So Matthew, my 15 year-old, just called from a hiking/caving trip and asked what he could do to make the arch of his foot stop hurting. No serious injury, just lots of pain. First question was whether or not he had his
"EmHERBency" Kit in his pack, which, of course he did not. Next was whether or not he at least had a bottle of Tei-Fu in his pocket, which, of course, he also did not. (Info on both items is on
my website.) Both are only on the mother-says-must-pack items list, which, also, of course, means they are usually not. I asked if he was close enough to civilization for his leaders to get to a drug store, in which case I would have told him to get some epsom salts, drink a teaspoon or so every couple of hours to get his magnesium up so the cramping would go down, soak a sock in hot water mixed with the salts and wrap his foot; again, of course, the answer was "no".
So off to work with what he had, which is why I'm writing my book on home-made health care.
