?'s about traveling with medications

[eeyoresmom]

Can someone please tell me how you travel with both prescription meds and vitamins? I'm guessing the prescription med should be in my carry on.How about vitamins? I take 4 different ones and wanted to put just what I need in one small bottle. Is that ok to do? TIA

 

[Straughn]

I carry my prescriptions, in their original, label bottles, in my carry-in. Vitamins I just throw in a zip lock bag and put them in my carry-on. I have never had a problem with either.

 

[Figaro]

Unless you are flying out of the country, putting your pills into a ziplock or a week long pill container will be just fine. The only time it seems to turn into a hassle is when we go to Mexico and every single medication (prescription and non-prescription) have to be in their original containers. I also bring a letter from my physician listing my medications and have had to show that both at customs here and in Mexico.

 

[caseylouandtyler2]

How about traveling with liquid medications that have to be refrigerated. Will I have a problem with security at the airport? I'm sure they will want to put it through the scanner thing. Will that machine alter it in anyway?

 

[Figaro]

I've put my liquid medications in my carry-ons through the x-ray many, many times and have never had a problem. You can ask your pharmacist if you are worried, but I doubt if there is going to be a problem. There are many cooling travel packs for medications and we use that when we fly, as well as packing a little mini-cooler that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter of our car and has an AC adapter for the hotel room.

 

[caseylouandtyler2]

figaro,
Do you think a baby bottle bag with an ice pack will work for the plane ride? I live about 1 1/2 hrs from airport, 3 hr flight. I'm not worried about once we get there. There will be a fridge in the room.

 

[Figaro]

Hi, caseylouandtyler2!

I would check with your pharmacist and see what the temperature range your medication can handle. If it is a fairly broad range then handling the way you are going to handle it will be fine (be careful not to put the medication so close to the ice that it freezes the medication, been there done that and had to toss out some fairly expensive medications)(smile). If you look on line for diabetic travel supplies, you should find neat little padded cases that hold a frozen gel pack and I use that so that I don't have to deal with ice.

 

[poohbear7]

Hi ,

When we travelled with my 4 month old grandaughter we used a small insulated diaper bag for her bottles and a ice pack with no problems. It did have to go through the ex ray machines. We also had her food and snacks in the bag.

 

[Figaro]

Oh, and I just remembered that medications don't count for your carry-on totals. I have so many at the moment, that they fill up one entire small carry-on and that isn't counted against the total number of carry-ons. I always put that one under the seat if at all possible, since I don't want to risk something getting broken or crushed in the overhead bins.

 

[caseylouandtyler2]

Figaro,
Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty sure my ice pack is a gel pack. As for the phamacist he really wasn't much help. It is a medication that he is not that familiar with in the compounded liquid form. However, he was the only pharmacist in our area that would make it for us. He suggested I call the childrens hospital pharmacy and ask them. Tossing it wouldn't be that big of a deal IF I could be assured to get it compounded in FL. The cost is very very inexpensive, But after visiting the eight pharmacies close to my house and all of them unwilling or unable to compound it. We sort of treat it like liquid gold.

Thanks again for advice, I'm going to call hospital pharmacy tomorrow.