I usually put my medication, vitamin, and supplements in weekly pill boxes so that I don't have to carry all those bottles and sort through them every evening and morning. Will I have any problems taking those unmarked in my luggage? I will be flying into Paris, flying to Rome and home to the US from Rome. Thanks
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
You said in your "luggage." If you meant checked luggage, the standard advice given by airlines and in travel books and forums is that prescription medications that you must take (for example, every day) should be in your carry-on and not in checked baggage. Reasons are: there is a small chance checked baggage will be lost and if it's the flight going over and you're moving fast the first few days, lost luggage might not catch up to you for a few days. Also, some medications can be damaged by exposure to the temperature extremes that checked baggage is occasionally subjected to. And some travelers feel that the small sub-class of prescription medications that are, technically, known as controlled substances (example is the sleep aid ambien used by some travelers to get a good night's sleep the first few nights) should be left in their original containers, so that, in the unlikely event you were questioned about these, you can prove you're in legal possession of them (probably an over-abundance of caution but why not, if it's one small container). This caution does not apply to the majority of prescription medications, only to controlled substances.Here's a link to a prior discussion here that answers your question more fully http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/28084/prescription-drugs-in-original-containers-on-nwa.html.
Posted by
San Diego, CA, United States
864 posts
ALWAYS take perscription meds in their original container in your carry-on. My husband is, well to me, a health nut and takes all kinds of vitamins and supplements. (Me I take A multi vitamin and eat non-fat yogurt, generally but not always eat right and yes, exercise...well enough). Anyway, I'm meeting him in Germany one Spring in the not so distant past and he's asked me to bring three prefilled (by him) weekly vitamin pill boxes. All confiscated somewhere along the line. Next trip, same senario, no problem. Who knows! Take empty pillboxes, and bottles of whatever you usually take (with enough only for the trip) and fill them once you arrive. Trust me, you will live a long and happy life without those non-perscription supplements if need be for the duration of your trip.
Posted by
Ottawa
233 posts
I agree with the previous posters regarding prescribed medications, however, for our vitamines we take enough for the length of our trip (usually a month)and put them in a plastic baggie in our checked luggage.
In all the years of travelling we have never had a problem. But,I would not recommend our method for your carry-on bags.