Medication - Airport security & cruise security checks

[pdmlynek]

On 2/17/2023 at 7:32 PM, Aquahound said:

 

They know.  They are identifiable by the imprints.  

Well, sure the more sophisticated ones can look at in PDR or other similar publication or websites, but do they really have time to mess around like that?  

 

In any case, the point remains: if you are going to have them try to differentiate between legal and illegal drugs, then the recommendation by @poocher to have drugs in original containers, should extent to ALL legal drugs, regardless if they are Rx or OTC.  If they can rely on PDR to identify legal drugs, then it does not matter if they are Rx or OTC.

 

My point is to be consistent across all legal drugs. 

 

If you believe that Rx drugs should be in their original container as @poocher wrote in order to indicate their legality, then it makes sense to have OTC drugs in their original containers as well.

 

If you believe that legal drugs, both OTC and Rx, can be readily identified as @Aquahound by the customs agents, then there is no difference between OTC and Rx, and both can be kept outside of their original containers. 

[pdmlynek]

On 2/15/2023 at 7:48 AM, poocher said:

So true, why do the scripts bottle have to be so big?!?!

I agree.  This is a serious problem for me when I travel.  I'd like to take the original bottle, but if I did that, then it would take some serious room in my first aid kit.  

[pdmlynek]

On 2/16/2023 at 3:32 PM, sanger727 said:

...

I don't care what the TSA's rules are; controlled substances are illegal to possess, and most certainly illegal to carry over state lines without a valid prescription.

....

I think that the job of the Transportation Security Administration is the security of transportation.  That means, that they want to make sure that passengers do not bring anything on board of planes, trains, and other public conveyances that would be dangerous to the travelig public or to the operation of said conveyance.

 

From their website (which may be wrong), they are not looking for foods that shouldn't be imported into the destination country, or for stolen items, or trademark infringing products, or endangered species transportion, or drugs.  They have other police and agencies for these things.  In any case, those things are usually searched for at the destination airport. The job of TSA is supposed to be security.

 

But if TSA does more than just security of transportation, I welcome a correction.

 

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, pdmlynek said:

Well, sure the more sophisticated ones can look at in PDR or other similar publication or websites, but do they really have time to mess around like that?  

 

In any case, the point remains: if you are going to have them try to differentiate between legal and illegal drugs, then the recommendation by @poocher to have drugs in original containers, should extent to ALL legal drugs, regardless if they are Rx or OTC.  If they can rely on PDR to identify legal drugs, then it does not matter if they are Rx or OTC.

 

My point is to be consistent across all legal drugs. 

 

If you believe that Rx drugs should be in their original container as @poocher wrote in order to indicate their legality, then it makes sense to have OTC drugs in their original containers as well.

 

If you believe that legal drugs, both OTC and Rx, can be readily identified as @Aquahound by the customs agents, then there is no difference between OTC and Rx, and both can be kept outside of their original containers. 

 

First, to be clear, we *always* travel with our little ziploc with proper pharmacy label for prescription meds, and we *always* check carefully about the laws/regs in any country we'll be visiting, and we get official permissions if needed.

 

However... about relying upon the "proper container with the proper label"...??

[And note, we always have Rx meds in properly labelled containers when traveling, as stated above.  ALWAYS.]

Who is to say that what is IN those properly labeled containers is what "belongs in them"?  Once one starts questioning what the meds look like, it isn't likely to matter what the container has written on it.  There's going to be some serious time spent investigating and comparing and hopefully nothing worse.

 

One goal is to not draw attention to one's self by any untoward behavior or inappropriate comments.  (Borders are not the place for snarky comments, no matter how tempting!)

AND to be prepared for an occasional "spot check" or being the next arbitrarily selected "person to be searched", etc.

 

Having meds in their original containers isn't actually proof in and of itself, unless the agent has some sort of photographic memory, and can quickly determing, "Oh, yes, these *are* 5mg tablets of <X> and those are 1mg tablets of <Y>.  All good!"

 

We've got plenty of documentation/paperwork with us (and copies on laptops and in the cloud) "just in case..."

 

GC

[pdmlynek]

22 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

You mean you toss the actual prescription from the physician?   I don't have an RX in paper format.  I bring the med containers with the RX labels.  As explained by others I bring a few extra counts of the med's in case I get held over.  Happened to us last year when we had a return delay due to COVID.     

I am sorry, my bad.  I meant that after I use the last pill, I just toss the empty bottle. 

[pdmlynek]

9 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

That is a real waste of money in my opinion.

 

DON

I wrote that wrong.  

 

I meant that I have enough medicine to last me through the travel.  After I consume my last pill, I simply toss the empty bottle. Sorry.

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, pdmlynek said:

I am sorry, my bad.  I meant that after I use the last pill, I just toss the empty bottle. 

 

Well, sure. I do the same.  No reason to keep the empty.  

[pdmlynek]

5 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

First, to be clear, we *always* travel with our little ziploc with proper pharmacy label for prescription meds, and we *always* check carefully about the laws/regs in any country we'll be visiting, and we get official permissions if needed.

 

However... about relying upon the "proper container with the proper label"...??

[And note, we always have Rx meds in properly labelled containers when traveling, as stated above.  ALWAYS.]

Who is to say that what is IN those properly labeled containers is what "belongs in them"?  Once one starts questioning what the meds look like, it isn't likely to matter what the container has written on it.  There's going to be some serious time spent investigating and comparing and hopefully nothing worse.

 

One goal is to not draw attention to one's self by any untoward behavior or inappropriate comments.  (Borders are not the place for snarky comments, no matter how tempting!)

AND to be prepared for an occasional "spot check" or being the next arbitrarily selected "person to be searched", etc.

 

Having meds in their original containers isn't actually proof in and of itself, unless the agent has some sort of photographic memory, and can quickly determing, "Oh, yes, these *are* 5mg tablets of <X> and those are 1mg tablets of <Y>.  All good!"

 

We've got plenty of documentation/paperwork with us (and copies on laptops and in the cloud) "just in case..."

 

GC

I agree.  That makes total sense.  🙂 

[GeezerCouple]

3 minutes ago, pdmlynek said:

I think that the job of the Transportation Security Administration is the security of transportation.  That means, that they want to make sure that passengers do not bring anything on board of planes, trains, and other public conveyances that would be dangerous to the travelig public or to the operation of said conveyance.

 

From their website (which may be wrong), they are not looking for foods that shouldn't be imported into the destination country, or for stolen items, or trademark infringing products, or endangered species transportion, or drugs.  They have other police and agencies for these things.  In any case, those things are usually searched for at the destination airport. The job of TSA is supposed to be security.

 

But if TSA does more than just security of transportation, I welcome a correction.

 

I suspect that you are correct in general.

 

Thus far, foreign border agents have seemed remarkably disinterested in us (which is fine!).  It's TSA going through Security or getting clearances to board flights heading home.

For some reason, I seem to trigger something, and I get called aside, or I get the dreaded SSSS tag on my boarding pass.  DH has never gotten that.

And once, my carry on was searched VERY carefully, while they kept looking at the contents and back at the scan... until they found... my new bar of "DOVE DELICATE SKIN" SOAP.  😱

 

But those SSSS can be annoying... a separate line, open the bags, full search, etc.

What is funny (actually *not* funny at all from a true security perspective) is that once, as I was standing in my "new line" as DH stood off to the side to wait for me, I realized that I had *his* carry-on, and he had mine!  I decided it was going to cause a lot more difficulties to announce that situation, so I just continued with his bag. >> We could have already swapped at any time once I knew I was SSSS and he was not.  How secure is THAT?

 

Another troubling time, from a true security perspective, was a few years ago, when again, I had the SSSS (I must have done something really wrong in a previous life, I guess!).

We were at the counter and the agent saw my SSSS, and asked me, "Which bag is yours?"  I pointed to one, and he took that one to search.  DH stood there with "the other bag".  DUH! 😡

 

But in all of those times, not once did anyone express any interest in my mini-pharmacy that takes up about half of the carry-on.

 

There was one time ages ago, when they wanted to do a serious search of my bags and *me*.  I insisted on a private room and TWO female agents.  That took some extra time, but that was okay.

So, they took my then-carry-on small duffel bag, and uncermoniously dumped it on a huge table.  They they took their wand to double check... OK, no explosives INSIDE my bag (good to know, for sure!!).  And there were lots of little ziplocs of pills and capsules, some little vials with a liquid and needles and syringes, etc., scattered all around.

And... they pawed through those "drugs" ONLY to get them out of the way while they tested and checked various OTHER items from my bag!

So... nope, I don't think TSA is interested in "drugs" (unless they've been alerted to something special, I suppose).

 

Meanwhile, I wonder what I actually DID in that previous life... 😉 

 

GC

[Turtles06]

On 2/15/2023 at 3:42 PM, GeezerCouple said:

 

A few years ago, our CVS pharmacy stopped using/stocking the smallest size of those amber plastic containers, and not much later, eliminated what was then the smallest (and had previously been the next-to-smallest size).

I hated when CVS did that. Total waste of large bottles in many instances, and a burden for travel. 

[Aquahound]

16 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

 

But if TSA does more than just security of transportation, I welcome a correction.

 

 

That's what the screeners do.  However, TSA also owns the Air Marshals.  The Air Marshals have a VIPR team that targets transportation terminals and because they are credentialed federal agents, they can arrest and make seizures for violation of any federal laws in and around the terminals.  These are the guys you see walking around in body armor that says DHS.  

 

Now, are they targeting grandpa for forgetting his label for his blood pressure meds?  No.  Truth is, there isn't a US Attorney's office in the nation that would accept a case like that for prosecution.  They're looking for much bigger things.  

[TenneSea]

On 2/15/2023 at 3:42 PM, GeezerCouple said:

Yes, this is really an absurd situation... the size of the bottle/container compared with the volume the little pills take up! 😠

 

 

 

A few years ago, our CVS pharmacy stopped using/stocking the smallest size of those amber plastic containers, and not much later, eliminated what was then the smallest (and had previously been the next-to-smallest size).  So now, if there are, say, 10 or 20 tablets dispensed, they will go in a *smallest* container, one that is perhaps 1.5 inches in diameter and about 2.5 inches tall.  If the pills are very small, they won't even cover the bottom surface.  If they are larger, they might still take up less than 1/4 inch of the volume.  No, not "1/4 of the volume"... "1/4 inch of the volume", which is a much smaller proportion of the total volume.

We each have some meds that are very small pills, and the Rx is for one per day, so that even a 90 day supply still doesn't use even one third of the volume of the currently "small"-est bottle.  For larger pills, there are larger bottles, including some that are remarkably "big".  But for the smaller pills... no small containers at all anymore.

 

So... for travel, we now get tiny ziploc-style plastic bags, and ask the pharmacist to print out an extra "stick-on" label, and we just slap it on the little ziploc when the volume of pills is small.

Note that even with a larger volume of pills, if the "sides" of the "container" are flexible, like a ziploc, then the pills can settle into a much smaller amount of space.  Without a huge amount of empty space that a rigid container fills with "air", these ziplocs can compress very nicely, and even stack in a corner of some carrying case... or in a single large ziploc!

(This would save a lot of space, even if we still had the smallest size Rx bottles, given there isn't a lot of wasted air space.  The rigid containers, especially because they are round, take up a lot more space than they need to, given the volume of the contents within the containers.)

 

Yes, it's "legal" to put a pharmacy sticker on a ziploc, at least where we live.  How did we learn this?  When one of our prescriptions was dispensed this very way... in a ziploc with an Rx sticker on it. Bingo! 🙂 

 

When we need a few new Rx "stickers", we ask our pharmacist about 2 weeks before we plan to travel, so they can print them for us at their convenience.

 

We keep the little labeled ziplocs to re-use, and only create new ones if it gets tattered or if the date becomes "too old" (and that's subjective anyway).

 

And yup, we still get a few of the "jumbo" plastic containers, such as if there are 4 (or even 😎 big capsules taken each day...  But even then, we haven't yet needed to bring a 90-day supply with us...

(And they still take up way more space than needed, given the wasted space inside, and the wasted space between the cylindrical containers.)

GC

Don't the pharmacies care about ...  THE PLANET !!!!??????  Good grief, everyone else seems to -ad nauseam.

[John Bull]

I recall this topic coming up here a few years ago.

In answer to my query whether meds in blister packs weren't available in the US, folk replied that they were an option for some meds. but weren't common.

It seems like nothing's changed 🙄 

 

In the UK and most (perhaps all) European countries, all meds. - including over-the-counter - come in blister packs. No problem at security, customs & wherever else, no danger of mixing up pills, the packs are printed with what meds they are, and those which folk are supposed to take regularly are in blister packs of seven - so the absent-minded amongst us or their family/carers/whoever can see whether they've missed a day or whether they've already taken one today - and those of us who are compos-mentis can just pack the appropriate number of packs to take on our travels

 

I'm amazed that a country which is so advanced in so many things is so many decades behind in rolling-out blister packs.🤔 

 

JB 🙂

 

[CPT Trips]

On 2/18/2023 at 10:56 PM, GeezerCouple said:

First, to be clear, we *always* travel with our little ziploc with proper pharmacy label for prescription meds, and we *always* check carefully about the laws/regs in any country we'll be visiting, and we get official permissions if needed.

Wow! Where did you find a pharmacist who will dispense your medication in little ziplock bags? 

[CPT Trips]

2 hours ago, John Bull said:

I recall this topic coming up here a few years ago.

In answer to my query whether meds in blister packs weren't available in the US, folk replied that they were an option for some meds. but weren't common.

It seems like nothing's changed 🙄 

 

In the UK and most (perhaps all) European countries, all meds. - including over-the-counter - come in blister packs. No problem at security, customs & wherever else, no danger of mixing up pills, the packs are printed with what meds they are, and those which folk are supposed to take regularly are in blister packs of seven - so the absent-minded amongst us or their family/carers/whoever can see whether they've missed a day or whether they've already taken one today - and those of us who are compos-mentis can just pack the appropriate number of packs to take on our travels

 

I'm amazed that a country which is so advanced in so many things is so many decades behind in rolling-out blister packs.🤔 

 

JB 🙂

 

Some “bean counter” decided that dispensing prescriptions in blister packs is more expensive. That’s why we here in the good old US of A have such low prescription medication costs. 🙄

[lenquixote66]

On 2/12/2023 at 6:45 PM, LVinTennessee said:

I prefer to bring meds (mostly vitamins and supplements) in a Sun-Sat pill sorter.  This will save a lot of packing space plus some bottles are glass so I don’t want to bring them. I also want to bring some “just in case” over the counter meds - like Pepto, allergy, ibuprofen. Again, to save space, I would prefer to just bring a few and not the whole bottle. Will this be a problem with security - either at the airport or for the cruise?

I have never had a problem in 54 years of traveling.

[GeezerCouple]

27 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

Wow! Where did you find a pharmacist who will dispense your medication in little ziplock bags? 

 

It started when one of our meds did indeed arrive at the hospital outpatient pharmacy in a little ziplock with their proper little Rx sticker label on it.

"Ah ha!!!" We both thought as we looked at it, and also thought of all the stupid wasted space in our carryons...

 

We had already occasionally asking our regular neighborhood CVS pharmacist for separate *smaller* properly labeled Rx bottles of meds that came in JUMBO bottles for 90 days times too many *big* capsules a day, etc., for a shorter trip.  We gave them a couple of weeks notice to minimize the inconvenience.

 

After we say that ziplock handed to us, we went out a purchased a package of some very small ziplocks.

And I asked said friendly neighborhood pharmacist if they could print duplicates of regular stick-on labels for meds X, Y, Z, etc. in perhaps 2 or 3 weeks, explaining that we were traveling and the bottles take up so much room.

No one ever blinked.  We picked them up about a week in advance, just in case there was a snafu.

 

Then, at home, we stuck the little labels on appropriate sized ziplocks, and then portioned out the needed number of pills, plus a week or so, for each med.  We just gently pressed extra air out before sealing.

 

[For many years, I had been doing something similar when chopping carrots or onions or small pieces of uncooked bacon, to freeze, so that in future cooking, I could grab however much - or little - I wanted. So this type of packaging was long a "thing" for us anyway.  Then, I just wrote the date in Magic Marker. 😉 ]

 

But I now wonder if we just asked our pharmacist "Could you perhaps dispense those in these little plastic bags and put your regular label on it?" if that would have worked.  I think it's easier for them to just print out duplicate labels, but... who knows...??

 

GC

[donaldsc]

On 3/5/2023 at 12:38 PM, CPT Trips said:

Wow! Where did you find a pharmacist who will dispense your medication in little ziplock bags? 

 

Check out Amazon Pill Packs.  https://pharmacy.amazon.com/pillpack.  Took me ~  5 minutes to find them on Amazon.

 

DON

[Nebr.cruiser]

I had posted earlier about our concerns with strict medication policies in visiting Australia and New Zealand. We've been traveling and cruising for 50 years and have never done this before--just pills in a pill sorter box.

 

We took our original bottles with Dr. verification letter,  labels, declared everythiing, etc.  Not once did anyone ask to see our meds, our paperwork or give us any hassle.  I guess I'm still glad we did it, but the chance that you will be challenged must be very small indeed.  

 

We even tried to use the line where we were supposed to declare everything and employess routed us to a much shorter--well, really no line--line and whisked us through.  All a relief, but I did regret all the room those bottles and sprays took up.  

[sanger727]

The only trouble I had with customs in New zealand was with a wooden boomerang that I purchased in Australia. Apparently wooden items are only allowed in if you have them treated with a pesticide at customs. That cost was more than I spent on the boomerang so we threw it away. No issues with packaged food or meds. 

[capriccio]

In the past month we’ve flown from the US to Australia to New Zealand to Australia.  We each carried a large baggie with each type of prescription meds in a small plastic pill pack that had the RX label/information taped to it and a summary page of our prescriptions from express scripts.  I was so pleased with the space savings we will do  that in the future especially on long trips (this one is 45 days).

 

Arriving in Australia initially we joined the to be declared line since one my DH’s prescriptions is for steroids for a bad back and that was specifically mentioned.  They took one look at him, believed his story without asking to see the meds, and sent us on our way.  When we returned to Australia from New Zealand we used the nothing to declare line.  The New Zealand entrance form specifically said to declare if carrying more than 3 months of prescription meds so we had nothing to declare arriving in Christchurch.  When we arrived we were the only international arrival and some people (including my sister and brother-in-law) were pulled over for additional (very quick) questioning.  I think the customs officials were bored.

[ldubs]

On 4/21/2023 at 9:37 AM, sanger727 said:

The only trouble I had with customs in New zealand was with a wooden boomerang that I purchased in Australia. Apparently wooden items are only allowed in if you have them treated with a pesticide at customs. That cost was more than I spent on the boomerang so we threw it away. No issues with packaged food or meds. 

 

Must have been defective anyway if you threw it away and it didn't come back.