Interesting find Wayne -- thanks for sharing.

I don't I buy into her suggestion to spear the sides of the tongue with safety pins and tie it off to a PT's chin to protect the airway. A $2.00 Berman OPA would be a much safer and more effective solution.

The tongue is full of relatively large blood vessels, sensitive nerves, and taste buds, not to mention that the mouth is full of bacteria (especially in a prolonged back country environment with less than optimal oral care).

I'm sure her argument would be that the safety pins and string serve as an improvised OPA without having to carry additional medical devices, but one could make the same argument by saying drop the safety pins and string and simply skewer the tongue with a sharpened stick found along the edge of the trail.

Yeah, that isn't going to happen either...

Jim