Knowing what to do in a survival situation may keep you alive one day. Unfortunately, a plethora of myths surround this topic, and things that are held to be common knowledge in these circumstances are in fact entirely fabricated and may even get you killed. Check out the myths and the realities of survival in the list below.

MYTH: You need to find food right away
REALITY: Something else will get you first
Injury, illness, poisoning and exposure are much [more] likely to result in death. By definition, ‘surviving’ a situation is short-term, and in the short term a person can be fueled by their fat reserves.
MYTH: With just two sticks anyone can start a fire
It’s a big mistake to rely solely on friction firemaking in a survival situation, especially when you could end up in a damp environment.
REALITY: Preparation is key to starting a fire in the wild
Even under the best of conditions, it is a challenge and not reliable for most people. This is not the method I want to use if I am lost, injured or stranded in the wilds with the sun going down.
MYTH: Reality shows about survival will help you prepare for a dire situation
REALITY: These shows aren’t always accurate
On one program, there was a crew of 12 people accompanying us, including two staff whose sole job was to drag around coolers filled with double-shot espressos and sandwiches while filming scenes of the host living off the land.
MYTH: You should suck the venom from a snake bite wound
Don’t apply ice, a tourniquet, a compression wrap, or attempt the Hollywood cut-and-suck method.
REALITY: Get to a hospital quickly
Your best remedy for snakebite is your car keys. Use good wound care by washing off the bite site, covering with a bandage, and getting the victim to the hospital.
MYTH: You can outrun a bear
REALITY: No you can’t; know how to react instead
Running away from a bear is a lost cause. If you encounter a black bear hold your ground and make yourself look big—open your coat up, throw your arms up above your head—and shout and scream. Take the opposite approach with a grizzly: Avoid eye contact, which a bear will perceive to be a challenge. If the bear's not approaching, back away slowly. If it charges, stand your ground. If it makes physical contact with you, cover your vitals and play dead.
MYTH: The best way to stop a shark attack is by punching it in the nose
REALITY: You have a better shot at escape by going for the eyes
Even if you could manage the strength to hit the nose hard enough, there’s a chance your hand could end up injured by shark teeth. The best way to scare a shark away is to scratch its eyes or gills.
MYTH: You need to find water immediately to survive in desert heat
REALITY: Keeping cool will keep you alive
You will last longer in the heat by holing up in the shade versus searching for nebulous water during the afternoon hours. Find a north-facing boulder and sit in the shade; keep covered like a cowboy to prevent evaporative sweat loss; stay off the hot ground by sitting on your pack or a pile of debris; and only move around during the cooler hours of the morning or evening.
MYTH: Drinking your own urine will save you in the desert
REALITY: It can push your body over the edge
Your kidneys now have to process something, and it taxes your body’s cooling mechanism. If you really want to make your urine useful, though, you can pee on a bandana and wear it for evaporative cooling.”
MYTH: You can drink water from a cactus
REALITY: You’ll make yourself sick
“You don't get ‘water' from cactus; you get a stomachache and vomiting. Basically, you’re ingesting a substance that your body has to process, which is not recommended.
MYTH: You don’t need to worry about survival unless you’re going on a major adventure
REALITY: Even short hikes can become dire survival situations
The weather may deteriorate, you may get lost or become injured. You always want to have snacks and water, an extra layer of clothes, a map and compass, a flashlight and a medical kit.
MYTH: If you get into trouble, you can always be airlifted to a hospital
REALITY: A helicopter rescue is not always an option
Contrary to scenes in action movies there are places helicopters can’t reach you, severe weather can make air rescue impossible and there’s still the matter of getting in touch with someone who could send the helicopter.
MYTH: Boiled water is always 100% safe to drink
REALITY: You still need to be mindful of where your water comes from
While boiling water will kill off organisms and germs, it will not clean harmful particulates from the water. You should filter the water before attempting to boil it. If you don't have a commercial water filter available, then you can pour the dirty water through a clean fabric before boiling.
MYTH: You can eat lots of snow to rehydrate
REALITY: Eating a bunch of snow when you’re already freezing can be deadly
If you are in a survival situation and in need of water, it's best to melt it and warm before ingesting it. Eating lots of snow will decrease your internal body temperature, which can exacerbate hypothermia. It also forces your body to warm the cold snow upon ingestion which will use up a lot of valuable body energy reserves.
MYTH: Shelter means having a roof over your head
REALITY: It’s the ground, stupid
It’s better to have a bed and no roof than a roof and no bed. An inexperienced person spends 10 hours building a roof and freezing to death on the cold ground. A smart person spends their time building a bed to insulate them from the cold ground, and getting to the roof if they have time.
MYTH: You’re suddenly going to find yourself in a classic survival scenario
REALITY: You probably got yourself there through a series of bad decisions
Survival is very romanticized. It’s not about being the toughest or most experienced; it’s about keeping out of those situations. Survival is only when you’ve made so many bad decisions that, if you don’t take immediate action, you might die.

The hardest tips to follow are the ones that go contrary to how we live our daily lives. While it's difficult for many in today's society to imagine going days without food, thinking that we will surely die if we miss more than three meals, the truth of the matter is that you can go weeks without food.

While you may want a roof, in reality, you'd be better off raising yourself from the ground. With all these tips, the overarching lesson you can take from them is that you are not out there to fight Mother Nature and win. You won't win. Your goal is to have a draw hopefully. She'll probably get some good hits in, so you just have to roll with the punches. Get ready now or you will lose.

To learn more about these survival myths, and to read the full article, check out The Active Times.