USA travel from Australia with liquid medication.

[Dawn1004]

Hi there, We are travelling to USA next April/May. At moment we will be in USA for 25 days, but away from home in West Oz for about 4 weeks.My son is epileptic and is liquid medication of 30mls a day. His bottles are glass bottles of 300 mls each.I will need to take at least 3 bottles - 1 bottle will last him 10 days, but I would also want to take 1 bottle as a spare - as we are doing quite a abit of travelling, it increases the chance of a bottle breaking or a slight spillage occurring.I willbe getting the letter from his doctor about the medication being necessary, and the pharmac_ have told me that they will package in some kind of protective wrap (I'm thinking good ole bubble wrap.)My query is will this be ok, or will I need to get them into to sealing bags? also, as 3 bottles is 900mls and 4 bottles is 1.2 litres , will I or for that matter anyone else take another liquid/gel onboard? I was hoping to take a small bottle of my makeup, some toothpaste, and some lip balm with me.I believe once we get through Immigration and Customes we can purchase a water or cool drink to take onboard.Of course I will be indicating on the custom form that we are bringing in medication, and I will have that letter, but just wondering, if there was any issue, they would surely pick it up at the Sydney internat. Airport before leaving, shouldn't meet with a problem on arrival should we? The bottle indicate that the medication should not be stopped without medical authority or stopped suddenly, so I cant see them being able to seize the medication - this is my one worry, that if they stop me taking the medication on board or seize it, son will need to take a dose on the aircraft, plus they are glass bottles, pharmac_ saidmcant put in plastic bottles as could affect the medication, so I cant pack the spare bottles in the checked in luggage due to possible breakages, plus luggage does get mislaid occassionally and I just cant take the chance.has anyone travelled to USA with large quantities of liquid medication in carry on luggage?PS we land at LAX if it makes any difference Thankyou.

 

[Chrisd26]

Hi

I have just returned from US today and can only make some suggestions. We took expensive bottles of wine as presents and put them in our checked in luggage. We used polystyrene wine carriers and worked perfectly. I would suggest that for most of your bottles at 300mls is just the size of a bottle of water so should be easy to protect in your check in luggage - a bottle in each bag. Maybe even take another one just to be safe?

As far as getting a 300ml bottle on board - I assume baby formula etc can be taken on with some documentation so there must be a process. I think getting it into the US should be OK as once its on the plane its not checked again.

If you are flying domestically in the US I would probably try to avoid taking 300ml on board - TSA are thorough and although polite there is not really any opportunity for discussion! I find airport security there always chaotic.

My wife needs medication in tablet form - we got all the letters - packed everything in carry on as instructed - no one showed any interest!

Hope that helps

Chris

 

[medhead]

Medicines are exempt from the security requirements. Can't post a link from the AFF app, well too lazy to post a link. But check the government's TravelSecure website.

I'll assume this is prescription medicine. Basically you need a letter and the name on the prescription label has to match the name on the boarding pass. Non-prescription medicine is also exempt.

 

[jsd]

From the TravelSECURE Website: Liquid, aerosol and gel exemptions

Travelling with medicines

Prescription medicine, non-prescription medicine (including special dietary products), and medical items are exempt from the liquid, aerosol and gel quantity limits. There is no limit to the amount of prescription medication that may be carried on board an aircraft. However, passengers should remember to:

• have supporting documentation, such as a medical identification card, or a letter from a doctor. The letter should also cover ice packs or gel packs which are required to regulate temperatures;
• have medicines ready for inspection; and
• make sure the name on the label of the prescription medication matches the name on the boarding pass.

Likewise from the TSA Website: TSA | Transportation Security Administration | 3-1-1 on Air Travel

Declare larger liquids. Medications, baby formula and food, and breast milk are allowed in reasonable quantities exceeding three ounces and are not required to be in the zip-top bag. Declare these items for inspection at the checkpoint. Officers may need to open these items to conduct additional screening.

 

[Dawn1004]

Thank you, yes it is prescription medicine.

I'd really prefer not to check it in, whilst it would be a pain for the bottle to break in the luggage, that is not my concern, if the bottle breaks - that's the end of the medicine, and son cannot miss the medication otherwise seizures, and as a result of stopping medication suddenly, could be a seizure that ends in a coma, brain damage or worse - just not a chance I'm willing to take. In saying that I did travel all the way home from a cruise ship holiday to South Pacific and when I landed in Perth, my carry on bag slipped out of my hand and smashed one of the touristy cups we had purchased on the first day of our cruise! so I realise that in carry on bag the bottles could be subject to breakage as well (but not nearly as much chance as being checked in luggage.

I was pretty sure that prescription medicine would be ok, and had seen it was exempt - but you never know how the people at the other side of the table may react.

As this holiday is for some duration and is costing a pretty penny, I really wanted to be prepared. I think the bottles with the prescription labels on matching son's name will be proof along with the letter from the doctor. So I think I'll be ok. I'll just tick the customs document that I am carrying the medication on both my document (as in my bag) and on son's document (as his medication) just to stop any confusion - better to tick yes and be incorrect than no and get in all sorts of strife!!!

Thank you for your input.
Regards

 

[Dawn1004]

Thank you for those screen dumps Jdevereux3 that is perfect, that really sets my mind at ease, that there is no quantity guideline for the medication and they don't have to be in those zippy bags, and I should still get to carry on my toothpase, makeup, lip balm etc, I will definitely get the letter from the Dr and the Dr has already told me that the prescription will be a P5 so I can get the whole supply in one shot (as opposed to 3 bottles every month, pharmac_ said they will protectively wrap them for us.

Thank you so much.

I did see that medication was exempt on the Qantas website, but couldn't see if still had to be packed in the zippy bags, and if that meant no liquids/gels for me as I had met the quota well and truly!

I feel quite relieved after seeing that post and feel I can happily continue on with my bookings and research for this USA trip.

Happy travels everyone.