How to survive getting lost in the jungle

However life-threatening the situation, don't panic, there's always a way of ensuring you survive.

However slim the chances might be of us ever having to face a life-threatening situation, here at MSN Him we believe in being prepared for every eventuality.

That's why we've asked the people in the know to help us formulate the ultimate survival guide. If you've ever wondered how you should react if you find yourself under attack from killer bees, immobilised by serious injury, bitten by a venomous snake, lost in the wilderness or, erm, abducted by aliens, look no further.

From the serious to, erm, the not-so-serious life-threatening scenarios, here's our guide to survival.

• How to survive getting lost in the jungle

When it comes to surviving in the jungle, Ian Craddock, a former army officer and founder of Guyana-based outfit Bushmasters Extreme Adventure Holidays (www.bushmasters.co.uk), believes avoiding infection is key.

"You'll need water, but this needs to be good to drink as the chance of catching a bug or infection is very likely, and any debilitating illness is bad in the tropics," warns Ian. "Next, build a shelter and platform to sleep on to get off the ground, then light a fire, to purify water, keep mozzies away, cook food, boost morale, provide warmth and most importantly to signal to rescuers. For someone not accustomed to the jungle, self-rescue is going to be hard.

"Stay near an obvious rescue highway like a river and make yourself easily visible to rescue teams and aeroplanes. You'll need food to keep up strength - the best bet is fish and heart of palm trees. If all else fails, the rivers are the jungle highways and following them downstream will eventually lead to people."