Catching a flight can be stressful at the best of times. You’ve got to get there on time, with a bag packed full of everything you need for your trip. But when you’ve got vital medication to carry, the journey through customs can be a bit trickier. If you fail to do some simple things on your trip to liberty, you can be held up – making your journey more stressful than it needs to be.
To get through airport customs with ease, we’ve put together three quick tips. Check them out:
Carry a doctor’s note
First up, we recommend you travel with a doctor’s letter when you venture overseas with medication. You’ll navigate your way through customs and security at airports a lot easier if you can quickly show officials you’ve been prescribed with the medication your carrying. And know other rules like can you bring a lighter on a plane..
It also makes replacing any lost or stolen medication a lot easier. As an example, for diabetics, a doctor’s letter should include:
- A list of the medication you are prescribed with
- The monitoring and dispensing equipment required
- Details on the need to carry supplies in your hand luggage (if travelling by plane). This includes insulin, needles and syringes
- Contact details of your diabetes team
Source: Travelling with Diabetes
You might be charged for a doctor’s note – but you can easily ask for a long-term certificate to cover you for all future travel.
Label everything clearly and keep it in its original packaging
Don’t make life difficult for customs officials. Carry your medication in its original packaging. It should have the name of the pharmacy and prescribing physician. Anything loose will just raise questions and slow your journey through the airport down, as you could be flagged for a security check.
Wikihow also advise to carry all medication in your hand luggage, due to the risk of checked-in bags getting lost and you being left without sufficient medication or information to get more.
If you have any concerns about travelling with your medication, you can chat to your doctor. For example, some medications need to be taken at roughly the same time each day – and different time zones could affect this. Your doctor will be able to advise you on how to gradually adjust the time you take your medication in a new time zone, amongst other things.
Arrive early
Stress affects the body in many ways – it can weaken your immune system, cause the liver to produce extra blood glucose, tighten muscles and affect your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. You can find out more effects from Health Line, but the point is it’s not good for anyone – on medication or not – to go through undue stress.
Make sure you get to the airport early, so you’re not rushing around worried and have enough time to get through customs.
Have you travelled with medication? Share your experiences and tips with us.