Prescription Drugs
 

Going to europe in sept. Do your prescription drugs have to be in the orignal Container or do you need the prescription. wife would like to put her medication in a different case, It has the days marked on it but no indiction of the type of medication. Would this be allowed by security at airports and custom. thank you

if she puts the marked by day container in her checked luggage she will have no problem. if you do this carry copies of the scripts with you on the plane in case your checked bags are misplaced.
if she wants to use carry on - leave them in the originals to travel and take the different case with to fill on arrival. there really are no new tsa restrictions on taking pills on the plane though. pills do not need to go into the quart size zip-loc bag with gels and liquids.

I would caution against putting medication in your checked luggage, especially out of US since to get them replaced if lost would be a nightmare.

Official TSA rules state that medication should be in original containers, but this is rarely enforced. I would be concerned if your wife were on a frequently abused medication, such as narcotics. Since trip is not until September, it should be easy to either get small labeled bottles from pharmacy if you want to be extra careful or get pharmacy to print a list of your medications and then pack in case as usual.

Then just leave it in your carry-on luggage at security. Not necessary to even take it out - if they see it on x-ray and want to hand inspect it, let them decide that - do not go looking for trouble. Same thing at customs/immigration in Europe.

Also, I suggest she pack an extra day or 2 of medication - pills could get lost, your return could be delayed, etc.

Can someone shed light on recent developments? Would a prescription bottle from a pharmacy be good enough?

I assume that that over-the-counter Advil, etc., is ok?

Are there countries that have additional restrictions on prescription drugs? I'll be in Switzerland, Italy and the UK.

Thanks!

Sorry, wrong forum...

No one has ever questioned my pills, but I do take them in my carry-on, not checked, and in their original containers. Again vitamins and supplements in ziplocks went thru, but I'm not sure one person's personal experience should guide you. Rather check your airline guidelines.

It's probably best to carry them in their original containers, and in a zip lock bag (just to keep all together and organized), and definitely not in a checked bag. If the bottles are large, she can ask the pharmacist for smaller containers with labels.

My husband carries his assortment in a weekly case in the US, but in the original containers when we go to Europe.

I always peel the labels off of prescription bottles and affix them to the inside of snack sized zip lock bags - then fill. The bags take up much less room than bottles but the original pharmacy labels are still intake. You might even be able to take your zip bags to the pharmacy and ask them to affix the labels for you for travel.

Best advice is to check TSA and/or airline sites but I just flew back and forth to Mexico and all my scripts and vitamins were in a day of the week type container, not the original script bottles. They opened them up at security since I always travel with them in my carry on but didn't seem to have any problems with them.

Another reason to not have them in checked bags<flight delays. I don't care how much you plead, if your flight is stuck at a gate for 8+ hours, you're NOT getting anything out of the hold.

You should always keep your prescriptions in their original containers when traveling. If you have any type of pills in an unmarked container, you can be held at customs until the medication is confirmed. The original container from the pharmacy (with your name, address, doctor, medication, etc.) serves as the prescription - so there is no need for extra documentation. Also, check to see if your medication is legal in the country that you are visiting. Believe it or not, some medications are illegal in foreign countries (codeine, etc.). Do your research before leaving for your trip.

Dawn - just wondering what country might have codeine as illegal - it is available over the counter without prescription in Canada and many other countries.

OP - this question is asked all the time here. The synopsis of responses is while official rules require one to carry prescription meds in original pharmacy labelled bottle, few, if any, have remported any problem with doing just what you propose.

And in fact, TSA, customs, etc are not pharmacists and are too busy checking our shampoo and shoes to care. Think about it - what would stop me from taking a bottle labelled Tylenol and putting whatever I wanted in it - same with prescriptions. With thousands of medications out there plus multiple different appearing generics of many, no one can possibly tell what is what.

Many people get mail order prescriptions in huge bottles - who wants to carry those around. If it were me and convenient, I would ask my MD or pharmacist for list of my medications, pack my pills in whatever I want, and enjoy my trip. (And as a nurse, I am probably the worst - I am on only one prescription medication but when I travel I throw as many as I will need into my Motrin bottle and off I go)

Just realized this post is over a year old and I responded twice. Time to get off the computer.

Hi Gail,

Codeine is illegal in some Arab countries, such as Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain, to name a few. Also, if your prescription contains any kind of narcotic, you definitely need to have the original prescription container. Why would anyone want to take a chance of being detained or of having their medication confiscated? I plan on bringing my medication to Europe in the original container inside my carry-on.