Carrying drugs on board...

[scudpilot]

Mr Partner has type 2 diabetes, and has been prescribed a drug which she must inject twice daily.. Her drug Byetta (http://www.byetta.com/Pages/index.aspx), is taken by an injection twice daily.. We are off to Spain for a 4 day break and dont really want to packed in to hold luggage, in the highly unlikely event it got lost, we would have a big problem... Is taking this on board likely to cause an issue...

[Donkey497]

Make sure it's all properly labelled & in the usual transparent bag, take enough in hand luggage for immediate use & enough to cover you until replacement supplies could reasonably be obtained. Put the rest, well wrapped into hold baggage.

When you get to security, take the bag with the drugs out & explain to the scanning folks what it is & why.

If you do this, you should have no problems.

Ideally, take a copy of a the prescription or a letter from your doctor in with your hand carried stuff if you can & that makes life even easier.

[ExXB]

Donkey's suggestions are likely in line with bureaucratic rules set out in some manual they don't match my experiences as a Type 1 who has travelled with insulin for over 35 years.

I do have a copy of my latest prescription with me, but I have never been asked for it.

'Medications' are exempt from the 100ml rule. They don't have to be put in that plastic resealable bag either. I usually leave them in my hand luggage. On rare occasions I've been asked if I have insulin and to show it. No issues there/then either.

I take as much medicine as I will need for the entire journey (not just until I can get replacements). I never have been challenged (even when travelling for six weeks) on the amount I am taking.

Does the medication need to be kept cool? I use the Friouk (http://www.friouk.com/) cooling wallets on trips to places ranging from Dubai to Anchorage. Never had an issue with them either and they work a lot better than ice packs (you don't want insulin too cold or to freeze). [I have no relation with this company other than using their products!]

Bon Voyage!

[Donkey497]

.....are likely in line with bureaucratic rules set out in some manual

Sort of, but not quite. The "manual" part comes from having gone through several hoops to hand carry replacement japanese encephalatis vaccine out to a couple of our guys who were working up-country in Brunei & had the vaccine phials frozen when they had to put the innoculation kit in the hold. (Very long & uninteresting story). Second part comes from occasional travel with my father who injects daily. Since he started to inject after a serious illness, we've always found that going through airport security is smoother if you let the screening folks know that you're injecting & have your kit with you. sometimes, but very rarely, you get asked other questions & it's easier to have the appropriate paperwork with you.

ExXB is right, there's not usually any issue - I do have a tendency to have at least 3 back up plans & having been travelling for nearly as long, I've been on the receiving end of a few curveballs. I have, however, been asked for the prescription for the high strength Ibuprofen that I carry, so it's been well labelled for the past couple of years.

I guess the bottom line is to do your research before you travel & pack accordingly.