Evening star., 1936-12-17

WHAT'S In the medicine closet?
Templetcn Jones read q piece in the
paper about how most family medicine
chests hold far too many things.
The Jones medicine cabinet was q
tremendous one, with room in it for all
the family towels, as well as the following
list:
Wash clothes, cleansing tissues, alb
sorbent cotton, two empty boxes, can Of
talcum powder, can of dusting powder,
lotion, cream to chase mosquitoes away,
small cardboard box which eye drops
came in, bottle Of nose drops.
Box of throat pastiles, jar of cold
cream, small bottle of Oil of pennyroyal
Ito chase fieas away, jar of ointment
(Six years old, jar OF burn ointment,
three jars of assorted ointmentS, bottle
OF lotion.
Small bottle of soda mints, jar Of salve,
bottle of witch hazel, two bottles Of eye
drops, two tubes of toothpaste, one gold
plated razor, one chromium razor, one
box for third razor, the third razor,
fourth, nth and sixth razors.
~ x+*
Two toothbrushes, two shaving
brushes Zone used for "a years. the sec
ond never used at alb. two rolls Of ad-
hesive tape, bottle OF well-known head
ache remedy, three tubes assorted
shaving creams Of various types, bottles
of various remedies for small skin
troubles.
Thirty cakes Of soap. assorted, rang
ing from one cake of bubble" soap
from Hungary q years old to many
OF the popular favorites OF America
today: two bottles OF shampoo, two
bottles OF popular antiseptic.
Two bottles milk OF magnesia, two
razor blade sharpeners, four small boxes
OF razor blades, one jar containing dis
carded blades for 5 years twon't cut
whiSkerS but will cut anything elSe),
bottle of lotion, two bottles shaving
lotion, small box of throat pastiles,
bottle of sun tan lotion IS years old.
Bottle popular cold ointment, tube Of
lniment ointment, three old razors, not
used in 10 years; box of boric acid, one
empty bottle, jar Of nasal jell, bottle soda
pepsin tablets (old, do not smell good)
Two small tubes of eye ointment, one
bottle citronella oil. one roll gauze
bandage, one bottle dental lotion, tube
of camphorated ice, small tube of styptic
pencil (this really lasts forever, two
boxes laxatives, two bottles popular
antiseptics to be painted on" one red,
one dark; medicine dropperS, powders,
two hot-water bottles.
Templeton Jones surveying this mass
of articles, wondered how it all got
there.
When he stopped to look at the tine
ture of iodine. he realized that the same
bottle had been there for at least five
years.
During that time no doubt so much Of
the alcohol had evaporated that If ap-
piled to cut 1t would burn the skin
like fire, due TO the concentration.
This old standby antiseptic. however
had given way to popular article which
stained the skin RED. Jones had heard
many structures on this one, over the
years, but had secured uniform good
results with it. nevertheless. He sup
posed that he had been fortunate.
He had looked this one up in big
medical work, and had read that, while
it was undoubtedly a good antiseptic,
1t had its limitations, in regard to which
germs it would kill more or less true
of all of them. The book said that
this antiSeptic had strange habit of
losing its strength suddenly, and for no
discoverable reason. Well. thought Jones,
he guess he had been fortunate, that
was all.
Still, it might not be bad idea at all
to overhaul the small bottles of these
germicides, now and then, and buy new