Keep Yourself Alive!!!

The “Rule of Threes” in Survival

February 5, 2023 Vol. I, Issue 6

If you find yourself in a survival situation the first thing you might do is panic. 

Don’t

If you panic you won’t think clearly and in this situation, you need to think clearly.  Start by getting your priorities straight.

Stop

Take a deep breath

Prioritize your needs

Get to work!

Use the Rule of Threes to set your priorities. 

This is by no means comprehensive.  It’s a generalization of your immediate needs to help you get yourself on track.

The rule of threes states that you can survive:

• 3 minutes without air
• 3 hours without shelter
• 3 days without water
• 3 weeks without food

Remember, this is a generalization.  Each rule is predicated upon the rule before it.  For example, it doesn’t matter how much water you have if you don’t have air to breathe.

Let’s talk a bit about each rule.

3 MINUTES WITHOUT AIR

Now, I’m not talking about holding your breath. Lots of people can hold their breath for more than three minutes. This means there is NO respiration or NO breathable air.  It could be anything from an airway obstruction to an oxygen-poor environment to a drowning situation.  Whatever the reason, three minutes is about the limit before bad things happen.

According to Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured, Ch. 10, Pg. 397, Fig. 10-13, the following applies to a person without adequate respiration:

• 0 – 1 min: cardiac Irritability (irregular heartbeat)
• 0 – 4 min: brain damage not likely
• 4 – 6 min: brain damage possible
• 6 – 10 min: brain damage likely
• > 10 min: irreversible brain damage

Cells need oxygen and when they don’t get it they begin to die.  You need to make sure you are in an environment with breathable air.  It’s obvious that you can’t breathe underwater, but what are some other circumstances that might limit your oxygen intake?

You could suffer from smoke inhalation if you sleep near your fire and the wind blows the smoke into your shelter. 

You may seek refuge a cave.  It’s ready-made and protects you from the elements but, besides encountering animals that have thought the same, the oxygen concentration may not be suitable for humans.  There may be chambers that lack adequate ventilation and the air has gone “stale.”

3 HOURS WITHOUT SHELTER

A harsh environment will kill you!  Exposure to even not-so-extreme temperatures will cause hypothermia or heat stroke.  Other conditions such as rain, snow, and wind will literally suck the heat out of you.  Exposure to the hot sun will cause your core temperature to rise, not to mention sunburn and dehydration. 

Shelter should be your first consideration (provided you are breathing adequately).  Fire can be added to this but let’s concentrate on shelter.  Shelter protects you from the elements.  It keeps you dry and warm (or shaded).  Exposure to the elements will prevent you from thinking clearly as your body’s core temperature rises or drops.  You’ll make poor decisions which could put you in further danger.

Your shelter can be something you find naturally; a cave, hollowed-out tree trunk, natural outcropping of rock, or something you build; a simple lean-to or tarp shelter.  The main point is that you must protect yourself from the elements in order to maintain your core temperature.

3 DAYS WITHOUT WATER

In a temperate environment, the body needs approximately 2.5 liters of fluids per day.  Other factors such as higher temperatures, exertion, and your size/health can increase this amount significantly. 

Dehydration affects your body in different ways.  Lack of fluid intake can cause:

• Electrolyte imbalance
• Muscle cramps
• Problems regulating body temperature
• Blood pressure increase or decrease
• Organ failure

When your fluid intake decreases, your brain signals your body to urinate less.  Your kidneys will work harder which could damage them.  Over time, this could cause permanent medical problems. 

Keep in mind, you don’t only take in water by drinking.  Many fruits and vegetables have a high water content.  If you can find some of these in the wild it may save your life. 

Water comes before food in our survival hierarchy of needs because it is also used for digestion.  Eating is not a good idea if you don’t have an adequate water supply.  You could become further dehydrated.  For this reason, you should not only carry water with you on ANY journey but know how to find and disinfect it so it’s safe to drink. 

3 WEEKS WITHOUT FOOD

This is a tricky one.  There are many factors to consider when speculating how long someone can survive without food.  This is a simplification for theoretical purposes only.  There will always be exceptions with respect to how much time someone can go without food.

Starvation occurs when your caloric intake is not enough to sustain normal life-supporting functions.  This is different from a calorie deficit.  Normally, your body breaks down food into glucose and turns it into energy.  When you stop eating, it takes about 24 hours to burn up those glucose supplies.  Then, your body starts converting glycogen from your muscles and liver into glucose.  After that, your body enters ketosis which means it uses your fat stores for energy (E.g. Keto diet).  Once the fat stores have been depleted you’ll then burn muscle as the only remaining source of energy.

When someone has been in starvation mode for a prolonged time (think Tom Hanks in Castaway) they can’t just go back to eating normally.  There are many documented cases of people surviving starvation only to die a few days after rescue.  Food intake needs to be carefully controlled so as to not cause a sudden shift in electrolytes.  This condition is called refeeding syndrome.

BONUS RULE

Some of us talk about another rule.  We say it sort of tongue in cheek but it has a lot of truth to it…

3 SECONDS WITHOUT THE WILL TO SURVIVE

Without the will to survive you won’t last long.  Your mind is very powerful. It can get you through situations and make you do things you didn’t know you could do.  Whenever you venture into the backcountry you should pack a survival mindset.  Don’t just blindly walk a trail thinking about what you’re going to eat for dinner or watch on TV when you get home. 

A survival mindset is “war gaming” various scenarios in your head as you go.  You need to “BOLO” (Be On the Look Out) for places to shelter in a sudden storm, identify possible food and water sources, and remember landmarks along your trail.

Why does it matter???

All the “Gucci gear” in the world isn’t going to help you if you don’t have the knowledge and proper mindset to keep yourself alive. You just never know what lies ahead when you leave the comfort and relative safety of civilization.  The right gear is great but know-how weighs considerably less. 

I want you to get out there and experience the wilderness, but I also want you to come back alive.

As always…

See you around the campfire!