You’re ready to take that trip you’ve been putting off. You’ve got your airline tickets, confirmed your hotel and rental car reservations and arranged for a neighbor to water your plants. You’re about to begin packing your checked and carry-on baggage and then it occurs to you that you’re not sure if you need to take special precautions with your prescription medications while traveling.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 69 percent of adults in the U.S. aged 40 to 79 use one or more prescription drugs and about 22 percent use five or more. If you’re included in this group, you might have some concerns about taking multiple prescriptions with you on your trip.
Partly due to the events of 9/11, travelers must abide by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules and regulations when they fly. These measures may include security screenings involving walking through checkpoints, pat-downs and baggage searches. While the main objective is to prevent any sort of weapon from being taken on board, you may be surprised at the other items you can’t take in your carry-on bag. Here’s the full list of what’s allowed – and what’s not.
Some of these new rules may impact the medications you take and must travel with. Here are five best practices that will make it a breeze to travel with multiple medications.
Take more than you need. The rule of thumb when packing medications for your trip is to pack twice as much medication as you will need – just to be on the safe side. Remember to pack all prescription medications in your carry-on bag, so you still have access to your pills even if your checked luggage winds up going to a different destination.
Label all medications. Make sure medications are clearly labeled to facilitate the screening process. You’ll be responsible for presenting your medications to authorities during the checks, and you’ll be responsible for re-packing the medication in your bag.
Safely transport liquids. Tell the TSA officer if you have liquid medications and other related such as freezer bags or syringes. Label them to help the screening process go more smoothly. The TSA has what’s known as a 3-1-1 liquids rule exemption, which means that you’re allowed to take larger amounts of medically necessary liquids, gels and aerosols, but you need to declare and explain them to officers at the checkpoint. You can carry these items into the cabin if you declare them, they’re required during your flight or not commonly available at your travel destination. Be sure you put all liquid medication bottles inside a zip-lock bag to prevent spills en route to your destination.
Check individual state laws. While the TSA does not require passengers to transport medications in prescription bottles, some states have individual laws about the labeling of prescription meds. If you have questions or are traveling internationally, contact your airline.
Use dosage packs. You can streamline both the screening and re-packing process and be sure you’re in compliance with TSA or state guidelines when using personalized medication dose packs from PersonalRX®. These dose packs group and clearly label your prescription medications for easy dispensing wherever your travels take you. PersonalRX® can even deliver your customized dosage packs to your travel destination on a monthly basis, for the length of your stay.
Packing or receiving your prescriptions on time shouldn’t be a worry just when you are excited to get back out on the road. Let PersonalRX® manage your medications so you can enjoy visiting old friends or new destinations!
