The Medicine Chest
The contents of the motor camper’s medicine chest will depend somewhat on his preference as to the school of medicine. Yet certain simple remedies will doubtless be acceptable to any of the medical systems. A Red Cross First Aid Kit should, of course, be included in the camper’s outfit. So, too, should Epsom salts and some other cathartic, such as cascara tablets or castor oil. Spirits of camphor taken in small doses helps most people to stop or [[134]]throw off a cold. Sun cholera tablets are of value in diarrhea, which often develops from a change of drinking water. Mustard is valuable for external application as a counter irritant in case of colds, or when needed to mix with water as an emetic. An excellent remedy for sprains is the iodine emollient known as Iodex. It relieves the sprain and will not burn and blister as will the tincture of iodine, which is also poisonous.
If the reader has a family physician, it would be well to ask this physician to make up a medicine kit for the camping trip.
The articles mentioned above are harmless, and about all that the motor camper should use without the expert advice of a physician.
There are some who may prefer something more elaborate than the simple articles previously mentioned. A camper of many years’ experience itemizes the following as the requisites of a medicine kit:
- Quinine pills or tablets.
- Rhubarb pills or tablets.
- Bicarbonate of soda or soda mint tablets.
- Bismuth subnitrate.
- Chlorate of potash.
- Warburg’s tincture.
- Sun cholera pills.
- Small rolls of antiseptic bandages.
- Box zinc ointment.
- Bottle tincture of iodine.
- Permanganate of potash. [[135]]
- Bottle of iodoform.
- Some powerful stimulant.
- Adhesive surgeons’ plaster, but not court-plaster.
The stimulant is included to relieve those faint from loss of blood, drowning or injury. Permanganate of potash solution will relieve pain from insect bites and poison ivy. Antiseptic tablets are for slight scratches, cuts or bruises.
Be careful to have everything plainly labeled and poisons marked in heavy black letters and with skull and cross-bones.