Water is the building block of life. In a survival situation, beyond immediate medical trauma, finding water should be your first goal. Dehydration caused by a failure to hydrate can kill a human being in 3 days or less, depending on the environment. It’s a resource we all take for granted in a privileged society until the moment you are thrown out of your comfort zone and left clinging to life. Food does not precede the necessity of water. To help illustrate the importance of securing a purified source of water here are a few facts.
By just breathing and doing absolutely nothing else, the body consumes around 1 liter of water per day. Physical exertion, humidity, extremes in temperature can increase the amount of water that is required. Typically people drink about one bottle of water per hour if they are exerting themselves in a laborious type of activity. In extreme conditions, just 500ml of water in one day can help you survive. Without water, dehydration sets in rather quickly. Thirst, headaches, dizziness are among the first stages of dehydration. Beyond that, fatigue, loss of appetite, increased heart rate and elevated body temperature are consequences of dehydration. Hallucination and poor judgment caused by dehydration can cloud decision making it difficult to make life or death decisions.
In a survival situation, beyond immediate medical trauma, finding water should be your first goal…Food does not precede the necessity of water.
If you learn nothing else about survival, know that you must aggressively pursue water no matter what! Sitting around and not acting will ensure you of a quick death. Conservation of your water supplies and learning how to reduce water loss ie. seeking shade and reducing exertion, will help you avoid dehydration until help arrives.
