Expect Anything To Happen

When you rely on medications, be prepared for any possibility - expect the unexpected! Expect, first of all, to be separated from your luggage and to have your carry-on bags stolen or rifled (a pill bottle may be attractive to thieves). Hopefully both won't happen at the same time! Always carry at least several days' worth of medications in your carry-on luggage for those times when your luggage goes on to Bangkok but you are stuck in Singapore. It can take days to catch up - if it ever does. For that reason it is useful to always carry an extra written prescription so you can have a reasonable chance of getting a refill. Make sure your doctor uses the generic, or chemical, name on these prescriptions, since trade names vary from country to country. Having all medications in prescription bottles is helpful when going through customs. I recommend those patients who absolutely must have their medication for diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. to carry a photocopy of their prescriptions on them while en route. Keeping it with your passport would also make it available to health providers should you be in a car accident and unable to communicate that information to them. In a worst case you lose your prescription, don't forget the value of the fax - I have faxed medical information around the world to bail out a patient who had their carry-on stolen.

You should remember that it is illegal to bring medications acquired overseas into the U.S. unless they are in a prescription bottle.