Traveling With Pills
Tips On How To Pack Them

You know about the plastic bags you need to fit your liquids into for your carry-on bags...

...But what do you do about your pills and medications?
Don't worry.... you can take your pills and other medications with you in your carry-on luggage, and you don't have to worry about the plastic bag for them.

Pills are not liquids and do not need to go in your zip-top plastic bag. That plastic bag is for toothpaste, shampoo and other "non-medical" liquids.

When you are traveling with pills, they should ALWAYS go in your carry-on, not in your checked luggage so you're sure to have them with you.

We recommend, but do not require, that your medications be labeled to assist with the screening process."

Airport security checks have been trying to "harmonize" their regulations for the last few years, so if you follow the rules you find in your county's security website, you should be OK traveling with pills.

When it comes to packing medications, we generally dump all of our pills together into one container each, and we have never had a problem. We do carry copies of our prescriptions. That's a good idea for a couple of reasons. First it provides some tangible information about the pills you are taking, and second if you lose your pills or you are delayed in your travels and need more, you may be able to get them with that prescription. We also peel the label off of the original pill bottle and carry that with us.

What about liquid medications?

Here the TSA says liquid medications (and baby formula) "are allowed in reasonable quantities exceeding three ounces and are not required to be in the zip-top bag. Declare these items for inspection at the checkpoint." This includes all prescriptions and over the counter medications including petroleum jelly, eye drops, and saline solution for medical purposes.

There is lots of information floating around on the internet about the best way to carry your pills. If you absolutely, positively want to avoid problems, carry them in the original containers... even over the counter pills like aspirin. Prescription medications should have the pharmacy label with your name on them to absolutely avoid problems.

We have a friend who buys those small zip-lock pill bags at her local pharmacy and peels the pharmacy label off of the bottles and puts it on those little bags... there's another option for traveling with pills.

Whether you choose to use a pill organizer, dump your pills all together like we do, or carry them in their individual original containers, traveling with pills shouldn't be a problem if you travel with a reasonable amount.

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