Medical documents

[babygirlamg]

Do I need to bring proof of my daughters allergies , for the plane or for dinning in the restaurants. Also documentation for her other medical issues where I will bringing medicine in my carry on , such as ADHD meds , asthma medication , epi pens

 

[hildarumpole]

No, you are not required to provide proof of allergies or other medical conditions at restaurants or to board a plane. We've had a couple aggressive TSA screeners tell us to put presciption bottles and epi-pens in the bins for screening, but most don't. Have them easily accessible just in case you encounter Supercop manning the bag checks.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I print out cards listing our allergies so that I can hand it to chefs. It's easier and more accurate than listing them verbally while the chef writes them down (things are easily missed/forgotten when given orally).

What do you bring with you when you go to the mall? You really don't need anything more than that. Some people are more comfortable if they have everything written down in a single place so that in the event of an emergency it's easy to hand the info to medical/emergency personnel but that's not any kind of requirement, just something people like to do.

TSA: For things like epi-pens or liquid medicines keep them in their original packages and throw them all in a big ziploc bag when flying. By keeping them all together in a clear bag they're easy to take out of your carryon to put in the bin which is really all you need to do to declare them but the ziploc really isn't required. These items are separate from your 3-1-1 bag which you are still entitled to. Pills do not need be declared.

 

[Mother23SNkids]

No, you are not required to provide proof of allergies or other medical conditions at restaurants or to board a plane. We've had a couple aggressive TSA screeners tell us to put presciption bottles and epi-pens in the bins for screening, but most don't. Have them easily accessible just in case you encounter Supercop manning the bag checks.

thank you for the information i didnt even think about this. we are planing our first trip here soon and have never been on a plane so we dont know what to expect and do.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If you take clanmcculloch's advise on placing all your carry-on medications in a large clear zipperbag, you won't experience the adversarial encounter at security the other poster unnecessar implies.

 

[deb010305]

I always carry the meds for the whole family, including epi-pens, ADHD meds, epilepsy meds, inhalers, and my DH's glucose test strips and lancets. I keep them all in one backpack - yes there's that many; and when going through security I tell the screener I have a bag full of medication including epi-pens. Not once have they given me a hard time. Sometimes they don't even look in the bag. I've never been asked to take the meds out of the bag, not even in Boston where the TSA seems to be over-vigilant sometimes .

 

[clanmcculloch]

If you've got enough stuff to fill and entire carry-on then that's correct you don't need to take the medical supplies out of the bag, you only have to tell the TSA agent which bag is all medical supplies. If you have other things in the carry-on then it's best to have them in a clear bag which you remove from the carry-on so the TSA agent can easily see them.

 

[hildarumpole]

If you take clanmcculloch's advise on placing all your carry-on medications in a large clear zipperbag, you won't experience the adversarial encounter at security the other poster unnecessar implies.

We have always put all meds in clear plastic bags within our carry-ons. Like I said, we've only encountered two agents who were aggressive about bag searches. We fly a lot and know how to behave. I wouldn't characterize our encounters with those agents as adversarial. We were polite and complied without question. The agents on those two different occasions were going through everyone's stuff with a fine tooth comb. Usually we have the opposite situation where one of my kids forgets to take out an electronic device or the 3-1-1 bag and security doesn't notice.


If your carry-on bags are neatly packed and organized, bag searches are less of a hassle. We use packing cubes and clear bags, so it's easy for the TSA to see what we have and a breeze to re-pack.

 

[clanmcculloch]

There's a difference between the clear bag being in the carry-on vs being taken out and placed in a bin. By placing the bag in a bin, the TSA agent can see before the bin even goes through the scanner that it's medication. If the clear bag is still inside the carry-on then the agent has to take a closer look to see what it is. It takes me an extra 3 seconds max to take the bag out of my carry-on so it's worth the effort to do so. I've never had a TSA agent give me a hard time. A couple times I've had agents swab medication but I see that as part of their job to do that. I'm actually surprised they don't do it more often.

If the agent was going through everything with a fine tooth comb then it sounds as though it probably had nothing to do with your medication or else they were maybe trying to make a point to you about declaring the liquid/sharps medication which you're not doing if you leave it in your carry-on (I would think that what they said and/or their body language would tell you which it was).