Prescriptiion Meds While travelling...how Do You Store Them?

I don't know if it's illegal but it is definitely dangerous. If something should happen and she's unable to communicate with emergency personell they need to have an accurate way of knowing what she's taking, how often, what milligrams and so forth.

An alternative would be to get a customized med-alert bracelet or necklace that has her meds on it.

Does it have to be the prescription bottle to be proof of the prescription? Maybe you can get a copy of the label for the prescriptions and take them with you with the separator. I don't know, but it maybe worth looking into.

It is illegal to take prescription meds without the bottle. My husband's friends sil was pulled over because her car light went out and she was going to jsut get a warning but the officer saw pills in her purse when she got her wallet out. She did not have the bottle and was arrested for having prescription meds without a prescription. She has to go to court and was told she might just have a small fine if she takes a note from her doctor and the bottles with her. But she will miss work, etc. My husband takes 3 meds for pain and one is a narcotic. It is so not worth taking a chance.

If her bottle is really large, she could ask the pharmacy if they will give her a smaller bottle for traveling. A coworker told me her mom did this when they went on vacation. It was easier carryiing 6 small bottles instead of 6 big ones.

I have always been told they need to be in the bottle with proper labeling. I checked into this before were planning a trip a few years ago (didn't end up going..we would have been flying so I was more concerned). I take 4 different meds (3 prescription, one OTC sinus) each night for migraine control, plus have 4 others I can take as options for migraine aborting should I get one (different levels of pain relief). But I get all of my meds from a mail order deal required thru our insurance, and get them in 90 day supplys. SO the bottles are huge!

If we were to fly and I needed to bring all of those bottles..OMgoodness..I would certainly look like a druggie! LOL. I always wondered about getting smaller bottles and what the hassles involved would be to get the smaller bottles from the mail order pharmacy for such a purpose (like for a 10 day supply).

I never needed to. But when we travel over the road (we go to the mountains most years, or other trips where we cross state lines, etc). I DO bring all of those gigantic bottles..along with any other medicine cabinet type thing you can think of. We go to some remote places in the mountains to snowmobile...and in the "town" your only options to get something as basic as Advil will likely be the local gas station/sled shop/diner/everything else! So that 10 pk of Advil might cost $8 or more. So I bring it ALL! And its often been used too (we travel with a crew of almost all men..usually there are 1-3 women with up to a dozen men..the men have a tiny duffle bag and then tools and sled gear. They come to me when they need Rolaids or Pepto..Advil or a sinus med. Just the way it is. Dumb boys! LOL)

Definately check the TSA and airline policys....know before you go! It could be a HUGE deal!

It's definitely NOT illegal to travel with Rx drugs stored in organizational containers. But for health and safety reasons outlined by Angi below, it's best to have the actual medical info with...

So what I do and I would recommend - is that you PHOTOCOPY your labels, cut down to size and place in purse or wallet or toiletry bag. B/c it is a huge hassle as you mentioned to travel with all those bottles.

Also, your pharmacist should be able to run prints of the labels for you quickly if you don't have a copier handy.

EDIT - to GAMMA G - she must have had a narcotic type pill on her w/o the Rx and yes, it is highly illegal to be operating machinery, i.e. driving a car, while on those loopy meds....