ve had a chance to do this, it’s already too late. The venom would have settled into the bloodstream straight away and even if sucking could remove a little of it, it wouldn’t be enough. The other reason not to do this is because someone would end up with venom in their mouth, and venom doesn’t necessarily need to be swallowed or injected to cause damage, because it’s capable of absorbing through surfaces like skin or something thinner, such as the inside of your mouth.

Play dead if you’re attacked by a bear

The two main types of bears humans are the most likely to encounter are the black bear and the grizzly bear. No human can outrun a charging bear and even though they aren’t aggressive creatures, attacks on people have happened many times in the past. If you’re attacked by a grizzly bear then playing dead is a last resort and very dangerous because it may step on you to check if you’re alive or not, and their massive size can easily crush you to death. You should always make yourself seem as big and loud as possible, but preferably have something to defend yourself with like bear mace. When it comes to black bears you should never play dead because they aren’t as big as grizzlies and seem to scare easier. If you can’t scare off a black bear and it ends up attacking you, then punch it right in its stupid bear face and fight back as hard as you can. The chances of winning a fight against a black bear are surprisingly high as they normally run off after a while, and it would be safer than letting a creature of that weight walk all over you with its huge tree-climbing claws.

(An adult grizzly bear can weigh close to 300 kg and have claws several inches long, simply letting one walk over you could be deadly)

If you’re going to be stranded overnight, build a lean to shelter

This type of shelter is probably the most commonly featured shelter on survival sites and the most easily recognized by just about everyone, but the thing is that they aren’t very good. The biggest problem with this type of shelter is that you’ll be laying directly on the ground which is usually colder than the air, and if it rains then water can flow right through the middle of your bed. They also have a large opening on one end and you can’t light a fire inside like on many other shelter types. If you wanted to spend the time making the sides waterproof then you’d still have to contend with water running down the sides and soaking into the earth around you or running along the ground.

(A couple of lean-to shelters from a survival guide, they can be made water proof but still leave you laying on the ground and susceptible to water running in.)