RX Prescription in original bottle

[midnightdoug]

Question: my first time cruising oversea Oct. 7 2022 Leaving from Rome Italy

I reading to go thru  Italy custom all you prescription must be in original RX bottles with original DR. note.

I also read people travel to Italy only bring loose pills in a daily planner container ? (2021-2022)

I have some large meds bottles with 90 days supply.  Should I take some out and only bring enough

for 10 day cruise ? Thanks for all answers Chef Doug

[donaldsc]

I have been to Italy w pills in a case in little plastic envelopes w/o problems.  If you are really worried perhaps you can have your pharmacist or your physician(s) provide your with a list of the meds that you are taking.  I have done that with my diabetes meds as that involves needles.

 

DON

[klfrodo]

My wife and I used to follow the rules and take original bottles with copies of original prescriptions.

However, after never being questioned, we just take the weekly pill boxes.

 

However, just because I have gotten away with it doesn't mean you will.

 

None of my meds are life and death medications. Just maintenance meds. I can miss my current meds for a couple of weeks if necessary if confiscated. On the other hand, if they throw me in jail for drug running, I may be in a little trouble. I'm still too cute for jail. 🤣

[martincath]

Nobody can say how pedantic an individual Italian border control officer might be, so if you have enough room to bring original bottles that's always going to be the lowest risk option but in general it does seem like cruisers with a couple of weeks worth of pills is way down the priority list.

 

The biggest issue that jumps out at me from your post is actually the fact you're considering bringing just enough pills for the cruise - THAT is a bad idea at any time, but especially these days with so many flight cancellations and potential for quarantine time extending your trip.

 

Always take at least an extra weeks worth - these days I'd take 2 weeks extra as a badly-timed Covid case at the end of the cruise might add both a quarantine delay and then an extra few days to get a flight home!

[Mary229]

I always do as that is what both the US and Canada recommend.  I just don’t see a reason not to. 

[mom says]

We've always followed the rules, but hey, that's just us. If you must decant your pills into baggies or organizers, go to your pharmacy and ask for extra prescription  labels that you can stick onto each bag, or just get them to print them onto a sheet of paper. But I think it would be risky to do this with any drug that is controlled. And YES, ALWAYS bring a week or 2 extra meds with you in case of unforseen circumstances. And NEVER pack your meds in checked luggage; only in a carry on.

[herbanrenewal]

I ask my pharmacist for an extra label on a plastic bag. Sometimes they just give me the label and I use a ziplock bag.  If your meds are mail ordered you can carefully lift a label from the bottle.

[Lois R]

 I have never heard that you need to bring your meds inside their bottles.

I have a travel size pill box that I use for every sailing and never had any issues. I do bring a few extra ones but I have never brought all my bottles with me and I take multiple meds.

[Hlitner]

While I do not quibble with the "rules" I can say that if over forty years of frequent traveling to and from Europe (from the USA) we have never had our bags searched nor has anyone paid any attention to our drugs (prescripton or OTC).   The only time we have ever been searched by Customs is upon entry to Mexico (we live in Puerto Vallarta for part of the year) and Japan (where they very carefully searched all of our luggage).

 

Hank

[shipgeeks]

I am keeping the smaller bottles that my 30-day supply originally came in, and will transfer the appropriate amount, from my current 90-day big bottles, when I'm close to sail date.  

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, midnightdoug said:

Question: my first time cruising oversea Oct. 7 2022 Leaving from Rome Italy

I reading to go thru  Italy custom all you prescription must be in original RX bottles with original DR. note.

I also read people travel to Italy only bring loose pills in a daily planner container ? (2021-2022)

I have some large meds bottles with 90 days supply.  Should I take some out and only bring enough

for 10 day cruise ? Thanks for all answers Chef Doug

 

When researching ports, I use both the UK & Canadian Foreign & Commonwealth Office websites, I'm sure the US has similar resources to assist their citizens. These often state the requirement/restrictions for prescription & OTC medications.

 

When travelling to foreign countries, you have 2 issues to consider - the countries regulations and the border officers that enforce them. Many will advise they have travelled for many years, as I have, and had no issues with being stopped. However, if the regulation require original pill containers and a doctor's note, only you can determine whether you comply, or not, based on your level of risk tolerance. It only takes 1 border officer who has a bad day to enforce the regulations.

 

I was also shocked to read, "Only bring enough". Even pre-COVID we brought at least an extra week or two depending on the length of the holiday. In these times of airline chaos, we would increase the extra supply. 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

When researching ports, I use both the UK & Canadian Foreign & Commonwealth Office websites, I'm sure the US has similar resources to assist their citizens. These often state the requirement/restrictions for prescription & OTC medications.

 

When travelling to foreign countries, you have 2 issues to consider - the countries regulations and the border officers that enforce them. Many will advise they have travelled for many years, as I have, and had no issues with being stopped. However, if the regulation require original pill containers and a doctor's note, only you can determine whether you comply, or not, based on your level of risk tolerance. It only takes 1 border officer who has a bad day to enforce the regulations.

 

I was also shocked to read, "Only bring enough". Even pre-COVID we brought at least an extra week or two depending on the length of the holiday. In these times of airline chaos, we would increase the extra supply. 

We would not travel (today) without an extra 30 day supply.   But folks need to beware that many Asian countries have very strict drug rules and even a simple violation can put you into jail.  Many prescription drugs in the west are absolutely prohibited (even with a prescription) in the east.  Japan has very difficult drug laws that require a special form (Yakkan Shoumei) to bring in more than a 30 day supply of just about everything including aspirin.  This form is complicated, and most be completed and approved prior to entering Japan.  It can now be submitted via e-mail or snail mail.  

A few years ago, DW and I were simply transiting Japan (flying from Korea to the USA) and had all of our drugs (both OTC and prescription) questioned during a routine bad search (between flights).  In keeping with Japanese culture, the customs officers were extremely polite with lots of smile and small talk,  But make no mistake that if we had violated any of their laws (such as simply having some Sudafed) we would have been in big trouble.   

 

Hank

 

[GeezerCouple]

6 hours ago, midnightdoug said:

Question: my first time cruising oversea Oct. 7 2022 Leaving from Rome Italy

I reading to go thru  Italy custom all you prescription must be in original RX bottles with original DR. note.

I also read people travel to Italy only bring loose pills in a daily planner container ? (2021-2022)

I have some large meds bottles with 90 days supply.  Should I take some out and only bring enough

for 10 day cruise ? Thanks for all answers Chef Doug

 

Where did you read that "to go thru  Italy custom all you prescription must be in original RX bottles with original DR. note."

And where did you read "travel to Italy only bring loose pills in a daily planner container"

Obviously both directives cannot be the legal requirements to enter Italy.

 

The ONLY directives that matter are what the Italian government officially states.

 

We search online for the official requirements for any country we will be visiting, and "we do THAT".

 

However,  we always take the same things with us on all international trips... to comply with what might be the "most restrictive" requirements.

That is, we get little plastic ziplocks and ask the pharmacist for extra labels, and we stick those on the ziplocks.  Hence, "official labels".

 

We got this idea when one Rx from our regular pharmacy was delivered to us exactly this way:  in a little ziplock baggie with the label stuck on.  (The only difference between that and "if we did it ourselves" would have been the fingerprints. 😉)

 

We also always take a copy of the script and a letter from our physician stating that "<Name> requires taking <medicine> for a <medical condition>".

We might ask the physician to name to condition or not.

We also keep this supply of documentation, and only update it every several years.  When we travel, we just pull out our packet and put it in our CARRY ON BAG.  We also have copies in the cloud, just in case...

 

Also, we ALWAYS check for any drug restrictions or prohibitions for each country we'll be visiting.  They can vary dramatically.  (For example, Japan would not all *any* [as in, NONE!] of the original formulation of Sudafed.  Did I mention, NONE!?)

 

We've had to fill out some forms a few times, but with email, that has always taken less than 24 hours from our submission to the reply with permission.

 

And we ALWAYS bring EXTRA of any medicine that is "necessary" (in the sense of... if we didn't have it with us, we would or might need to get local medical care or return home, etc.).

 

We've never had a problem when entering any other country, even when we have carried medicine that required some "special permissions" or such.  We had those with us.

 

And we NEVER tried to enter any country with any prohibited meds/drugs!

 

Because we are always prepared with this "package" (of copies of documents and little labeled ziplocks), there's not a lot of special preparation needed for any single trip.

 

GC

 

 

[Mary229]

11 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

And we NEVER tried to enter any country with any prohibited meds/drugs!

You need to read carefully each countries regulations.  Especially some of the Asian countries have some very stringent rules and some common meds may be considered illegal whether prescribed or not 

[whogo]

From the US Department of State website: "Prescription Medications: The Italian Ministry of Health sets rules defining who and how prescriptions and medications can be imported into Italy. However, the Ministry of Health website does not have information in English. According to the Ministry of Health, foreigners entering Italy are allowed to bring personal medications for a period of 30 days, but it is recommended that travelers also bring a copy of their prescription with them. Travelers should not bring excess supplies of prescription drugs into the country and cannot bring prescription drugs for other people." https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Italy.html

Edited August 18, 2022 by whogo

[capriccio]

4 hours ago, Mary229 said:

You need to read carefully each countries regulations.  Especially some of the Asian countries have some very stringent rules and some common meds may be considered illegal whether prescribed or not 

Japan's regulations are very stringent (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Japan.html)

 

If traveling with prescription medication, check with the government of Japan’s Ministry of Health website to ensure the medication is legal in Japan; possession, use, or importation of a prescription drug that is illegal in Japan may result in arrest and criminal prosecution. Always carry your prescription medication in original packaging with your doctor’s prescription. U.S. prescriptions are not honored in Japan, so if you need ongoing prescription medicine, you should arrive with a sufficient supply for your stay in Japan or enough until you are able to see a local care provider.

[sparks1093]

Most pharmacists will provide you with a smaller labeled container on request and if we were traveling to Europe and we didn't want to bring our big containers that is what we would do (but we usually just bring the original container since it's just as easy and it gives us the extra supply we need for the just in case situations).

[iancal]

We have been through Italy customs/immigration countless times.  We have never been questioned about prescriptions that are not in their original container. 

 

The same goes for all our our travels to many countries on most continents.   Including Japan. Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam multiple times.

 

Our trips are usually 2 months long.  So we take enough prescription product to last that long plus a week or so just in case.

 

For the past twelve years, multiple international trips, we have traveled with carry on only.  Our bags have been opened a few times by customs etc.  Never, not once have either of us been queried about multiple different prescription pills on one plain container. 

 

 The only fire drill ever was over a small metal nail file that slipped under the lining of a carry on.  

Edited August 18, 2022 by iancal

[ldubs]

I take the original prescription containers with more than enough doses.  I guess I'm too lazy to sort out daily doses.   I put them in the backpack that stays with me during travel.  Once I was asked to take them out of a zip lock.  Why is beyond me but I did it.   Once I was asked if they were doctor prescribed.  That about sums up my experience traveling with medications.   

[capriccio]

In 2009 I was flying from Prague (IIRC) to the US when the security officer asked me to open my 7 day pill container.  She was visibly surprised that it contained earrings and no pills 😊.  She didn't even ask about medications which were just below the pill box in their original containers.