Nasopharyngeal airways (NPAs) keep an unconscious casualty's airway open by providing a soft passage from the nostril past the tongue, addressing the most common preventable airway problem in trauma: a relaxed tongue obstructing breathing. The NPA earns its place in individual kits because it is compact, fast, and tolerated by casualties who still have a gag reflex, making it the standard field airway adjunct taught in TCCC and first responder curricula.

This category features NPAs from trusted trauma brands like North American Rescue and Safeguard Medical, in the adult sizes common to field kits, typically packaged with lubricant for immediate use.

Sizing and technique are the substance of this category. NPAs are sized by internal diameter, with 28 French a common adult default, and field sizing is estimated against the casualty's nostril and the distance from nostril to earlobe. Lubrication is required for atraumatic insertion, which is why kit-ready NPAs package lubricant alongside the tube; insertion follows the floor of the nasal passage, and resistance means reposition or resize rather than force. Training matters here as much as anywhere in trauma care, and NPA insertion is a standard skill block in TCCC, Stop the Bleed adjuncts, and first responder courses. Contraindications, notably suspected facial or skull base fractures, are part of that training.

The NPA is the airway step of the M.A.R.C.H. sequence, rides in every complete IFAK, and pairs with the chest-injury supplies in chest seals for the breathing layers of a kit.