CHAPTEE IV 

 DISPENSING 



In dispensing medicines, every attention should be given to 

 have the package neat and attractive. While any bottle or paper 

 v?ill serve in an emergency, we should so far as possible provide 

 good, clean, unlabeled bottles, not old beer bottles, v?hiskey flasks, 

 ,or patent medicine bottles, and dispense them wrapped in clean, 

 new paper. Powders should always be placed in uniform paper 

 and folded evenly, then wrapped in a neat package, or better still, 

 dispensed in boxes of suitable size. These in turn should be neatly 

 wrapped. 



Powders-Chartse. These are preparations of solid drugs in 

 a fine state of division for external or internal use. Usually they 

 are combinations of two or more drugs, and frequently one of the 

 drugs only serves as a diluent or base. The drugs are usually mixed 

 by triturating with a mortar and pestle although there are machines 

 for this purpose. In mixing the materials, care should be taken 

 to get the ingredients thoroughly and uniformly mixed. The mix- 

 ing should be done by placing the smallest amount of the mixture 

 in a mortar, triturating it with the next drug, then triturate after 

 the addition of each drug. When individual powders are to be 

 dispensed, the required number of papers, previously creased, 

 should be placed upon the table and the mixture transferred to 

 them with a spatula. After all the mixture has been transferred 

 to the papers, the amount in each should be equalized, so far as 

 possible by the eye. This method of division at best is only approxi- 

 mate and for exact work each powder should be weighed. Another 

 very good method to divide the powder is to arrange it upon a 

 smooth surface in the form of an elongated rectangle, and then 

 divide this mass into equal portions with a spatula and transfer each 

 portion to a paper. 



To Fold Powders. This is learned very quickly and easily with 

 a little practice. It consists of first laying the required number of 

 papers upon a table or other smooth surface. Each paper should 

 be provided with a fold of equal size at the top. After the powders 

 have been placed upon the papers, the next step is to bring the bot- 

 tom of the paper up to the crease already made. The flap of the 

 crease is then bent down. Another fold is then made at the flap. 

 Finally all that remains is to fold and crease the ends so that each 

 powder is equal in length. They may be equalized in length by 



