For many people, travelling with medication is a necessity, and without it they’d simply have to stay at home. With medication being fundamental to many peoples’ lives, taking it abroad can be daunting and stressful, especially when you’re so reliant on it to maintain a healthy wellbeing. However, no matter where you’re travelling to, there are ways to travel safely and wisely with your medication, removing the doubt from your head. Once you’ve arranged your travel documents and your EHIC renewal, these following tips will make travelling with medication 10 times easier.
Drug Restrictions
Regardless if you required drug is legally prescribed in your home country, it’s paramount to remember that some prescription drugs are illegal in others, such as amphetamines being illegal in Japan. Therefore, before you even book yourself tickets to stay in a country, you need to conduct your research and possibly contact the country’s embassy to find out whether your prescribed drugs are permitted within that country. Moreover, some medical equipment is also forbidden in some countries, such as CPAP machines. Once again, if you want to bring your vital medical equipment with you, you’ll need to ensure that this is permitted by the destination country’s embassy.
Carry Your Medication In Their Original Containers
Using a weekly or monthly dispenser box often acts as a comfort for those relying on medication, as it acts as a reminder of what medication you need to take each day. However, when travelling abroad, we’d always recommend that you carry all of your prescription medicines in their original packaging. This is because the original medicine container will act as a means of proof that you’re reliant on this medication, and thus need to take it on a frequent basis while abroad.
Always Bring More Than You Need
When packing your belongings ready for a holiday abroad, it only seems logical that you bring products that you essentially need, but when it comes to medication, it’s always wise to pack more than you need. This way, if your flight is delayed, or your stranded in your destination country due to poor weather conditions, you have a back-up supply of medication that you can take before you’re returned to your original supply. Without this kind of preparation, you’ll find yourself searching helplessly around the country for a pharmacy that will supply you with the drugs you need, which will often take a lot of documental convincing.
Bring Your Medication In Your Hand Luggage
You’ll want to ensure that you keep your medication safe at all times, and therefore keeping all medication in your hand luggage is the best way to achieve this. Firstly, thieves are always on the prowl for prescription medications, and thus the best way to avoid this is to keep them close to your chest as opposed to in your general suitcase which you often wave goodbye to for several hours depending on your holiday location. Furthermore, suitcases are known for going lost from time to time, so if this was to happen to your case, not only would you lose your other essentials such as clothing and toiletry products, but also your life-saving pills that you may need to depend on daily.
We understand that travelling abroad with medication can be complicated, more so than it has to be, but by following these simple steps you should be able to travel without the stress in no time at all. The best thing to remember about your medication while travelling is to treat them like your children – never let them out of your sight and ensure they’re always kept safe.