Passport? Check. Airline ticket? Check. Medication? Well, you might want to check again! Traveling in and of itself can be very stressful no matter how you do it. But if you add medications to the mix, it gets much more complicated. You have to consider how to pack your pills or how you’ll follow your dosing schedule. Just thinking about these things can make someone anxious. Note for passport: In case you want to go to Hawaii, do you need a passport to go to Hawaii? The answer is “no” if you are American Citizens.
Not only that, but there’s also the question of your medication being available at your destination and if you packed enough for your whole stay. And most importantly, you must check the legality of your meds, especially for people who take TCH and opioid medications.
Luckily for you, it doesn’t have to be always stressful like this. In this article, we will talk about some tips on how to manage your medications while traveling to keep the whole vacation enjoyable for you. Here are some of them.
Buying on the Destination
With all of the stress involving carrying medications while traveling, it’s completely understandable if you opt to buy them yourself at your destination. However, the question here would be if your medication is available there. In that case you can go for online shopping for the medicine where you can find cheaper prices or can get discounts on important medicine like Trulicity discount. Sometimes, they won’t be, and sometimes, they are, but they don’t meet the US standards.
This is especially likely for developing countries that are dealing with counterfeiting problems. If you’re in this situation, you can contact the nearest US embassy or consulate and ask if your prescribed medication is available. They can contact doctors and pharmacies for your inquiry and will get back to you after a few days.
Check the Temperature
Medicine storage is essential because how you store your medicines can affect their effectiveness when taken. One of the best things you can do is to put them in your carry bags, as it will help protect your medicine from sitting out in extremely hot and cold temperatures.
If you’re traveling by car, don’t put them in the glove box, trunk, or even inside your luggage, as it can expose them to sweltering temperatures. If you’re carrying meds that need to be refrigerated, you can put them in a lunch box with a freezer pack alongside it.
Timing
If you’re traveling internationally, that means you’ll be crossing across different time zones. While this might not be a problem for some, if you’re taking prescriptions on a time basis, this can be a problem. Hence, ask your doctor or pharmacist about what to do in this situation.
However, the most common scenario is that for time-sensitive medications, you’ll want to keep taking them according to your original time zones, so you’ll have to adjust your alarms. But for most medications, you can adjust their schedule to your current time zone.
What if I Run Out?
It’s generally recommended to pack enough medicine to last your trip. Some would even take it further and bring more just in case they run out of them during their trip. But what if you do run out? What will you do?
Before you embark on this journey, ensure that you have the contact information of your health care provider and pharmacy. This is because most of the time, they can have your prescription transferred to the nearest pharmacy in your destination and even give you an electronic prescription from your provider just in case it’s needed. You can also use a Mobile App to see if your meds are available in that region.
Pack Smart
Always put your medicine container in your carry-on bags if it is small enough. This is because a lot of baggage tends to get lost at the airport. You don’t want to get stuck without medication when your suitcase gets lost, do you? Hence, you should pack enough for your trip and ensure they are in the original containers.
Also, ensure they still have their original labels, your passport name, your doctor’s name, the generic alternative, the brand name, and the dosage. Also, if you have controlled substances, make sure you’re carrying a letterhead stationary from your doctor, complete with the translated content in your destination’s language.
Make an Appointment Before You Go
Before you go ahead in your journey, it’s essential to stay prepared. Make an appointment with a travel medicine specialist for the needed vaccines and medications for at least 4 to 6 weeks before you leave.
If you’re planning to go away for at least a month, talk to your doctor about how you can access medicine at your destination. Also, you can ask them about the changes you’ll experience once you adjust your medicine schedule.
Final Words
Traveling with medication can be one of the most stressful parts of your journey. However, it doesn’t have to be this way all the time, as there are things you can do to make it easy to manage your medications while on the road. Keep in contact with your healthcare provider as they can guide you on how to travel with medicine.
