YSK: If you ever become stranded in the desert - do NOT take off your clothes, DO NOT DRINK YOUR PEE, use the least amount of energy as possible but try to make a visible SOS sign with rocks or whatever is available, and NEVER leave your car.

So, these are some survival skills that I was taught in a forensic anthropology class about how to have the most success being found. I’m going to go a bit out of order here, but it’ll make sense.

1. If you ever become stranded, the first thing you should do is check your supplies - ration what you can, especially water and electrolytes. Remember that food has water in it too. Especially fruit.

2. NEVER DRINK YOUR PEE - So, this is a common myth that people hear they should do if they run out of water sources. Do not do this. First of all, your pee is pretty full of sodium, so it doesn’t hydrate. It dehydrates. Not only that, but your pee is literally full of toxins that your body has processed out. By drinking it, you’re re-introducing those toxins back into your body which can actually build to highly toxic (and lethal) levels very quickly. This is the reason why you also can’t drink sea water. You can get more analysis as to why here. I guess I was wrong on this one a bit; you can drink your pew if you sterilize it correctly.

3. You want to use as little energy as possible, but make an SOS signal that a helicopter can see. If you decide to leave your car (DO NOT DO THIS), only go so far as your confident you can get back. Take in sun exposure, lack of liquids, unknown terrain and mileage to the next place that can help. If you do leave, make the SOS where you turn around and an arrow to your car. This will guide the search team.

4. NEVER TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES - I know that it’s the desert. It’s hot. People always say you can strip down when it’s too hot, but that’s the issue. When you take off your clothing, you are eliminating not only your protection from the sun, but you are also taking away the most important thing to survival - your ability to regulate your body temperature through sweat. When you have clothes on, the sweat gets trapped in the clothing and cools you down. I know, being in sweaty clothing sucks, but you know what sucks even more?! When you take away that barrier for the sweat to collect, your sweat just evaporates. Due to lack of continuous resources like water and electrolytes, your body will eventually stop sweating. What happens then? You die. You can read about that here.

5. This is probably the most important, but least followed rule of surviving the desert. NEVER LEAVE YOUR CAR. I know that when we become stranded, we want to search for help. That’s instinctive. However, when a person is lost in a desert, they’re going to rely heavily on a helicopter team because it’s a huge area and thankfully, it doesn’t have tons of foliage like a mountain range to obscure the view. It is almost impossible to see a person from a helicopter in the middle of the desert. But, you know what can be seen - big and clear? YOUR CAR. A helicopter is 100% going to be able to find a car in the middle of the desert. They will almost definitely not find you.. until it’s too late. And sometimes, never. Not only that, but related back to why you shouldn’t take off your clothing - exposure to the elements (the heat of the day and the cold at night) are what kill people. Staying in your car keeps you from being exposed to the elements.

Why YSK: Maybe you will never get into this situation; hopefully, you never will. But, this guide will help you to survive the desert until help arrives. Remember, it’s always good to keep a stash of water in your car and prepare for the worst on long road trips that might take you through deserts and the like.

submitted by /u/ohhoneyno_ to r/YouShouldKnow
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