Travelling with their medication worries many people. Here, we reveal how to ensure your trip is problem-free.
* PACK enough to see you well beyond your holiday — if another ash cloud hits, you could be away for longer than expected, says Ipswich GP Nikki Brown.
Put one set of medicines in your hand luggage and a second supply in your hold luggage. Then label both bags.
“If you are off on holiday, doctors should prescribe you enough to double up your supplies, so you don’t run out,” she says.
Asthmatics should ask their GP for a rescue pack of steroids and/or antibiotics in case they have a bad attack in the plane or due to dusty, dry air on holiday.
* KEEP your prescription medication in its original packaging, bring a copy of your prescription and note down your GP’s contact details. That can allay suspicions at customs and will also help if you need a repeat prescription on holiday.
Check your medication’s generic name, not just the brand name. This can be different overseas and can lead to confusion if you need to top up.
* CHECK your medicine is allowed at your destination. Dubai has strict rules about medications, even in transit. Co-codamol or compound painkillers that contain codeine are banned.
* THOSE with serious allergies should wear an alert bracelet and consider taking your own food on board. “Long-haul airlines carry EpiPens (which are used to deliver a dose of adrenaline during an allergic reaction), but no one wants to use them in a mid-air emergency,” says Ben MacFarlane, a doctor and author on travel medicine.
* IF you need insulin, interferon or other medication that’s best kept cool, plan in advance. Health and safety rules mean cabin crew can’t put passengers’ medication in chiller cabinets. So bring an empty zip-lock plastic bag and ask the crew for ice.
While insulin needs to be kept cool, if it gets too cold it becomes ineffective — so don’t put it in the hold.
Diabetics should carry a doctor’s letter, so you can take needles or syringes through security.
Buy snacks and drinks in the departure lounge in case the meal service is late or your plane is delayed or diverted. On long-haul flights, stick to your eating patterns, regardless of the time differences.
* IF YOUR medication has to be taken at specific intervals and the time difference makes it impractical to stick to local time, discuss a new schedule with your GP.
“Gradually changing the times you take medications a week before travel can ease you into your holiday time zone,” says MacFarlane. Reverse the same gradual change for your return.
* IF you get travel sick or have sinus problems, carry anti-nausea pills for motion sickness. - Daily Mail