traveling with prescription medicine

[Speedy]

We have traveled to Mexico, most of the time by air, for the last twenty years to visit relatives with a number of different medicines for my transplant recipient daughter loose in baggies for that travel day stuffed in my shirt pocket, both oral syringes and pills, and never had a problem, never even asked about them. I leave them in my pocket when I clear security and the syringes protrude from the top of my pocket. I also draw up a week's supply in baggies which we put in our carry-on although we also carry on all the bottles, etc. so that makes that different because each container has the pharmacy's label. She used to need daily injections of human growth hormone and still gets Epo injections every few days, both of which require refrigeration. I draw those up in syringes before we leave and pack just those syringes in baggies in a cooler with freezer packs but that goes in checked baggage because of the questionable freezer packs.

I believe the rule is that you need a doc's letter listing the medicine but I have never gotten one. One year pre-9/11 we traveled with eight checked bags, seven of which contained a couple of hundred pounds of dialysate and numerous medical supplies, no doc's letter and no problems. (We carried-on the dialysis machine.) BTW, there was typically no charge for baggage filled with personal medical supplies.

Medicine can be carried-on in larger quantities than 100 mls. if needed that travel trip:

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/3-1-1-carry-ons

"Declare larger liquids. Medically required liquids, such as baby formula and food, breast milk and medications are allowed in excess of 3.4 ounces in reasonable quantities for the flight. It is not necessary to place medically required liquids in a zip-top bag. However, you must tell the Transportation Security Officer that you have medically necessary liquids at the beginning of the screening checkpoint process. Medically required liquids will be subjected to additional screening that could include being asked to open the container. We recommend, but do not require, that medication be labeled to facilitate the security process."

Note that last sentence.

[samintx]

Who is going to know if you are taking advil or a RX pill? I carry my RX pain pills in little vials on my purses all the time. Who knows? TSA etc are too busy to care or watch. On a trip I carry my RX pills in the ubiquitous plastic zip bag in original bottles but know one knows if I have any in my pocket or not.

[Speedy]

No big deal unless the drug sniffers sit down. Might get more action if you have a pound of pills.

samintx wrote:
Who is going to know if you are taking advil or a RX pill? I carry my RX pain pills in little vials on my purses all the time. Who knows? TSA etc are too busy to care or watch. On a trip I carry my RX pills in the ubiquitous plastic zip bag in original bottles but know one knows if I have any in my pocket or not.

On a marginally related note, as a truck driver I was routinely inspected (weekly). Every few years or so they would ask to see any medicine I had (including required spare eyeglasses). I would produce my Rx statin and OTC baby aspirin bottles and the officers would barely glance at them from several feet away while they remained in my hand. But I have been frisked as part of an inspection, my pockets emptied and turned inside out. I am quite certain any loose pills, including in a zip bag, would result in me being taken into custody.

[richorlin]

I concur with Speedy. Made four domestic flights in the last two weeks and had Zocor and baby aspirin in an unlabeled pill bottle in my carry-on and nothing was said by TSA personnel. Don't worry about domestic flights, but you might carry them in the original bottles for overseas flights, mainly for re-entering the US.

[Mike Johnson]

If you're going to leave your Oxycodone in its original bottle, keep it in your carry-on luggage. They'll Steal it All.

[Dennis S]

If it's a hardcore pain killer, just carry a prescription bottle with your name on it in the glove box.

[Ca Bob]

On a plane flight, make sure to carry anything you will really need in a carry on. For a two week trip overseas, I don't see any reason not to carry the prescription bottles. If you have a large prescription bottle of something like cough medicine, your pharmacy can provide you extra bottles of the right size (like the 100 ml size) with duplicate prescription labels, so everything is legally marked, and you don't have to carry the large pint bottle on your trip. Don't leave your plane tickets and your passport in the seatback pocket. Keep them in your own pocket. Keep photocopies of important information in a different pocket or in that same carry on.

[Speedy]

The size of the bottle isn't important, it is the total amount of liquid per person that must remain below 100 mls.

[davemchine]

Thanks everyone. All very good advice.

[Bill in NC]

Controlled substances in this state must be in the original prescription bottle.