Mobile Medicine Kit

MOBILE MEDICINE KIT, a set of the most commonly used medicinal and other medical supplies, enclosed in a paper box or in a wooden or metal box of a determined size and shape. Mobile medicine kits are intended to provide timely medical assistance a) in a home setting before the arrival of a doctor; b) in conditions where the timely receipt of medical assistance from a stationary pharmacy is impossible due to insurmountable obstacles (disruptions on the way or residence in places remote from populated areas with organized medical and pharmaceutical assistance, and c) in an environment constantly threatening danger of injury, contusion, burn, requiring immediate assistance (campaigns, fires, sports events, hazardous industries, etc.). Mobile medicine kits first appeared in armies in the form of field pharmacies, and in the form of so-called individual packets, with which all participants of a campaign are usually supplied during military operations. Mobile medicine kits have also found wide application in fire brigades, where they are usually encountered in the form of special bags. Mobile medicine kits further widely penetrated factories and plants, being a necessary attribute of each individual workshop (workshop kits), into passenger trains and on steamships (travel kits), intended to provide first aid during accidents and in cases of illness en route. Recently, mainly after the October Revolution, in connection with the growth of cultural needs of the broad masses and the inadequacy of the existing network of stationary pharmacies, mobile medicine kits have received the widest distribution, especially among the rural collectivized population. The name, shape, composition, and dimensions of mobile medicine kits are determined by the purpose of their assignment. In general civilian use, the following mobile medicine kits are most frequently encountered: 1) pocket kits, representing a paper box in the shape of a cigarette case containing in minimal quantities up to 15-20 well-known medicines (aspirin powders, phenacetin, peppermint drops, valerian drops, Hoffmann's drops, Inozemtsev's drops, iodine tincture, adhesive plaster, collodion, gauze bandage, cotton wool, etc.). The cost of a pocket kit does not exceed 1 ruble 50 kopecks to 2 rubles. 2) Home kits, serving one or several families living far from populated areas—a small hanging cabinet or box, containing, in addition to the listed items, laxatives, certain ointments, and care items (thermometer, blood-sucking cups, rubber bladder, syringe, etc.), as well as veterinary remedies (creolin, Glauber's salt, etc.). 3) Collective farm kits, serving the medical and veterinary needs of the entire collective. The composition of collective farm kits is established by health authorities; they include up to 50 different remedies. The collective farm kit is kept in the collective farm office under the supervision of a specially designated person. 4) Veterinary kits, intended to serve large livestock organizations, are for the most part under the supervision of a veterinarian or agronomist-zootechnician. Among other mobile medicine kits, sports kits and kits for mobile nurseries serving the peasant population during summer field work should be noted. A special order of the People's Commissariat of Health of the RSFSR dated February 13, 1930, under No. 6430/1502, provides for the composition of mobile medicine kits for collective farms with an indication of the cases for using each medication.

G. Minkin.