Taking medication on board

[dbmac235]

Hello everyone!

My daughter takes multiple medications twice daily. I was hoping to put her necessary pills in a daily dispenser & leave the actual bottles at home. (If I do this, I will bring a list of exact medications and doses.)

 

Do you recommend this? If I have to carry her meds in the original bottles, I will. But with 5 of us sailing, I would really like to save the suitcase space.

What is your experience? TIA.

[DeltaOne]

Hello everyone!

My daughter takes multiple medications twice daily. I was hoping to put her necessary pills in a daily dispenser & leave the actual bottles at home. (If I do this, I will bring a list of exact medications and doses.)

 

Do you recommend this? If I have to carry her meds in the original bottles, I will. But with 5 of us sailing, I would really like to save the suitcase space.

What is your experience? TIA.

 

We've always taken medications in a daily dispenser, no problems. Be sure though, to put the medicine in your carry-on, just in case something happens to your luggage -- not for any other reason.

[dbmac235]

We've always taken medications in a daily dispenser, no problems. Be sure though, to put the medicine in your carry-on, just in case something happens to your luggage -- not for any other reason.

 

 

Thanks for the quick response. Yes, definately in the carry on.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

I usually take a few extra days worth just in case...

[reallyitsmema]

Hello everyone!

My daughter takes multiple medications twice daily. I was hoping to put her necessary pills in a daily dispenser & leave the actual bottles at home. (If I do this, I will bring a list of exact medications and doses.)

 

Do you recommend this? If I have to carry her meds in the original bottles, I will. But with 5 of us sailing, I would really like to save the suitcase space.

What is your experience? TIA.

You will have no issues with taking the daily dispenser onto the ship. If you are flying, the TSA recommends that you carry your medication in its original containers but it isn't a requirement. If she takes any controlled substances, those definitely should be in their original bottle.

 

We carry our prescriptions in our carryons, in their original bottles because my DH has been stopped multiple times by the TSA and had his med bag examined. Granted, he flies 100k miles a year on average, so he goes through TSA security a lot.

 

Do what you are comfortable with.

[love2cruiseforfree]

I carry the meds in the daily dispenser. I used to carry the bottles along with me, but, they have never checked anything. I now carry a list of meds and daily dosage typed out. I always keep one with me, and my husband carries one also. ( since we are getting older, its good to keep this handy, in case, anything should happen. it makes it so much easier than trying to remember in case of emergency.) Lately, I have also been bringing the sheet that comes with the new prescriptions, stating the name of the meds and other info explaining what the meds are for.

I also always bring a few days extra just in case we get stuck somewhere.... like extra days out at sea.!

[dbmac235]

This is all very good information. Yes, extra days worth of meds would be a good idea. Hadn't thought of bringing the print outs that come with the prescriptions. I will have to remember that. No controlled substances, so we should be OK with that.

 

Thank you so much. I knew you guys would have the answers. :)

[newbiecruiser09]

My DH takes about 6 meds as well. What we have started doing is taking a picture of the Rx bottle with a pill next to it on his camera phone. This shows the med name, doctor and what the pill looks like. We have never had an issue but with the pics in his phone, he always has the info needed to verify.

[willwheels]

Hadn't thought of bringing the print outs that come with the prescriptions. I will have to remember that.

 

This is a great idea, I just heard a horror story from my mother-in-law about a woman whose care was delayed because her meds were not clearly marked. (She was also traveling alone, which made the situation worse, but still.)

[armywifefisher]

My DH takes about 6 meds as well. What we have started doing is taking a picture of the Rx bottle with a pill next to it on his camera phone. This shows the med name, doctor and what the pill looks like. We have never had an issue but with the pics in his phone, he always has the info needed to verify.

 

 

Very good Idea just incase you are questioned. I know TSA has no problems with organizers but in Ga you must have them in original bottel, so if pulled over and in organizer and they search the car you could go to jail, will this happen probably NOT!!

[spookwife]

Hello everyone!

My daughter takes multiple medications twice daily. I was hoping to put her necessary pills in a daily dispenser & leave the actual bottles at home. (If I do this, I will bring a list of exact medications and doses.)

 

Do you recommend this? If I have to carry her meds in the original bottles, I will. But with 5 of us sailing, I would really like to save the suitcase space.

What is your experience? TIA.

 

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS carry Rx meds in the ORIGINAL container.

[spg112357]

I agree with the always carry meds in the original container.

Take the daily dispenser with you and fill it when you are on the ship.

You will probably not be asked what is in the dispenser but if you are and you can not prove what is in there they do have the right to confiscate which could put your daughter's health at risk.

If the pills are in their original containers with your daughter's name on them, the doctor, etc. then it makes identification and validation much easier.

 

Just taking them in the dispenser reminds me of Clint Eastwood "Are you feeling lucky........" :-) 9 times out of 10 you will be ok but it is that 10th time :-)

[DonnaK]

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS carry Rx meds in the ORIGINAL container.

 

I agree with the always carry meds in the original container.

 

Take the daily dispenser with you and fill it when you are on the ship.

 

You will probably not be asked what is in the dispenser but if you are and you can not prove what is in there they do have the right to confiscate which could put your daughter's health at risk.

 

If the pills are in their original containers with your daughter's name on them, the doctor, etc. then it makes identification and validation much easier.

 

 

As a pharmacist, I absolutely agree with this advice. When traveling, it is always best to keep your meds in the original container. Unlabeled pills can be suspicious and dangerous. You can transfer them into the daily counter when you are safely at your destination.

 

I take multiple meds, which I carry in their original container in a large ziplock bag (even though *I* can identify them readily without labeling). I place it in my carry on (or my husbands). It doesn't take up that much space. Doing it this way provides peace of mind that an over-zealous agent isn't going to spill them out into his/her dirty hand or onto a dirty table, and then discard them.

[2thesea]

Original bottle with labeling only. My daughter takes more medication than I care to list (she special needs gal) and I have 1 carry on dedicated to her medication ONLY. It is best practice to follow not matter if it is required or not. You never no who will look as ask not to mention if god forbid something should happen and someone else would need to give the medication and not have to waste time looking for a list :D

[Gonzo70]

Another vote to keep the medication in the original bottle. Most pharmacies will provide smaller labeled bottles for travel upon request. A bit inconvenient, but much safer.

[ThanxMM]

I've never had a problem with the dispenser as opposed to the original bottles. Recently, I have started using the little pill bags that you can buy at the pharmacy. Basically, just little ziplocs that you can label with the person , date and time of day. Takes up much less space, and you just throw them out when you have taken the dose.

 

That said, I also carry a list of everyone's meds. In fact, I have done up a health history for each family member - doctors, surgeries, chronic conditions, meds/doses, blood type, DOB, etc. If something should happen that lands someone in a medical care facility, the info is at our fingertips.

[Erik101]

On the RCI website, there is not any mention of requiring medication to be packaged in its original container. Also, the TSA's website states that they recommend labeling meds but are NOT required. They're more interested in actual contraband and weapons brought on board.

 

To the OP, you're fine with your dispenser! I've traveled numerous times with medication in a ziplock bag with no problems!

[spg112357]

Yes it is fast to put the medications in a dispenser and saves the extra hassle of having to carry the original containers.

Even if there is no "Legal" requirement to have the original containers it makes good COMMON SENSE to have the meds in them.

What you see on these boards are peoples opinions and not COMMON SENSE judgements.

When in a static environment (i.e. at home or in a cabin) the dispensers are great. But I remember once when traveling to Europe my Mother-in-law had about 3 dispensers already filled with pills. We stopped at a hotel in Heathrow on our way to Spain. One of the cleaning staff must have knocked over her dispenser and the pills fell out. Trying to "Fix" things the cleaner put the pills back in the dispenser. Well one little white pill looks a lot like the next one and she ended up mixing the meds so that my Mother-in-law overdosed and had to be rushed to hospital and of course ruined our vacation.

When we were at the hospital we did not have any information as to what types of meds they were as we did not have the bottles. It took hours for the doctors to run tests on all the meds to find out what they were and to determine the treatment.

The Hotel had to write up an incident and interviewed their staff, the cleaner came clean and said what she had done. Found out later that the hotel dismissed her.

So that is my experience with a dispenser. Result very sick (could have been worse) Mother-in-law, ruined vacation, cleaner out of work.

Now my Mother-in-law carries all of her meds in the original containers, each set of containers in ziploc bags, ziploc bags in a lockable carry-on bag. When we get on the ship she puts her meds in a dispenser and locks the dispenser in the safe.

COMMON SENSE folks. Is it against the law to drive and text in Arizona, NO, is it safe and is it COMMON SENSE to do so NO!!!!

People need to consider what MAY happen and try to prevent it from happening.

[livnlifecruzn]

I've never had a problem taking my prescription medications in a daily container. Leave those bulky bottles at home! I do keep them in my carry on and always have a list with me.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS carry Rx meds in the ORIGINAL container.

 

 

DH takes 8 meds a day, I take 5 a day, all of these are 90 day supply, so they are the big containers. Add in OTC meds and we need a carry on just for meds as we look like a traveling drug store! :eek:

 

We use our weekly dispenser along with a few days extra. Our RX list is always in our travel portfolio with our passports, I update it as meds change.

 

***

[nbsjcruiser]

I always carry med in original container but that said I only have 2. I know here in Canada you can ask your pharmacy to put them in a blister pack. They can put all your meds for each day in in little compartments for morning noon and night. They then will put the Rx for each med on the back. It is a lot easier to carry that than all the bottles. Here is a link to what I am trying to explain.

 

http://www.rexall.ca/pharmacy/Compliance-Packaging

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

One thought CARRY it on the ship ONLY ..

[spg112357]

Too many people are mixing up convenience with safety and common sense.

 

What if my wife needs acetone to clean the nail polish off her nails and I like my vodka and for convenience she pours her clear liquid into a 3oz bottle and I do the same and we put them in our carry ons. Then when we get to our destination our clear containers get mixed up.

She ends up with nail polish left on her nails and I end up in hospital.

It was convenient to not bring our gallon containers with us but it was not safe and we did not use common sense.

 

As I stated in a previous post in this thread not having things labelled correctly can have serious consequences should something go wrong. The chances of it going wrong are small but are still there.

 

We all go on cruises. We all go to the lifeboat drill. How many time do we actually need what we are taught at the lifeboat drill? Not too many I hope, but we still do it :-)

 

I sympathize with the inconvenience factor. I have a CPAP machine and it is not a small piece of equipment. I bet that the size of the 90 supply bottles are actually smaller than my CPAP machine.

[dbmac235]

These are all very good points. I have already thought of every thing that has been mentioned.

Yes, it would be more convenient to just take the daily dispenser. Yes, it would be life threatening if her pills were confiscated. She takes 9 different types, totally 21 pills a day. (She's had a kidney transplant)

So - I think I will talk with the pharmacy & see what they suggest. It would be wonderful if they have smaller bottles we can take. If not, I will probably take the original bottles in a seperate carry on bag.

Yes, I will definately carry them with us and have a few extra day's worth, just in case.

Thank you so much for all of the input. I truly appreciate it.

[RobinAnn]

I put each type of pill in a tiny ziploc. I label each baggie with the med name, dosage, and schedule. If I were really organized, I'd have a med history card in the bigger bag the drugs were in. Luckily though I only take one med daily and one med as-needed.

 

/derail

As an EMT, I know the importance of "lists of drugs". For when you are at home I'd go one step further. Have multiple copies of your drug list. Always have one to leave at home, but have extras to give to the EMTs and/or ER docs. I love it when patients hand me the list of their drugs, but hesitate to take their only copy and have a hard time capturing all the meds a lot of patients take while performing emergency care.

/end-derail