 Surviving hotland conditions requires special skills and knowledge. This program will acquaint you with survival techniques for the hotland environment. One-fifth of the Earth's landmass is desert terrain. There are more than 80 named deserts on Earth, but we must not confine our perceptions of hotland environments only two desert terrain. Deserts are defined as those areas which receive less than 10 inches of rainfall per year. Deserts generally fall into one of three categories, sand, rock, or salt. A desert may be a combination of any or all of these. But a hotland area does not necessarily mean a desert area. A hotland environment can exist wherever there is excessively high temperature with little or no water available. When North America was being settled, the plains and high plains areas west of the Mississippi River were referred to as the Great American Desert. Although there are plenty of waterways and there is precipitation in this vast area most of the year, the summer months are quite arid. This condition creates a hotland environment during those months. When flying over this type of terrain, pilots must be adequately prepared to survive in the event of a forced landing or accident. Let's begin by looking at the topographical surroundings you'll encounter if you find yourself in a hotland survival situation. The characteristics of a hotland terrain can vary greatly from one environment to another. Generally, you'll be surrounded by low brush, cacti, and succulents, sandy and rocky surfaces, and little water. There may be hills or mountains in the area. Folage, animal life, and water are likely to be limited. Shelter will be your main concern as exposure to the sun will greatly increase the onset of hyperthermia. Hyperthermia is a condition in which the body reaches a dangerously high temperature. Because of this danger, priorities must be established and a plan of action must be formulated. Trying to survive without a plan of action predisposes you to injury and excessive loss of body fluids. The greatest threat you will face in a hotland survival situation is heat. Retaining your body fluids should be your top priority. Losing too much of your body fluids can lead to dehydration. Here are some key survival tips for conserving body fluids. Never ration your water. People have been found dead with water still in their canteens. Always drink as much as you can at one time. You must conserve your sweat, not your water. Limit your activities during the hot hours of the day to reduce fluid loss. Even limited activities can cause a rise in body core temperature. If body heat is not reduced, it can cause vital organs to shut down, eventually resulting in death. Let's look at the cooling mechanism of the body and how it regulates body temperature. The primary cooling system of the body is the circulatory system. It acts very much the same as the cooling system of the engine in your automobile. Your metabolism has the function of burning fuel or nutrients and oxygen within your cells which creates heat, much the same as the combustion inside your car's engine. Your blood absorbs this heat, as does the water in your car's engine, and is pumped to the tissues of the skin and lungs. This stimulates the sweat glands to release moisture at the skin's surface where it evaporates. This process draws heat from the blood, which of course cools it. Heat is also released from the lungs through exhaled water vapor. This action is termed transpiration. If the quantity of fluids in the skin is reduced to the point that perspiration stops, the cooling system will cease functioning. This is similar to the way your car engine overheats and shuts down if its cooling system runs dry. If you do not replenish your fluids in sufficient quantity, fluid loss may exceed fluid intake. This is why rationing, in essence, just wastes the water you drink. The rule to remember is conserve your sweat, not your water. Now let's discuss the stages and physiological problems associated with hyperthermia. It's important to recognize these symptoms and know how to treat them. Hyperthermia can manifest itself in the form of heat cramps, or heat exhaustion, and may eventually lead to heat stroke. The first stage of hyperthermia is heat cramps. Heat cramps are painful, involuntary spasms of the major muscles used in intense exercise. Heat cramps are common in hot weather and are believed to be caused by excessive water and sodium loss through sweating. The recommended treatment for cramps is drinking a saline solution of one teaspoon of salt in one liter of water. Prevention of heat cramps is best done by maintaining adequate hydration and salt intake. The next stage is heat exhaustion. It is a precursor to heat stroke. As with heat cramps, heat exhaustion is caused by excessive fluid loss. Heat exhaustion is characterized by profuse sweating, elevated temperature, fatigue, hyperventilation, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Your mental abilities and judgment may also be impaired. Heat exhaustion is easily treated by drinking plenty of fluids. External cooling is helpful too. Ice packs may be safely used. The final stage of hyperthermia is heat stroke. Heat stroke occurs when the body heat loss mechanisms are insufficient to meet environmental demands. Heat stroke is characterized by hot dry skin, body core temperature greater than 106 degrees Fahrenheit, irritability, confusion, difficulty concentrating, headache, cold chills, and can progress to coma. A common misconception is that sweating always ceases when one is suffering heat stroke. Although this usually occurs, profuse sweating may be experienced as with heat exhaustion. Therefore, it is imperative that the body core temperature be reduced to 102 degrees Fahrenheit as rapidly as possible. This reduction can be accomplished by placing the victim in a shaded area, applying ice packs or wet cloths, and exposing the victim to breezes or fanning to accelerate evaporation. As with any heat stress, rapid fluid replacement is crucial. There are several factors that can influence heat loss or dissipation. Physical condition, age, and most importantly, shelter. Physical condition and weight can affect heat tolerance. Overweight people are less heat tolerant than others. It is not apparent whether the excess weight or lack of physical conditioning is the problem. Fat is an insulator, so it decreases heat loss to the environment. Lack of conditioning may cause the overweight person to lack the good circulation necessary for effective cooling. Age is another factor that may influence heat loss. Elderly people and children are at a higher risk when exposed to excessive heat. A possible cause for a lower heat tolerance in older people is the reduction in sweat production. Heat intolerance in children may be due to several factors. Their greater surface area to mass ratio, reduced sweat production, and higher metabolic rates. In a survival situation, think about physical condition and weight. Elderly people and children if aboard the aircraft. Another very important factor in preventing heat stress is shelter. Your first source of shelter is clothing. In a hot-land environment, remove garments that impair heat loss from your body. Wear enough clothing to protect yourself from the harmful rays of the sun. When dressing for a hot-land environment, use the following guidelines. Keep clothing baggy and layered. This helps to insulate you from the hot environment. Wear light-colored clothing. It reflects direct sunlight away from the body. Keep all areas of the body covered and protected, especially the head and the back of the neck. Keep clothing on. Never pull clothing completely off to cool yourself. Remove layers or make clothing more baggy as needed. Sheltering yourself from the elements should be a top priority. It is critical in any survival situation that you protect yourself from environmental extremes. Exposure is the main cause of death in a survival situation. Even if you or others are injured, it is critical that you find immediate protection from the extremes of the environment. Shelter in the desert or any open area will be limited. Your best protection may be provided by the aircraft. It is also important that you stay within the vicinity of the aircraft, as search and rescue personnel will be looking for an aircraft, not an individual. If the aircraft is not suitable, trees and brush can provide shade from the sun. Temperature extremes can be experienced in the desert or plains environments. Daytime temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while nighttime temperatures can dip into the lower 30s. This can cause you to go from heat exposure to cold exposure in the same day. For this reason, you must be prepared to protect yourself from both extremes. Reflective shelters, such as a space blanket, are ideal in a hot-land environment. A space blanket is made of a flexible material that will help you retain body heat, or if reversed, reflect heat, and it can also be used as a signaling device. Rock overhangs or caves also serve as good protection. Such shelter can protect you from the harmful rays of the sun, as well as the high dry winds that are common in open spaces. By raising your body 8 to 10 inches off the ground, you create a dead airspace which can reduce the temperature by 20 degrees. You can achieve this same effect by digging a depression a foot or more deep in the ground. Any effort you make to reduce the temperature to which you are being exposed can aid you in keeping your body's core temperature close to normal. However, never establish a survival site in a dry creek bed, a rollo, or river bed, as torrential rains can occur suddenly. Rain runoff can cause flash flooding, leaving you with no escape route. Try to locate an area on high ground. This will generally be cooler, safer, and make your campsite more visible. This can aid searchers both from the air and from the ground. Locating water is another top priority and may prove to be a life-saving endeavor. With limited or no activity, and with a temperature at 120 degrees or more, you may survive for only two or three days without water. You can carry small foil packets of water in your personal survival kit. This can help sustain you until you are able to find water. Although water will be scarce, it can be found by using various methods. Finding surface water can be difficult, but if you look in rock depressions, you may find water that has pooled. This may be brackish, but may be your only source. Morning dew in grassy areas may also provide sufficient water. It can be collected by tying absorbent cloth around your ankles and walking through the moisture-laden foliage. The water absorbed by the cloth can then be rung out and consumed. Water may also be found in dry washes and riverbeds by digging in depressed areas or in outer banks of bends in the riverbed. One of the best methods of obtaining water is by using a transpiration bag. A transpiration bag can be constructed by placing a large plastic bag, such as a lawn or leaf bag, over the branch of a tree or bush. Heat from the sun will cause moisture to be drawn from the foliage on the branch. This moisture will condense on the inner surface of the bag during the cool hours of the night. The amount of water obtained will depend on the density of the foliage. Up to two gallons of water per day for three days can be collected from the same branch. Bushes or deciduous and coniferous trees will all produce palatable water in sufficient amounts to sustain life. Cactus will provide water in amounts sufficient enough to sustain life in a dry land situation. Contrary to popular belief, cacti will not yield flowing water. Moisture must be sucked from the meat of the plant. However, an exceptional amount of fluid is held within cactus plants. There are many varieties of cacti. Those producing the greatest amounts of moisture for consumption are the saguaro, barrel and prickly pear. These are also the most prolific. The meat of the cactus can provide some nutritional value if eaten. Regardless of its source, water should always be purified. Mountain streams may appear crystal clear, but can contain pathogens and other unseen contaminants. Regard all water as being contaminated. There are several ways to purify water. Filtering water through a piece of cloth is called clarification and is not effective in removing bacteria, chemicals, parasites or other contaminants. This process merely removes particulates from the water. Purification tablets work well, but be aware that some products have a limited shelf life. To be effective, tablets must be used before their expiration date. Iodine drops or chlorine work just as well and do not lose their potency. Two drops per quart will purify the water. The best way to purify water is by boiling it. Boiling water for two minutes destroys any viruses, bacteria or pathogens in the water. Boiling water back and forth between two clean containers restores its palatability. Charcoal filtration with a filter pump is another effective method of purifying water. There are several quality filter pumps on the market. Just remember, the pump's size should be compatible with the size of your survival kit. It's imperative that you keep your body hydrated in a hot land survival situation. So be aware that water is available from many sources if you know where and how to find it. More importantly, know how to make it safe to drink. Food is not a matter of immediate priority. The average adult can live up to five weeks without food. Actually, it is best to refrain from eating unless you have sufficient water to accompany it. It takes a great amount of fluid to aid the digestion of food. So unless water is available, you should not consume food in any form. Proteins require more fluid for digestion by the body than do carbohydrates. So refrain from eating those foods high in protein such as meats and beans. Carbohydrates provide complex sugars and starches which the body utilizes as long-term energy-producing nutrients. When assembling your personal survival kit, it is advisable to put nutritional bars or dried fruit in the kit. The body can utilize carbohydrates over the long-term with a minimum fluid loss. Encountering venomous animals such as snakes, scorpions or spiders in desert or hot land environments is another matter of concern. Keep in mind, however, that they probably want to avoid you as much as you want to avoid them. Most encounters that result in bites or stings are the result of carelessness on the part of humans. Animals bite or sting humans as a matter of defense. They are generally not aggressive. One of the greatest concerns in hot, dry regions is the rattlesnake. There are 72 varieties of rattlesnakes in the world. Rattlers that you might encounter in the United States are the western diamondback, prairie, mojave, and sonoran sidewinder, and banded rock varieties. The snake remains inactive during the day and hangs out in cool shaded areas, usually under rocks, logs or brush, and they hunt by night. Since they are cold-blooded animals, their body temperature is regulated by their environment. At night, as the air cools, they expose themselves to the warm ground to raise their body temperature. You should use extreme caution when looking under or picking up rocks or logs. If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, try to remain as calm as possible. Deaths resulting from a rattlesnake bite are rare. Rattlesnakes inject a hemotoxin when they bite. Even though there isn't enough venom to kill a healthy adult, the bite may cause you to feel very ill. Additionally, the venom has a necrotizing effect that will break down or liquefy all tissue it comes in contact with. This will cause the bite area to swell and eventually cause an open wound that is very prone to infection. Placing a constricting bandage between the bite area and the heart will generally slow the spread of venom. Ice packs tend to concentrate the venom at the bite area. The use of snake bite kits is discouraged as the potential for infection is greatly increased. Another common snake found in hotland environments is the coral snake. These snakes are brightly colored, usually red, black and yellow, and are highly poisonous. Their venom delivery system is poor, but contrary to popular belief, coral snakes do not have to chew in order to inflict their venom. They are nocturnal and are rarely seen during the day. As with rattlesnakes, coral snakes generally spend the hot hours of the day under rocks, so always use extreme caution when picking up or moving rocks. Spiders, especially tarantulas, seem to create a sense of fear in people. Most stories of tarantula bites are either myth or greatly inflated. The tarantula is not an aggressive spider. Quite the contrary, tarantulas are docile. Their bites are not considered harmful to humans. Scorpions are found mostly in the desert. Careful inspection of clothing, footwear, and bedding should prevent a sting. The sting itself will bring about no complications and should be treated like a wasp or bee sting. Aggravating any animal will usually result in its defending itself. Give all venomous animals respectful distance. Survival in the desert, although extremely stressful, can be endured if you adapt yourself to your environment. Your chances of survival are greatly improved if you minimize your activities, conserve your energy by working only during the cool hours of the day, and maintain and retain your body fluids. The desert is unforgiving of mistakes, and in many instances a single mistake may be fatal. All hotland environments are extremely harsh, but they yield a wealth of plant and animal life. This combined with a comprehensive personal survival kit can greatly enhance your survival chances. Learning the various life forms, ways of procuring water, and methods of shelter construction should greatly minimize your survival stress. The goal is to come out alive. By learning hotland survival skills, you can increase your chances of being a survivor.