Show off your medical supplies!

Yeah, it's seriously not that difficult to do and some people try to make it sound harder than it is to discourage people from helping for some reason. Just so long as you aren't doing harm and the end-user remembers not to get all super-aggressive with an NPA it's not that big of an issue.

These are probably the best written instructions I've come across for the NPA.

The Art of the NPA (*Click*)

•1) Know where they are kept. (Meaning it doesn't do you or the pt any good if you have one, but can't find it when you/they need it).

•2) Grab the right size and know how to measure.(he's right, care givers do tend to undersize airway adjuncts).

•3) Lube is your friend, but time is not. (Breathing is kind of a critical function, so the sooner it gets done the better - Yeah, lube the thing up. Just don't spend all day in it).

•4.) Don’t worry to much about the bevel. (Choose the largest nostril to insert it [usually the right] in and point it facing towards the mouth).

•5.) Back and forth, back and forth, they DOWN. (If you just gently but firmly rock the NPA [with key emphasis on the 'gently' part of it] from the 4 o'clock to the 8 o'clock twice while pressing forward it'll almost always go it without an issue. If you do meet resistance twist gently but firmly past it).

The only time there are issues is when medical personnel or servicemen can't find the NPA, they don't size it correctly, don't lube it up at all (you can also use spit from the patients mouth if you lost the packet of lube that comes with it) and then get aggressive with it to the point where they think that they're going to hear a 'Crunch' when it's sunk properly. If you need to secure an airway and you do/don't do those things correctly and remember to be cautious with it in a pt with head/facial trauma you'll be fine.


Yeah, I use the zip-lock method too for differentiating medical supplies into categories too. Easy, cheap and effective.

This is the box of bandaids (as this is kind of a pic thread) I bought as the filler for the boo-boo section of it.


It comes with . . .
•21 anti-septic towelettes, •21 alcohol prep pad's, •Two antibiotic ointment packets, •2 burn cream packets, •3 sting relief pads, •3 insect repellent ointment, •One poison ivy towelette

•Six antacid tablets, •6 electrolyte tablets, •6 non-aspirin tablets (I'm guessing that they're meaning Tylenol), •40 adhesive bandages three-quarter inch by 3 inch, •30 adhesive bandages, •10 butterfly closures, •2 moleskins, •5 waterproof bandages.

•One waterproof adhesive tape, •10 sterile gauze pads, •4 sterile 4 x 4's, •1 sterile gauze pad trauma •5 x 9"one, •1 two inch inch ACE wrap

•10 cotton tipped applicator's, •1 instant cold pack, •two examination gloves, •one first aid guide, •one set of tweezers, •five finger splints, •four safety pins, •two splinter remover's, •one bright/glow stick that (supposedly) last 12 hours.

My wife is kind of traditional in that anything having to do with the vehicles or preparedness is my domain. So she expects that it'll be there (and it always is).

One of the things I'm adding to the simple first aid kit is this one . . .
Patrol Officers Pocket Trauma Kit (*Click*)


Excuse the stock image, but I haven't gotten it yet.

It contains. :

That way all the bandaids, tape, ibuprofen and stuff for minor injuries that people think of normally and reach for in a FAK is there, but there's some supplies/gear for major injuries as well. Gotta find a small obvious bag to stick it in though. There will also be the Quik-Clot, an ACE bandage, more 5x9" trauma pads, 4x4 sterile gauze, 3 six inch kling gauze, some Vaseline gauze for an occlusive dressing and so on.

I don't really like the wrap-n-tuck tourniquets all that much, but they do work and it'll be okay until I buy two more of the C-A-T type tourniquets. Then I can just keep that one in there to use as a compression type bandage.