Carry on question...

Karen,

I wouldn't advise carrying any pills "loose" in zip-lok bags, as these could invite extra scrutiny from customs officials, and you could be pulled aside to "explain".

How many different Vitamins are you planning on packing? Pills aren't covered by the "3-1-1" rule AFAIK, so my suggestion would be (based on the method that I use):

• VITAMINS: Buy smaller bottles of each Vitamin that you take, and pack these together in an Eagle Creek Quarter Cube. That way they're all together and if officials want a closer look, they'll be easier to remove if they're packed in a "modular format".

• PRESCRIPTION MED'S: As someone else suggested arrange to get smaller bottles for the trip. The bottle size/amount of med's should be appropriate for the length of your trip. The bottles should have the proper labelling as provided by the Pharmacy. I'd pack these separately from the Vitamins (in your Purse should be fine), and include a copy of the prescription for each medication in the same container (you could use either a zip-lok bag or other container, depending on how many bottles you'll have). A clear zip-lok bag would allow easy inspection of the bottles and labels.

Good luck and happy travels!

I bought a couple of small, flat containers (3 compartments each) and labeled each compartment with the name of the medication (as it is listed on my prescription receipt). I put those in a qt-size bag along with the actual pharmacy receipt showing my name, doctor's name, name of drug, strength of drug, etc. I also put aspirin in one compartment and Pepcid in another compartment. Just labeled those appropriately. We went to Greece & London with no problems.

Karen, the presciption meds have to be in prescription bottles. Ask the pharmacy well in advance for extra small bottles in case they don't stock them. Yes, best keep them in your purse. I wouldn't carry any meds/vitamins overseas in a ziplock baggy, that is just too risky. Keep all your valuables in your purse and use a moneybelt. Have a great time!

Technically, the prescription pills don't have to be in prescription bottles but it's a smart idea to carry them that way. (You might also want to carry a copy of the prescription as well in case you lose your supply and need to get more.)

And never put your medications in checked luggage just in case that bag is lost.

Entering Europe, you probably wont' have any hassles. It's re-entering the U.S. where Customs might give you a hard time if the pills are not in prescription bottles--especially if they are a controlled substance.

If you don't want to use the "smaller" bottles, ask your pharmacist if they can "blister pack" your meds for the trip. Some are able to do this. They put the meds for each time(am, lunch, pm, bed)/each day in a "blister"- like benedryl and other meds come in. the lables are on the top of the board. This way the meds are correctly and reliably (for TSA and foreign Govmts) labled and don't take up much space.

Karen, my pharmacy (Kaiser) puts prescription pills all in the same size bottle (large). Several years ago,I went to another pharmacy and bought several of their smallest bottles for about 20 cents each. Then, I had Kaiser print out labels for my prescriptions and I stuck them on the new little bottles - works perfectly! Now, whenever I get a new prescription that I'm going to be traveling with, I ask for an additional label.

I have taken vitamin pills to Europe a couple of times recently packed inside of the plastic daily pill boxes, grouped for each day. I can't get smaller bottles for each one of these. I always take prescription drugs in original bottles however.

Nancy's idea would work for baggies- just ask your pharmacy to print out the lables and put each medication in it's own bag.

On my ecent trip to Israel, my prescription meds and vitamins were in the weekly med case. SFO security/TSA is VERY strict...they did not question my meds. Perhaps it is because I am in my late 60's. But had not problems.

For our 8 week trip to Europe, we put our meds/vitamins in small plastic zip lock bag and and labled each bag. For instance "Acky Bone meds", "Hormones", etc. No problems.

Each time I did have the Pharmacists give me a copy of the prescriptions and carried them with me.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of the replies!! You all have helped tremendously! After reading all of the posts....I will just ask the pharmacy for a smaller bottle for my one prescription and for vitamins I'll just use one of those plastic pill holders and label it, if they make me throw that away it won't be a big deal.

Thanks again!!

TSA isn't searching your bag for anything other than things that violate their carryon rules. Medicine of any kind, in pill form, isn't questioned because it isn't liquid or sharp or anything else that violates their rules. They aren't searching you for drugs of any kind.

The only vitamins that need to be in your 3-1-1 are liquids such as cod liver oil tablets. If they're dry, you can put them in a zip-lock bag and probably not have any problem. Bigger tablets like Centrum look less like contraband than smaller tablets like One-a-Day but even if they are pulled out for inspection, the inspectors know how to differentiate drugs from vitamins.

I wouldn't carry prescription drugs without carrying your prescription. It will come in handy if you need to replace lost pills and will answer any questions anyone might have about the drugs. Again inspectors know the difference between a prescription blood-thinner and a potential narcotic.

I'm fortunate that I don't need any prescriptions, and I don't worry about vitamins while on vacation. I do carry a small supply of ibuprofen and a couple of Excedrin PM for the flights. To date, I haven't been questioned about either.

Thanks! I probably tend to over think everything! My daughter went to Germany a year and a half ago with school and she didn't have any problems with her prescription, but she told me the ones that did have a problem were the ones trying get things filled at pharmacies over there, which of course I wouldn't need to do. I just have the one prescription for inflammatory arthritis and I could leave the vitamins at home anyway. I would like to take Tylenol PM or something because I just can't sleep on planes! When we flew a lot before 911 my husband would be asleep before we left the runway, but I could never sleep at all!! Weird!

Thanks again for the help!