There are many things to avoid if the SHTF, here are four of them that come to mind today.
Bad Ideas To Avoid
The good ole bad idea.
Bad ideas happen all the time, the trick is to not act on them when you have them.
Many things can get you killed in a Stuff Hits The Fan (SHTF) situation, let’s take a look at four of them here. There are many more bad ideas, and we will talk about them in a future articles, but here are four that come to mind off the top of my head.
Bad Idea Number One – Never Assume
There’s an old expression, and like many old sayings it holds true. Assume = Ass out of U & Me.
We make a LOT of assumptions in our daily lives, and if most of the time they are no big deal. I assume that the food you just bought at the store is fresh and healthy, when in truth I have absolutely no idea if that’s true. We don’t know how that food was handled, if it was prepared properly, if the facility that packed it was clean or germ ridden, or anything else. In normal times, we can usually get away with assuming things like that.
If the SHTF? Assuming can kill us.
Want another example? As I’ve talked about in this article about trespassing and this article about strangers being welcomed in rural areas if the S has HTF, just walking anywhere you like and setting up camp can be fatal.
When doing the bug-out boogie, never assume that you won’t be noticed or that it’s “OK” to camp on somebody’s land if you are bugging-out. It’s not OK, and it may get you shot. People are going to be hyper-protective of their families, their homes and their land in a SHTF scenario, and are likely to shoot first and never ask questions.
Bad Idea Number Two – Drinking Unfiltered / Unpurified Water
I’ve got a friend who’s was an avid hiker in his younger days. For years, he would hike in the mountains and drink right from clear mountain springs.
Today? My friend lives in a constant low-level of pain from the persistent case of giardia that he caught that, despite years of treatment, he’s never been able to shake. He’s weaker than he should be, and has limited stamina. Giardia can really mess you up.
No matter how clear water looks, do not EVER just drink from it without some form of filtration or treatment. Don’t trust clear running streams, and beware of old wells and cisterns especially. Not only are they probably not properly sealed, but they are also prone to collapsing if you stand next to them.
Related post:
https://beansbulletsbandagesandyou.com/bullets/2018/12/21/freezing-destroy-water-filters/
Bad Idea Number 3 – Don’t Play With Fire
Spice took some lovely pictures this summer when she was hiking in the mountains. There were some amazing red sunsets that were stunning in her lens and to her eyes.
Why were the skies such a lovely shade of red? Smoke, high in the atmosphere, from all of the forest fires burning in California, hundreds of miles west of where she was.
Never, ever start a fire in the wilderness unless you know what you are doing. Bottom line, if you don’t know how to properly start a fire, right now is a good time to learn and practice the skill. The last thing any SHTF situation needs is a wildfire thrown in on top of everything else. Wildfires kill people, including the people who start them.
Bad Idea Number 4 – Failing To Clean Those Wounds
Wound care is a big deal, we all know that.
But… admit it… there have been many times when you’ve gotten scratches and small scrapes, and not really paid much attention to them until later, when they have become red, sore and infected, right?
Infection when the SHTF can kill you. Millions of people have died because they didn’t clean their small wounds, bringing on infection which spread to a fatal level.
Don’t just ignore scratches, scrapes and cuts. Carry soap with you, and make sure you at least wash them out with soapy water. Soap and water are one of the best ways of keeping a small cut from turning into a life-threatening infection. Millions upon millions of people have died from infections that started in a minor cut or scrape. Here’s some more information about wound care:
https://beansbulletsbandagesandyou.com/bullets/2018/11/27/preppermed-101-keeping-wound-minor/
https://beansbulletsbandagesandyou.com/bullets/2017/12/29/preppermed-101-is-superglue-super-for-wound-care/
https://beansbulletsbandagesandyou.com/bullets/2017/12/30/preppermed-101-when-and-how-to-close-wounds/
Very good.
I would have revised the list just slightly of course. Depending on the severity of the SHTF the very first thing one would need to avoid????
PEOPLE. Yes people will be the most dangerous and lethal thing to avoid.
I would like to comment on your number 1, Food.
As you mentioned food handling that you have zero information about can AND is deadly. We as consumers trust 100% that the can of Tuna you just opened and ate is “OK”.
Was it?
How do you know?
We hear and see “Recalls” more and more of food being tainted and “Bad”. So again I ask, how do we know that can of Spam is not 1/4 horse meat? Or those Vegetables (Romaine Lettuce) were not used as someone’s toilet in a foreign country, Discussing I know, but just in the last year there have been dozens of recalls because of exactly that.
Food (and water) would be my #2 items to be very VERY cautious with. Medical would be #3 and the list could go on for a very long time.