time for an EMT question

[Alpo]

Would you carry nitrous in the ambulance, for any reason?

 

If you did, what would you use it for?

 

Okay this is a comic. This is a cartoon. This is not real. Everybody understand that?

 

 

With the explosion in the background I see Roger the raccoon has got a mask up to his face, and I thought he was on oxygen which made sense. Then I noticed the tank said N2O. Nitrous oxide.

[Calamity Kris]

My experience is ancient.  That being said, no we would not have carried nitrous in the ambulance or response vehicle.  We would not have had any need to calm a patient or render them unconscious.  On the contrary, you need your patient conscious so they can tell you where it hurts and take effective vital signs.  Things have changed since I left the field, so I can't tell you for certain.

Edited February 27 by Calamity Kris

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

It was proposed at one time for patient analgesia, self administered with a hand held mask -- if the patient went too deeply unconscious, the theory (read salesman) said, relaxation would drop the arm, mask falls off, patient gets no more nitrous.

Saw this at the annual EMS conference in ... good Lord, that was back in the late Seventies ... I'm with Calamity Kris, it's been a while since I wore medic's blue and ran under the lights-and-siren!

[Alpo]

This particular comic was run on July 18th, 2012.

[Alpo]

19 minutes ago, Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 said:

self administered with a hand held mask -- if the patient went too deeply unconscious, the theory (read salesman) said, relaxation would drop the arm, mask falls off, patient gets no more nitrous.

Maybe the artist was at the same convention. Because I see that Roger is holding the mask to his own face. No EMT doing it for him.

[Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L]

We never carried it (Cypress Creek EMS, Houston, TX)

[watab kid]

i think they should carry anything they can legally administer to save a life , as to when , im not qualified to say , 

 

both times in my life that ive been in an ambulance  i was treated differently - 

 

in 1972 i mentioned that my arm was being smashed against the side of the van , i was bleeding they ignored it , they had a major mess to clean up when they took me out of the van , there was blood everywhere on the wall where i mentioned i was bleeding , i lived , they  got to clean it up , would have been so easy to just lift my arm up onto my body and not leave it dangling off the gurney  tangled in that belt , 

then the cop[ at the hospital accused me of drinking - whiskey bottle at the scene in my pocket - till the nurse told him that was the other accident , he never apologized , just left the room , then the nurse that told me id lost my finger - i would jhave been fine with that but in reality it was just disfigured - ill never get a ring on my right ring finger again , im ok with that - dont wear jewelry 

 

the second time they were looking at everything , talking to me and paying attention to what i was saying , they responded to every request , i thank them every day in my prayers , such good caring people , left me with a stuffed teddy bear [not sure why but the dog liked it when he visited ]

and they actually diagnosed the problem before the doctor confirmed it and fixed it , this experience was fantastic other than my samoli nurse not liking that my wife brought my dog to visit every day 

[WOLFY]

nope not in my time (90s until

now-a-days) with the SFFD

 

not even in the burningman fire dept for that matter

 

also- DocN isn’t very bright ; nitrous tanks are usually blue or silver and blue

Edited February 28 by WOLFY

[Dapper Dave]

When I was in the medical supply field 25 years ago, we never supplied nitrous to anywhere but the low cost dental clinics on the south side. Seriously.