5alive

Last summer, I got into a brief chat with some of you about taking my contact solution (larger than 3 oz) in a carry-on bag. Upon studying the TSA links you all shared, I was eager to try bringing my products on a future trip, because I hadn't been able to easily find them in the smaller shops by my hotels last summer and ended up stuck with my glasses.

Our trip was last week and we went to Houston for a few days, flying only with small carry-on suitcases, and now I'm posting back.

For those who want the punchline right away:
You both CAN and CAN'T take these products on flights in your carry-on bags. It all depends on who the TSA officer is (or perhaps who the commanding TSA officer is at the airport in question).

First, I should explain that I use Simply Saline. The problem is, it's an aerosol. (Because it's under pressure, no air can get in and no preservatives are needed; hence I don't get rashes on my eyelids and skin.)

I brought my Simply Saline and also my Clear Care contact cleaner, and included it in the same clear bag which I showed to the pre-screener at PDX.

The PDX lady at first said they weren't allowed but I told her they were for contacts and explained that I thought they fell under a medical rule. She then said "oh, that's okay then, I didn't realize what it was." And she even added "It's hard to find contact supplies in 3 oz."

The bag went through the line and to an officer. He was pretty courteous. Explained he would test both bottles, and that I was not to touch anything during the process unless he specifically asked me to. He wore gloves--fresh ones as needed. With the ClearCare, he told me that anything with hydrogen peroxide was not allowed on flights in the USA. I could choose to contest it, but I would probably lose and would get a pat-down search as part of the process. I declined.

He then had me remove the lid on the Saline, and he tested it on a small strip of paper. He never touched the liquid, btw. If it wasn't a Ph test, it worked very similarly. He said the Saline Solution passed and he gave it back to me.

Flying back from Houston, I again set my Simply Saline (the ClearCare being long gone) aside in its clear bag, and the first officer, who had a strong accent, told me that it was more than 3 oz. I explained to him the same things as before, that it was medical and I expected that it would be set aside and tested. He gave me an absolutely blank look--I don't know if he didn't understand me or what--and sent it through the Xray machine in its clear bag. A second officer approached me and told me that he absolutely could not approve the Simply Saline. I explained how it had worked in Portland.

He said he didn't have the facilities to test products (although I saw some little vials and things sitting there similar to PDX). He also told me that the PDX TSA officers were wrong, breaking the rules to do what they did. He told me that I could choose to contest it, but that I would likely lose and be subject to a pat-down search. I did ask why I needed a pat-down if I had already given him the bottle? He said "Because it is in your property." I told him "Fine, throw it away." And he said "You are welcome to contest it." I said "I don't want a pat down. Just throw it away." And so he threw it away.

So there you have it: Allowed to fly from Portland with Simply Saline and Not Allowed to fly from Houston with the same product.



The thread I referenced:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...omment-7787885

TSA Rules on Medically necessary Liquids
http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-informat...essary-liquids

Dukey1

Welcome to the world of human error.

J62

Maybe it was his strong accent.

5alive

Dukey, I agree with you, but I don't know which airport experience was the error and which was correct. Of course, as the traveler, I'd like to think it was Houston, but I don't honestly know the answer. My husband thinks the opposite. He believes the TSA has a shifting sands policy on purpose, so that a terrorist cannot take advantage of any firm policy.

J62, I don't think it was the accent--he passed me along to another officer who understood me quite well but just had a different opinion.

TC

Have you ever had a "pat down"? I get them all the time and it is absolutely no big deal. If that's all it takes to get your solution through...go for it. For some very strange reason, my left knee always shows up as questionable. I've never had surgery on it, no pins or other bio-mechanics. Anyway, they often want to pat me down because of that. I say, "go ahead". Its always a female office. She just lightly runs her hands over the outside of my pants/jeans. She is always wearing gloves. Then I'm sent through with no further hastle. I fly every month, am TSA Pre-check (at airports that have this option), and in some weeks take 3-4 flights. A pat down has never been a big issue.

BTW: The test that the agent did is for explosives. They sometimes will use one of the papers to swab a carry-on item. The paper is then put into a little machine that tests the residue for explosives.

Connie

I've flown several times with the 4 oz bottle of contact solution and never had trouble. It's the only small size I could find and it says TSA approved on the label. Like you, I have it in a separate baggy for "medical purposes". You just never know.

nlg

Whenever I get my eyes checked I ask my doctor for a small bottle of contact solution(or two) and always use this in my carry on. You can put a larger bottle in your checked bags.

nytraveler

I think that smaller airports may be more willing to check things out. But my understanding is that NO aerosols are allowed at all - and nothing over 3 oz. I have taken through things that were 3.5 ounces - no one looked at the EXACT size - but would never try to take through anything obviously larger.

5alive

Appreciate everyone's thoughts ...especially TC's explanation of the test and pat-down.

I have not ever had a pat down. On both flights, the officer told me straight up that I would likely lose the challenge to keep my product, so it seemed kinda like a waste of time to do the patdown and then throw away the product anyway.

Nytraveler, if you look to the website, medical liquids do have some exceptions to the 3 oz rule, but the devil is in the details.

My eye doctor doesn't have sample sizes of the brand I use--he told me that he wishes he could get them. Aerosols cannot go in checked bags. This is a rule from long before 9/11. As I understand it, the cargo hold is not fully pressurized and aerosols could burst.

J62

The cargo hold is the same pressure as the passenger cabin.

TC

Agree with J62......otherwise they couldn't transport animals in the cargo hold.

violetduck

It could have changed but there was a rule that you could put liquid medical supplies in a separate bag and present it along with your quart bag of liquids, gels, etc. The contact fluid is supposed to be considered medical.

5alive

TC and J62, great point, but then again, there are regular reports of animals dying in cargo.

I do know I have always avoided checking aerosols because someone told me not to at some point. Perhaps that's a myth and I just need to check my products.

TC

" there are regular reports of animals dying in cargo". ........not from lack of pressurization.

michelleNYC

I fly almost weekly and absolutely travel with aerosols in my luggage - both checked and carry-on (of course in the 3 oz limit for carry on). Never been questioned and never had the containers burst. And I travel through JFK, LGA, DCA so you would think it would have come up by now if it were an issue.

michelleNYC

And, yes, the cargo hold is pressurized.

5alive

Good to know a passenger airplane's cargo hold is fully pressurized. Even still, I would love to find the 3oz size for aerosols for the times I don't check a bag. I will keep looking if you have found them, Michelle.

spirobulldog

Almost all of the animals that die are heat related deaths. Young puppies or older dogs have issues with the flying process being overly stressful for them, but that would be a small percentage.

The cargo is pressurized and i've never had an aerosol can blow up. I have had other things come open and spill out. These have always been items that were previously opened and not new. (wifes makeup, suntan lotion, etc). If you buy a bag of chips just look at how the bag blows up from on the ground to 30,000 feet. Your ears adjust, but the bag doesn't. I don't think you would have anything to worry about unless the plane experienced a "sudden pressure loss" and the oxygen mask came out. My contact solution would be the last thing I would be worried about at that point.

sanibella

I don't know about your aerosol brand, but I wear the ClearCare -- and if you wear that you, like me, are really picky about your contact solutions. I get mine in box that contains a full size double pack at Target, which also advertises a "free," smaller bottle inside the box. The smaller bottle is the perfect size for traveling, so I just tuck those away to take along with me on trips.

5alive

Maybe most civilian planes have pressurized cargo holds. However, it is not true that cargo holds are always fully pressurized. Nor is it true as Spiro says that everyone's ears adjust in that situation.

My husband as a child was flown in a military cargo plane that was converted for passengers. It was a terrible flight, he was screaming. They had an ambulance on the tarmac for him. Afterward, the military staff present admitted to my in-laws that the hold was not fully pressurized. He has had problems with his ears ever since, pressure and pain. ENTs have not been a help and it is something he lives with.