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duellapaul
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Here is something I have not read in the forums and need to know. We will be on a cruise, going to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and need to know if we need permission to take my DH's medication into the country. We will be in Singapore, and Hong Kong for before and after stays and have read/heard for certain medications you need permission given before arrival. IE: sleeping pills in particular. Does anyone have any information on if this is true or not? Any info is appreciated.

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Here is something I have not read in the forums and need to know. We will be on a cruise, going to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and need to know if we need permission to take my DH's medication into the country. We will be in Singapore, and Hong Kong for before and after stays and have read/heard for certain medications you need permission given before arrival. IE: sleeping pills in particular. Does anyone have any information on if this is true or not? Any info is appreciated.

I personally have had no problem traveling with my medications (which includes Ambien) any where in Asia on cruises or land based trips. But I do keep them in original containers (small size bottles for travel). No where have I been questioned about them.

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I think in reality it is only medicine you take ashore that could be an issue. You can check with those authorities in countries of embarkation and disembarkation about your specific medication but it is unlikely to be a problem. I have previously emailed Singapore authorities about some of my medication, they responded quickly and it wasn’t a problem.

 

 

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Only take medication to cover for your trip with an additional say 10% for emergencies.

 

I always check the medicine instruction or online search for the contents and see if there is any forbidden substances in the countries that we are due to visit.

 

Medication always carried in carryon.

 

I always get a letter from my doctor stating what the medicines are and for what use. Also I take a copy of the original prescription.

 

I have never been stopped or controlled. I am a contol freak before the cruise and when on holida I don't want any hassle or stress, just want to let my hair down (whats left of it).:o

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I always get a letter from my doctor stating what the medicines are and for what use. Also I take a copy of the original prescription.

 

Just an inquiry. When you say a "copy of the original prescription"; do you mean a copy of the actual handwritten script the doctor wrote or is it a copy of the prescription bottle label?

 

I ask because many doctors now send the scripts electronically to the pharmacy, completely paperless.

 

The last time I was given a handwritten script my doctor took 5 minutes looking for the pad.

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Pain meds are usually a problem (opioids are illegal in Singapore) but there are many other drugs on their restricted list. We spent 6 days in SIN prior to a cruise in Dec 2016 and we did file paperwork to bring medication into the country legally. We were never asked at customs about it, but we felt better doing it.

 

Singapore government has a very nice and thorough website if you are interested in following those rules, it's pretty simple http://www.hsa.gov.sg/content/hsa/en/Health_Products_Regulation/Consumer_Information/Personal_Import_Regulations/bringing_personal_medication_into_Singapore.html

 

They have lists of what is allowed, what requires permission, and what isn't allowed no matter what.

 

I will say that SIN is the ONLY place I've traveled where I felt compelled to follow this rule. Otherwise, I just pack what I pack and sometimes make sure it's in the original packaging;p

 

PS My doctor can print me a prescription & sign just as easily as sending a prescription to my online pharmacy - no pad needed ;-)

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Cannot speak to Singapore and the Philippines (though we will be headed to those countries next week).

 

We have traveled extensively by land through Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia for three of the past four winters. DW does have prescriptions though they are not narcotic or sleeping pills. We only travel with carry on so her practice is to put all of the pills in one container. We did leave Malaysia a three years ago with some heavy duty meds after DW broke her back. We went through customs in Australia (three times), NZ, US, and Canada with those meds. Never even got a question about them.

 

We have never been stopped, questioned, or cautioned about meds in any of these countries-or any other country for that matter. Nor have we been questioned on any other trip whilst carrying prescription meds. Closest we have ever come is having a tiny bottle of natural insect repellent taken away. And that bottle had been through about 15 countries in the past and I don't know how many inspections.

 

I guess there is always a first time though.

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I’d gotten worried and collected letters before my trip to Aussie/NZ but they never looked/asked, nor have any inspectors in any other country in Europe or Asia. Only thing I *think* I identified one time, and it wasn’t a stressful moment, were some prescribed facial items because they were liquid/lotion, but even then they seemed to kind of already know that....think maybe that was at London Gatwick.

 

The truly serious business was when I arrived in Christchurch and my suitcase was totally unpacked, much to my surprise, as were the dogs on the baggage conveyor. Hadn’t known about the STRICT ban on food/fruits/flowers etc from Aussie on account of not wanting insects to bring troubles into NZ. I had no contraband but they likely could tell I had not the slightest clue about agriculture having lived in a concrete jungle all my life. The irony? I was staying at a farm with friends, got to see how sheep are moved from one paddock to another. Fascinating, and HARD WORK.

 

Don’t worry about the rx meds. If it makes you feel any better, maybe print out a list from your pharmacy (or ask them to) since everything you need, doctors name, rx name/dose, recent date, pharmacist, everything is all in one place. Last thing any inspector is going to do is whip out a PDR and start looking up the names of meds. One more thing to keep in mind: rx brand names vary in other countries, generics still the same.

 

Overall I think Australia finds that the strongly worded travelers advisory serves them well enough, I think this is the only worry we ever see here about traveling to Oz. Always happy to help get you into the “no worries” state of mind that’s fitting for your trip.

 

Enjoy :cool:

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Don’t worry about the rx meds. If it makes you feel any better, maybe print out a list from your pharmacy (or ask them to) since everything you need, doctors name, rx name/dose, recent date, pharmacist, everything is all in one place. Last thing any inspector is going to do is whip out a PDR and start looking up the names of meds. One more thing to keep in mind: rx brand names vary in other countries, generics still the same.

 

Enjoy :cool:

 

Actually "inspectors" do indeed look up the names of meds when necessary and no - generics differ in name all over the world. Border staff have immediate access to a full digest of pill identification lists for the world - by both brand and generic names and the codes imprinted on the actual pill. I do regular secondments with Border and use the search function for medications for hundreds of passengers per day. Its a computer program used in practically every airport in the world and is updated regularly.

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