Basic items that should be in every home medicine chest to care for wartime casualties have been listed for American citizens by a government department. The essentials include sterile gauze for bandages and adhesive tape, scissors, tweezers, clinical thermometer and a group of simple medicines. Topping this list is a tannic acid jelly for burns; greasy ointments are advised against. Five-grain tablets of aspirin are suggested for relief of pain, but these are to be used in small doses and not too frequently. For faintness, the medicine chest should have a bottle of aromatic spirits of ammonia. Bicarbonate of soda is indicated for indigestion, and in larger quantities as an emetic. For laxatives, mineral oil or milk of magnesia are suggested. An antiseptic such as iodine is also a valuable standby.