Travelling with medication: packing, time zones and reminders

A trip should not mean a break from your treatment. A little planning before you leave keeps your doses on schedule, wherever you land.

Before you go

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends:

• Check the rules of your destination and any stopover country. Some medicines that are common at home are restricted elsewhere.
• Keep medicines in their original, labelled containers.
• Pack them in your carry-on, in case checked luggage is delayed or lost.
• Bring enough for the whole trip plus extra for delays.
• Carry a copy of your prescriptions, with generic names, and ask your doctor for a letter if you travel with injectable or controlled medicines.
• Avoid buying medicines abroad where falsified products may be common.

How much to pack

Multiply the days away by your daily dose, then add a few spare days:

Units to pack = (days away + spare days) × units per day

Our free travel supply calculator does the sum for you.

Crossing time zones

This is where most people get confused. There are two common approaches, and the right one depends on the medicine:

• Switch to local time. Take your doses at the same clock time as at home, but in the new time zone. This works for many medicines taken once or twice a day.
• Keep home time. Some medicines need precise intervals, so you keep taking them on home time, even if that means a dose at an unusual local hour.

For medicines where timing is critical, such as insulin, oral contraceptives or some heart medicines, ask your doctor or pharmacist before you travel which approach to use and how to adjust on the travel day.

Reminders that follow you

PillRem’s reminders follow the local time on their own: a dose set for 8:00 stays at 8:00 wherever you are. That is the “switch to local time” approach, and it suits most daily medicines. If your pharmacist recommends keeping home time, adjust the reminder times for the length of your trip.

A quick checklist

• Enough medication plus spare days
• Original boxes, in your hand luggage
• Copies of prescriptions and a doctor’s letter if needed
• Reminders checked for the new time zone
• The pharmacist’s advice for time-critical medicines