Prescription Medicine in their original container? Why?

I have traveled to Europe and Asia with prescription pills in a daily pill box and never had question one. Now, that is just one experience and does not mean it can not happen.

I carry them in little zip lock bags. The only exception would be for a scheduled substance (narcotic, tranquilizers, etc.) given the potential for drug diversion. So, having a bottle with a label might be important.

Yes, I have travelled with prescription meds in snack-size ziploc bags, prescription peeled off the original bottle and re-pasted onto the ziploc. BUT the time we took a heavy-duty painkiller we made sure it was in the original packaging, just in case.

Also, I understand that certain drugs (such as for ADHD) that are legal in the U.S. are not prescribed in certain countries although tourists can carry "reasonable amounts" for their own use; for those, the original packaging would also be advisable.

Actually I don't see any reason for them having to be in original containers, as long as you accompany them with a copy of the prescription information from the original container. The main reason being to have the ability to replace the medications, if lost, with comparable European versions.

I used little zip lock bags for each days drugs, bags are marked for each day. Then I put them in a larger zip lock bag with the prescription labels affixed. Asked your pharmacist for duplicate labels. All my meds, Advil, etc. went into a clear zippered bag. I had no problems but then again I didn’t make it to Europe only Hawaii (but I was all packed that way for Italy and beyond).

Guess it depends on who you ask at TSA:
"It is recommended that medication be clearly labeled in individual containers to facilitate the screening process. Check with state laws regarding prescription medication labels and allowable containers."

But since you are going to Europe, what the TSA thinks really doesn't matter as long as you can get through security at your departure airport.

There are some prescription drugs you can get here in the US that are illegal in certain European countries. Customs inspectors in Europe would be interested in those.

I have been to Europe 50+ times with varying assortments of drugs with me. No one has ever stopped me and asked what they were or why I had them. And I have always had them in the original containers as received from the pharmacy. I do often ask for a smaller bottle with a label to carry a 10 - 15 day supply of my drugs I receive in a 90 day supply instead of lugging the gallon sized bottles with me. It is often stated you should bring a copy of the prescription with you, my doctor laughed when I asked for that as he didn't believe that would be legal for some meds (like opioids). I have never seen any official proclamation from any European country other than you should only bring what would be a normal and acceptable amount for your condition and not to bring anything they consider illegal.

I use a pillbox and only take a cholesterol pill, but when I had to bring percoset I also brought a copy of my prescription just in case.

I've always used the pill case thing (the one that says M, T, W, R, F, S, S). I take a ton of pills and vitamins. Never had any issues but it probably wouldn't hurt to carry the prescription number with you. I do have ADHD medication. Are European drug dogs trained to sniff Adderall since it is from meth?

In some states it is illegal to hold prescription medications, even in their original container, after the expiration date.

That's not likely true. The supposed "expiration date" is really a "use by" date. My prescriptions don't have an "expiration date," just a "Discard after" date. They don't become illegal after that date. And they're probably effective for many years after that date.

This is nothing to do with airports, TSA or airlines. It is customs. If customs open your case and see a number of pills, they are liable to ask you what they are, and can legally get them tested to see if you are trying to smuggle illegal drugs into the country.

Having labelled bottles is one way to demonstrate they are prescription drugs. But also having a list or a copy of the prescription would be enough for customs.
The fact that the prescription is invalid in another country is irrelevant, it is there to list the drugs and show you got them legitimately. In practice you will not have a problem because:

• Customs in European countries rarely stop travellers. 95%+ just walk through customs.
• Customs officers are sensible, they know people take pills. Quantities suitable for a trip of a few weeks is not likely to be seen as suspicious.

Customs outside Europe, where they search ever bag of every traveller, may need more convincing. I would make sure I had good paperwork if I went to a country where they hung drug smugglers.

This is nothing to do with airports, TSA or airlines. It is customs

So true. From the US Customs website:

"Prescription medications should be in their original containers with
the doctor's prescription printed on the container. It is advised
that you travel with no more than personal use quantities, a rule of
thumb is no more than a 90 day supply. If your medications or devices
are not in their original containers, you must have a copy of your
prescription with you or a letter from your doctor. A valid
prescription or doctors note is required on all medication entering
the U.S." (https://tinyurl.com/y7cz62mk)

Also for New York Sate residents the option to have a "copy of the prescription" instead of the original container won't work as all prescriptions these days must be sent to the pharmacy electronically. Hand written or printed scripts are no longer valid statewide.

It's more an issue of reentering the US with leftover medications than heading into Europe.

As a U.K. resident, I am always surprised the way posters talk about decanting their medicines from the original containers into boxes or bags. I take 8 different pills, all vital to my health, and all but one come in blister packs. The blister packs clearly state what the pill is and prevent confusion when it comes to taking them. They also protect the pills from damp or other contamination. Do U.S. pharmacies not use blister packs?

When travelling, I always take a copy of my most recent prescription so that I could show it to a doctor or pharmacist if I should fail to take sufficient pills with me. The brand names may be different, but it should be possible to work out equivalents in an emergency.

Do U.S. pharmacies not use blister packs?

Over the counter (non prescription drugs) are frequently in blister packaging, but it's not typical for prescription only drugs.

Do U.S. pharmacies not use blister packs?

Unfortunately, most pharmacies in the U.S. do not. In the U.S., many long-term care facilities require resident’s meds to be packaged in blisterpacks; I ended up having to use the facility’s pharmacy for my mom’s meds because there are very few pharmacies that offer this option.

I have gone to Europe 14 times in the last 16 years and every time I have taken several prescription medications. I take all of my prescriptions in their pharmacy bottles as none of them come in bottles that are too large that I can not conveniently pack in my carry on luggage. Since one of my prescriptions is a opiate, I also take along a letter from my doctor stating the prescription and what it is for. I have never been questioned about my meds in any European country but I would hate to go thru the hassle of trying to get more of them in Europe.

I asked TSA and they said "Prescription medicine is allowed in
carry-on bags and isn't required to be placed in their original
containers. You may use a container of your choice."

I'm glad to hear that. My prescriptions are in 90 day bottles/boxes which are quite large; I am diabetic. I put everything in a zip lock to save space including my vitamins.

One of the best 'documentations' to carry regarding prescription medications is the printout that comes with your meds. It has your name, prescription #, pharmacy phone #, and info about the drug- the generic name, brand name and often the chemical names. It explains conditions it is typically prescribed for and how to take the med. It also explains the side-effects. If you need to see a doctor or pharmacist in another country this information could be very helpful. Taking a picture or scanning this and having it on your phone is a good option if you don't want to take the paper copies. Or write down the info. I created a form - that I now carry with me at all times- that has my personal info- name, date of birth, drug allergies, medical conditions, emergency contacts info., doctors' names and info., and all my meds and when, why and how I take them. I have severe cough asthma and have to take different medications depending on my condition. This form has helped when I was in distress and had difficulty talking. I could just show it to the EMTs. I also carry it when I travel. Copies of the prescriptions are useless except to possibly 'prove' that you have the drugs legitimately- they are not valid outside the state your physician is licensed in. Anyone could put any kind of pill in the 'original' bottle and claim it is whatever they want.

As said- MOST customs (and other governmental) officials won't be concerned with your medications. Just don't take lots more than you need. BUT do take at least a few days' extra- in case of delayed flights, volcanoes, dropped pills, etc. The information is more important in case of a minor or major medical emergency.

I put my meds in the tiny pill ziplocs by day/time. I put some OTCs that we might need into separate bags. Others like the pill organizers. I can't see talking lots of plastic/glass bottles! Some pharmacies will package your prescriptions in a blister pack with each day's/time's doses grouped in one blister- so Monday's morning meds are all in one , then lunch meds in the next blister, etc. They print all the 'labels' on the top or back or on a separate sheet. Makes packing easy. ONE NOTE- liquid meds SHOULD be in the original bottle and in a bag separate from your 3-1-1 bag.

When they say "the original container" they are referring to a container of some sort with the prescribing information.

I take a few meds and some are fairly large. Because I travel for up to three months at a time, I have to take quite a bit of meds. To save space some go in a ziploc bag. My pharmacy prints out an extra set of labels for each drug and I put them all on one piece of paper. That is my proof of what each drug is and that I am the person who it was prescribed for. What is the difference between a bottle and a ziploc as long as I have the pharmacy label?

Last year I had to take a couple of prescription lotions with me. They went in their own small ziploc bag with the cut out prescriptions from the box each lotion came in. I didn't take the entire box. TSA didn't have a problem with them nor did any European airport security.

Non are opiods so I am not too concerned. Some countries, Japan is one, are very strict even with prescription meds so one has to be careful. But Japan, last I checked, was not in Europe.

Now, if you just took the pills and put them in a ziploc bag without any prescription info, then you might get in trouble. Just have the label and you will be okay.

By the way, most physicians have a federal license to prescribe medication so if your doctor writes a prescription it can usually be filled in another state if necessary. In fact, if you are traveling around the country (USA) and need your meds, just go to a local branch of your pharmacy, if it's a national chain, and they can get you a refill.

Kaeleku, Thanks for that article. I think it answers most of the questions about who and why.

And I would be super happy if my drugs came in blister packs. I could take what I needed for a trip, not worry about them taking too much space, and free up space in my bag as I took them. But no luck on that as the US drug companies are too old fashioned forcing pharmacists to shuffle pills from one bottle to another to give me the amounts I am prescribed.

On the flip side Tylenol/Paracetamol with codeine is apparently still non-prescription in the UK, but, like some cold medicines in the USA, the pharmacist is supposed to screen purchases to make sure no one is trying to buy too much of it at one time.

What about OTC medicines?? I take Zyrtec and Nexium every day but they are available over the counter so I don't have a prescription for them, even though I was recommended to take them by my doctor.

OTC medicines won’t cause you any problem. Once again, if you have a scheduled drug (narcotic or similar) carrying it in it’s original container is best. Blister packs are much more common in Europe compared to the US. I believe the difference is that the US has Federal laws regarding prescription drug packaging that lean heavily on the childproof aspect (although many OTC drugs which can be toxic are in blister packs-go figure). There is childproof blister pack technology but I don’t see that it’s caught on, likely due to price. Also, when I tried one many years ago, it was pretty adult proof as well!

katsrad,

You can certainly find OTC allergy and reflux medications, but would probably have to ask the pharmacist for them. I've learned to take an abundance - especially of allergy medication as what we have gotten from pharmacies there does not seem to work as well. With allergy medication what works for one person may not work for another. If you know that Zyrtec works for you then you should take plenty.

In all my trips to Europe, Caribbean, and US, my pills are always in a little bag. I carry a label for prescriptions, just in case, but Advil, vitamins, etc. just go in the baggie. Never once was questioned.

Basically the concern comes down to if you are stopped and a bag searched and they find a handful or more of pills, unlabeled and no prescription record, one could reasonably expect that the authorities would hold you and take efforts to determine if you were legally in possession of the drugs.

If the medicine is critical to your health, then having the original container, or a prescription record would be important if you needed to replace them.

I hope the people who decant their prescriptions are prepared for a volcano eruption, blizzard, or other airline-delaying occurrence that affects their actual return date. Some pills don't really matter if you miss a day, but (for example) blood-pressure control drugs are important every day. I presume that diabetes control is even more important.

Either original bottle or full label also lets a pharmacist more easily check for drug interactions if you become ill away from home, whether it's domestic or out of the country. And you want to make it easy for them to do that kind of cross check before they provide you with an unfamiliar medication ,whether it's a prescription from a clinic there or a suggestion for an OTC treatment.

Our pharmacy will package anything in blister packs, if the client asks. They'll also bundle medications in blister packs - by day, time of day, things that should be taken together... It's common practice for long-term care facilities, but they'll do it for anyone. It's great for people with arthritis, or some kind of mental or memory problems.

Thank you for the informative replies and the link to the State Department website. That answered my question about who required original containers and why.

Thanks also for the suggestion of asking the pharmacy to package drugs in a blister pack. That would be very convenient.

Bottles and boxes are too bulky for travel as I travel exclusively with carry-on luggage. So I never use them.

I flew to/from London just last month. I have diabetic and pain killer (non opiate) prescriptions. I put all pills and needles in a ziplock bag as I always do and never had an issue. I've been traveling with diabetic medication including pens and needles for over 15 years to much of Europe including the UK, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, & Turkey. I have never been stopped and/or questioned by customs or any officials asking about any and all of my meds.

I use small pill baggies for each day of travel. I do take pictures of the original prescription that I keep on my phone and in my Dropbox account. I have the pictures because I was told to have them when traveling to Europe, but I’ve never been asked for those. I continue this practice because it may be useful for myself, and maybe I’ll need them on some trip as we keep experiencing new countries each trip.

I keep my prescribed meds needed on the trip in their original containers. No one has ever asked to see them anywhere. I showed it to the pharmacist in Berlin last summer since I had miscalculated the number of pills by 50% (very bright!!), she told me to go a doc at the Klinik to get his prescription before she could fill it.

We always pour the pills into baggies and never have had any problems in over twenty hears of travel to almost every country in Europe. I do print out our prescription lists from our accounts on our medical center’s sign in web site. One time in France we told a doctor the RX brand name but he needed the medical name not brand name of the RX.