Life After Zombie Skills

When people talk about the zombie apocalypse, they usually focus on what kinds of weapons they will have and what kinds of fighting skills they will need.  While those are important factors to consider, it’s also equally important to obtain other survival skills, including First Aid and outdoor survival skills.

You can be the best shot ever, but if you’re trapped in the woods and hungry, you’d better figure out real fast what is poisonous and what isn’t.  You don’t want to come back as a zombie because you ate the wrong mushroom or drank tainted water.  Plus, you’ll need to know how to care for injuries, even minor ones.  A tiny scratch could open the door for tons of bacteria, and I’m sure you don’t want to come back as a zombie because you died from a staph infection.

Even if you don’t leave the city to take your chances in nature, it will still be important to know survival skills.  Again, injuries can happen in the city.  There are numerous things to cut yourself on or things to fall down.  And don’t think that just because you have access to food it will be safe.  We kill a lot of bacteria by cooking our food thoroughly.  Don’t forget about sanitary conditions, either.  Once the city falls to the undead horde, running water might not be a luxury anymore.  Neither will garbage trucks.  Once a zombie is put down for good, who’s going to take care of the corpse?  Germs thrive in unsanitary conditions such as these.

If your plan after the zombie uprising is to head to the hills (or forest or mountains or desert or anywhere else away from civilization), make sure you are an expert on how to survive there.  Know which plants will keep you alive, which ones will kill you, and which have medicinal purposes.  Know how to distill water so it is safe to drink.  Learn how to make medical supplies with the items available to you.  Eventually, you’ll have to live off the land, so know what thrives in each area so you will have successful crops for years to come.

If you decide to take your chances in the city, you’ll still have to know the same skills.  You’ll have to know how to make water safe and how to heal wounds.  You’ll have more supplies at your disposal, but be cautious of how they are used, they won’t last forever—and realize that they’ll probably be guarded by walking dead. 

After the zombies take over the world, the first thing you’ll need to do is rely on your weapons and fighting skills to get you to a safe place.  After that, you’ll need your wits and knowledge of the surrounding landscape.  Survival isn’t about being the strongest or smartest, it’s about finding the balance between those two.  Do yourself and favor and arm yourself with knowledge and weapons before facing the undead.  Your life will depend on it.