Preparing to take a trip is always easy with a checklist. But while extra underwear and a phone charger are at the top of your list, doctors say it’s important to think ahead about your health.
“There is no guarantee that the medicine you will need will be available if you are not at home,” Dr. Angela Tucker, a family medicine physician at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. “If you need medicine at a certain time, you may not have time to try to get it [it] if you don’t feel well.”
If you have a chronic illness, it’s important to pack carefully. “Depending on the type of medication you’re taking, it can be dangerous and dangerous to stop taking it or go days without it,” Christina Inteso, a clinical pharmacy technician at Corewell Health, told Yahoo Life.
Since it’s important to pack light especially with the high cost of luggage these days taking your medicine cabinet doesn’t make sense. So what should you pack and what can you skip? Doctors break it down.
Prescription drugs require more planning
Prescriptions can be difficult, especially if you are going to get refills while you are gone. That’s why it’s a good idea to talk to your prescribing doctor or pharmacist about getting supplies that will last you throughout your trip, Dr. Lewis Nelson, chairman of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, tells Yahoo Life.
“For most drugs, this shouldn’t be difficult, but for others with specific regulatory or insurance requirements, it may require a little more effort,” he said. (If you can, schedule your prescriptions a few weeks in advance to allow time for inevitable setbacks, he says.)
Your pharmacy is usually able to change your refills so you can pick them up before your trip, Tucker says. “But it’s more difficult when it’s a controlled substance, like a stimulant or a painkiller,” he said.
Another expert tip for the in-case person: “Carry a copy of your prescription or a letter from your doctor, especially if you’re traveling internationally,” Dr. David Cutler, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa. Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. If something happens to your medication while you’re away, this should help you get more.
The TSA will allow you to carry certain medications on the plane
The Transportation Security Administration has several requirements for traveling with medications. All medications must go through a screening process, and the TSA recommends that your medication be clearly labeled to facilitate screening.
While carry-on liquids are generally limited to 3.4 ounces or less per item, the TSA says you can bring “medically necessary liquids, medications and creams” larger than 3.4 ounces (or 100 milliliters) in your carry-on bag. The language around it is vague, so it may help to bring a note from your doctor stating that your medication is medically necessary or to have the prescription drug in its original bottle with a pharmacy label attached, Nelson said. Just remember this, according to Inteso: “Medically necessary” means that the medicine is used to treat a medical condition, disease or symptom and there is no other appropriate alternative.
When checking luggage, Nelson recommends putting essential medications in your carry-on in case you get separated from your other luggage. “Medicines should be kept in their original containers, labeled, and put in plastic in case the bottle is opened,” he said.
When checked, the TSA states that these medications will be removed from your carry-on so that they can be checked separately from the rest of your belongings.
Doctors recommend taking these important things with you
Most medications that are considered “essential” depend on who you are and where you are going. “If you use those things regularly at home, I will bring them,” said Inteso. “If you never use those things and you’re going to a place that’s not far away, you can skip it and find it where you are if you need something.”
But if you’re going to a remote area or you’re going to do a lot of hard work where there’s a risk of scratches and cuts, Inteso suggests you take a first aid kit with you. “Some good things to include would be hand sanitizer, wipes, a cold pack, tweezers, pain pills, antacids for your stomach, anti-diarrhea medicine, constipation medicine, cold medicine, allergy, Band-Aids and safety pins ,” he said. he says.
If you want to pack lighter than that, Tucker suggests having a few Band-Aids, antibiotic swabs and ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
Medicines for children are also important
If you are traveling with children, doctors recommend planning their medication in advance. “Because most of the children’s medication is in liquid form, make sure you declare it to TSA, and be prepared to declare it as medicine,” Nelson said, stressing that it must be in its original bottle or you must have a prescription on hand. .
If you have more than the standard 3.4 ounces, you’ll also need a prescription or prescription bottle, Nelson said.
Overall, doctors say that taking the extra effort to deliver the right medication is important. “It’s better to have something you don’t need than to need it and not have it,” said Tucker.
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