5 Survival Tips - Desert

Here are some survival techniques in a desert that I came across while reading a few articles. I felt it might provide some useful information to the adventure freaks.

1. Always carry a water bottle, knife and flint along with you. A water bottle or something that can hold water is a life saver especially in places where water is scarce and you will need it to store it up when you come across a source of water. A knife is always a useful tool when you are trying to survive in wilderness. A flint is an easy way to start a fire and a fire is what you need, not just to keep the animals away but also to lift your spirit when you are trying to spend a night in the wild.

2. Finding a river is the key to getting out. Following the river downstream can get you to civilization.

3. Look for a source of water. Plants need water and signs of vegetation could mean that there could be water nearby. Another tip is to listen to insects. Bees and mosquitos always live near water.

4. The biggest killer is heatstroke and dehydration and they both come on so quickly. Finding a canyon could be a life saver, as it will have shades, streams that lead to bigger rivers. When the temperature gets very hot, the first thing that you should do is find a shade as soon as possible. Just being in 110 F heat, the body loses a litre of water every hour. A cave is one good option of escaping the scorching sun but you have to be careful as other desert animals might have the same idea of using the cave to escape from the sun, especially snakes. Shady caves can literally be life savers. Take rest in the shade and move on at a cooler time of the day. When you are dehydrated, its important to drink slowly, as guzzling too much water too fast can make you vomit.

5. The longer the exposure to the full strength of the sun, the greater the danger and the most important part of the body to keep cool is the head and the brain. One tip is to cover your head with any cloth that you have which will prevent your head from being directly exposed to the heat. To give you an idea how dangerous the heat is, the body's internal temperature is usually 98.6 F and once the body's core temperature goes above 105 F, you got a heat stroke. When this happens, you become confused, your body goes into convulsions and you could fall into a coma