Quote:
Originally Posted by Odin21
I am a National Guard medic with one tour and I know that I have a lot to learn still. Why do you carry 8 betadyne swabs in addition to 8 alcohol pads? I have heard of using alcohol pads to help clean the site before a NCD and I understand that you could do the same thing with betadyne. However, it looks like you only carry 2 14 ga needles for NCDs- do you swab the site multiple times? I was told in 68W school to try to use alcohol before sticking, but that it was not as important as them breathing- "That is what we have ABX later for." Is there another use for betadyne that I am missing? Is sterile technique that important that I need to carry more alcohol pads and betadyne swabs in my vest kit? Thank you so much for your time and guidance.
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Hey Odin,
I'm pretty sure the 8 betadyne and alcohol swabs had more to do with space than it did with anything else. A large 14GA cath for a decomp is an awkward piece of kit to jam into a little pouch. Sometimes, a medic can find him/herself in the position of getting as many of those into the pouch as possible and still finding a little space to cram in a few odds and ends - hence the extra swabs.
Unfortunately, sometimes the pouch dictates what extra few items can be squeezed in.
Personally, if my patient load is such that I've decompressed two chests and there are still more tension pneumos awaiting relief, then I'm probably in my second line equipment and telling my 18E to get our MASCAL protocol rocking - just me.
Remember, your second line is still there.
Additionally, a good medic is treating guys with tension pneumos out of their own kit, not out of his own. Yours are for emergencies (read: kit failures), or for you.
Thanks for the PM. Sorry for the late response. Take care.
D9