jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

There have been a lots of questions posted here about traveling with tripods and cameras, but here's another important consideration. If you take several prescriptions and use pill organizer, that could be a problem. You should carry your pills in their original bottles, with your name on the label.

"To avoid problems at the security gate, keep all pills in their original bottles and bring an empty pill organizer along with you. Once you've passed through security, or arrived at your destination, you’ll be able to appropriately sort your medicine. Some passengers, such as those with dementia and other mental disabilities, must have their medication pre-sorted. For such passengers, caretakers should obtain a letter from the patient’s doctor stating that their medication must be sorted for them prior to traveling."

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I keep mine sorted and I think I have a letter around here someplace, well I think I do... ;)

bunuweld Loc: Arizona

Good advice!

zneb240 Loc: New South Wales - Australia

Agree Jerry - good advice. As an aside - like many others I travel very regularly with heaps of medication but have never been questioned. I also carry several syringes as I need to self inject from time to time. I never try to hide them and always carry them on through X-ray machines, inspections etc and not once have I ever been questioned.

However, I recently carried on a 400mm lens and was held up and nearly missed a flight because some blundering Neanderthal insisted it was a weapon. Even showed the simpleton how it attached to a camera body but he still wasn't totaly convinced! By the look on his face and his lolling tongue, I think he expected an explosion at any moment. This was not in some third world county but in Germany!!
Containers full of drugs and sharp syinges full of stuff.... no problem. Camera lens when carrying heaps of associated photographic stuff in a gear bag.... big deal. Airport security - blah....what a joke.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Maybe he was hired by a relative.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

What to Expect If a Passenger Needs Medication
Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions
http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/what-expect-if-passenger-needs-medication

Passengers are allowed to bring medications in pill or other solid form through security screening checkpoints in unlimited amounts, as long as they are screened. TSA does not require passengers to have medications in prescription bottles, but states have individual laws regarding the labeling of prescription medication with which passengers need to comply.

Passengers should inform officers of medications and separate them from other belongings before screening begins. Medication is usually screened by X-ray; however, if a passenger does not want a medication X-rayed, he or she may ask for an inspection instead. This request must be made before screening begins.

The passenger will be responsible for displaying, handling, and repacking the medication if an inspection is requested. If the medication cannot be cleared visually, it will need to be X-rayed and may be subject to additional screening, including explosive trace detection screening.
...

TSA Baggage Prescription Medications Carry-On Rules
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/tsa-baggage-prescription-medications-carry-on-rules-13438.html

3-1-1 for Carry-ons
http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/3-1-1-carry-ons

sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

I was going to say that I have never ( watch tomorrow ) been stopped for medications in pill boxes. I carry a 2 week supply actually. BUT - I also carry my prescriptions signed by a doctor on one sheet in the bag also.

Only time I had trouble was when they first started checking after 911 and I had my nitrate bottle in my pocket. I asked for a manager and he showed the over enthusiastic checker his bottle.

Just ask a doctor to list your meds on a sheet.

Sarge69

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Thanks. It's interesting that they say having Rx in a carry-on may slow things down, but compare that to checking your luggage and then waiting to pick it up when you arrive - major waste of time. I try to check nothing.

infocus Loc: Australia

Maybe just being over cautious but when we travel O/seas we take our medication in original packaging, prescriptions for that medication and a letter from our doctor stating why we take each medication. never had a problem and have been thanked for making things easy on everybody.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If I have new, unopened bottles at the time, I'll bring them - with the inner seals intact. I'll buy toothpaste, sunscreen, etc., when I get to my destination.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

We were flying out of Vancouver and security pulled our boarding passes. When asked why we were told because there was a needle in our carry on luggage. It was my wife's EpiPen which she carries at all times in case she has a severe allergy attack. They come from the pharmacy in a cardboard box and the prescription iabel is on the box. Fortunately she always insists the pharmacy also put a prescription label on the pen as she carries it in her purse and the box takes up space. She showed security the pen with the attached label and they sent us on our way. I can imagine the mess we would have had if it wasn't for her foresight.

xzoup Loc: Arkansas

I can't believe I'm commenting on this because I don't feel old, but I really am old, and I feel older writing this. Anyway I keep all my meds in the original bottles and I keep the bottles in one of those big zip-lock freezer bags. My pharmacist is good about giving me my prescription early if I plan on having an extended stay.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Old? Although I was born in 1944, I'm just 37 years old. It's all in the mind. Every now and then I catch an old man looking out at me from a mirror, and it startles me.

I get my Rx mail order, three months worth at a time, but I can get a "Vacation Override" if I need it.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

I always carry a fisherman's plastic lure case filled with various pills and I've never been questioned or stopped. I don't have room to pack the original bottles. (I have traveled like this to Africa, China, Turkey, Germany, France, England, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam.)

EAL Loc: Western NC

I found small plastic zip lock bags ( about 2 1/2" sq.) in the drug store and have the pharmacist print an extra set of labels for each drug. These fit perfectly on the small bags. I put all the small bags of meds. in a bigger zip lock. Using the bags saves space and I always put them in my carry-on...just in case a bag doesn't arrive. The small bags were on a hanger at the end of a shelf and it was a rather large pack of them so will last for a while.