Many people today rely on prescription medications in order to deal with medical problems, injuries or diseases. Some of these medications must be taken every day. The heightened level of security at airports today can make traveling with prescription medications difficult. Security personnel might be suspicious that the medications are illegal. You need to know how to avoid problems when traveling with prescription medications.
Keep Your Medications in the Original Packaging
You want to keep any medications you travel with in the original packaging. This means the actual prescription bottle with all the proper labeling. Never attempt to travel with medications in a generic container or a plastic bag. Prescription drug containers are clearly identifiable to security personnel and contain most of the relevant information needed to prevent problems.
Bring the Prescription or a Doctor’s Note
You really need more than just the original packaging for your prescription drugs when traveling. This is because security personnel at airports might think something is suspicious about the packaging or the pills inside for no real reason. This is why you need to bring along a copy of the original prescription to verify the medications are legitimate and necessary. If you have a particularly potent drug that is heavily regulated, then you might also want to carry a doctor’s note stating you need the medications.
Write Your Doctor’s Information on the Container
Although you might bring along a good amount of supporting documentation for your prescription medications, you still want each bottle of pills to be a self-contained source of information for security screeners. You want to make certain that the contact information for your doctor is clearly written or printed on the prescription container. Additionally, ensure that your name appears clearly on the label. This will allow screeners to quickly see that all your prescriptions are from the same source and for the same person. It will also simplify the process of calling to verify your prescriptions if necessary.
Put the Containers in Clear Plastic Bags
Take all of your prescription medication containers and place them into a clear plastic food bag that seals tightly along the top. You want to place this bag on top of everything else in your luggage. Do not bury it or make the bag difficult to find since this could cause problems with security. The clear plastic bag allows the screeners to quickly assess all your medications at once. It also keeps everything together so that there is no need for security personnel to tear apart every piece of your luggage.
Always Declare Your Medications
A final point to remember when traveling with prescription drugs is that you want to be as transparent as possible. This is why you want to always declare your medications whenever security personnel start to check your baggage. This immediately lets the security staff know that you are not attempting to hide or smuggle your medications. Direct the security person to the exact location of your medications when you do this. Simply declaring your medications at security checkpoints will allow you to get through the screening process much faster.