How to Carry Medicines When Crossing Borders
- 1). Keep all medications in the proper and original containers they came in. This is true for over-the-counter medications as well as prescription medicines. Border crossing agents will look for any odd and unidentified medications if you get searched. They will question anything that looks out of place or inappropriate.
- 2). Be sure to keep medications separate from one another. Don’t try to combine contents of pill bottles to save packing space. You may know what each medicine is, but someone checking your bags and their contents may not. You want to prevent unnecessary questions and confrontations at border crossings. Chances are you may not be searched at all but if you are randomly picked you want to have all the proper medicines in the correct containers.
- 3). Be aware if you get in any distressful situation where you cannot help yourself, a stranger or even a health professional like a doctor, medic or nurse won’t be able to know which medications are which if they are all in one container.
- 4). Make sure you have ample supply of really necessary medications for the length of your trip. Not every country has the same medicines available. You don’t want to get stuck without medications you desperately need. Even though other countries may have similar or the same medicines, that doesn’t mean you will be able to quickly get a doctors appointment and a refill just because you need one.
- 5). Bring a written prescription with you if any medicines you use are necessary to keep you going or are life threatening if you do not have them in case your medications get lost or stolen. Carry a list of your medications, what you use them for and dosage sizes. Keep that list with your other documentation like a passport, driver’s license and airline, boat or train tickets. Keep the list of medicines where it is easily accessible for yourself, anyone who may need to help you and for any questions at the border when you are crossing.
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