Disability Travel - IV saline, is it okay to put into checked luggage?

I would rather avoid security issues and carrying bags and bags of it around (it is heavy!), so is it okay for the IV saline to be put into checked luggage for a long haul international flight? Can I assume that it won't freeze or burst or anything?

If it gets lost it will be a pain, but not a major expense, to replace.

Thanks!!

No experience with IV saline.

Baggage compartment on airplanes are not pressurized or climate controlled. It is very cold up at 30,000+ft with outside air temperature at -50 or colder.
My family had bags of potato chips and other snacks that bursted.

Thanks. That sounds like a "no". I guess we will be good friends with the security folks. :)

I would rather avoid security issues and carrying bags and bags of it around (it is heavy!), so is it okay for the IV saline to be put into checked luggage for a long haul international flight? Can I assume that it won't freeze or burst or anything?

If it gets lost it will be a pain, but not a major expense, to replace.

Thanks!!

No experience with IV saline.

Baggage compartment on airplanes are not pressurized or climate controlled. It is very cold up at 30,000+ft with outside air temperature at -50 or colder.
My family had bags of potato chips and other snacks that bursted.
Cargo hold temp is not the same as the outside temperature. The range of temperatures that cargo hold can be maintained at depends on the aircraft design. Cargo hold temperature is maintained substantially above freezing. Saline water sill freeze at a lower tep than water, anyway. So temperature of cargo hold is not a concern

However, pressure most definitely is. HAve you seen what happens to empty/partial water bottles that were capped inflight, when the plane lands? They are crushed. The pressure inside the pax cabin is maintained at that corresponding to 10000 ft. S pressure in the cabin is 30% lower than that on the ground. Unless your saline soln is in containers, capable of tolerating the 30% reduction in pressure, they will bust, the saline water will not freeze though.

The kind of packaging used in potato chips and other snacks is obviously not designed to withstand the pressure difference. If your aline pouch is 3x6 in in size, the force on the packaging is about 170 lbs. If a 200 pound person can sit on the saline pouch without causing it to burst or leak, it should, most likely, be fine inflight too. Try it at home. If the pressure in cargo hold is maintained lower than that in the cabin, the force due to pressure difference would be larger. If the saline packaging is not designed to withstand the pressure difference at 10000 ft, in a typical flight, it would leak or burst regardless of whether it's in your checked baggage or cabin luggage.
You might want to call the manufacturer's tech support with the question.

Yaatri thank you for your very thorough and scientific reply!!

Are you saying that the pressure difference is the same in the cargo hold as it is in the passenger cabin?

Thank you!

Yaatri thank you for your very thorough and scientific reply!!

Are you saying that the pressure difference is the same in the cargo hold as it is in the passenger cabin?

Thank you!

Cargo holds are pressurised. There are also parts of the hold which are heated (for example to carry pets, and other items which cannot stand cold).

They need to be pressurised because the passenger floor of the aircraft is not a pressure bulkhead, and cannot by itself withstand the pressure differential (that is, it would collapse if exposed to the outside air pressure).

While it does get cold in the hold, many people, myself included, have carried items such as wine, perfumes, cosmetics etc etc in the hold and they are just fine at the other end :) Aircraft hold are specifically given some heat for this reason, passengers carry liquids in their luggage which they don't expect to be frozen!

Yaatri thank you for your very thorough and scientific reply!!

Are you saying that the pressure difference is the same in the cargo hold as it is in the passenger cabin?

Thank you!

Cargo holds are pressurised. There are also parts of the hold which are heated (for example to carry pets, and other items which cannot stand cold).

They need to be pressurised because the passenger floor of the aircraft is not a pressure bulkhead, and cannot by itself withstand the pressure differential (that is, it would collapse if exposed to the outside air pressure).
I am sorry, I don;t know if the cargo hold is maintained at a different pressure than passenger cabin. The floor doesn't have to be a pressure bulkhead to maintain small differences in pressure. Properly designed smoking rooms, such as those in NRT, have a lower pressure inside than outside (i.e. in parts in the building, but outside the smoking room) to prevent smoke from escaping the smoking room.

While it does get cold in the hold, many people, myself included, have carried items such as wine, perfumes, cosmetics etc etc in the hold and they are just fine at the other end :) Aircraft hold are specifically given some heat for this reason, passengers carry liquids in their luggage which they don't expect to be frozen!

Thank you both!

I think I am bringing the IV supplies, including the saline, in my hand baggage. It is more to carry, but less to worry about. I have a good four wheel rolling hand luggage piece that I did a trial pack of our medical supplies into, and the weight isn't an issue for rolling along, it will only be an issue when trying to get int into the overhead compartment.

Thank you both!

I think I am bringing the IV supplies, including the saline, in my hand baggage. It is more to carry, but less to worry about. I have a good four wheel rolling hand luggage piece that I did a trial pack of our medical supplies into, and the weight isn't an issue for rolling along, it will only be an issue when trying to get int into the overhead compartment.

FWIW, if you are still considering the options, would it be possible to give the manufacturer of the saline a quick call and ask them if it suitable to transport in the hold of an aircraft? They might be able to give you some advice. I guess it depends on how much you will be carrying :)

FWIW, if you are still considering the options, would it be possible to give the manufacturer of the saline a quick call and ask them if it suitable to transport in the hold of an aircraft? They might be able to give you some advice. I guess it depends on how much you will be carrying :)

I am only planning on traveling with about three liters, six 500ml bags, so I think it should be okay. The bags are sealed into a second outer bag that is hard to see through and they are in the bottom of my rolling bag already, but I still have six weeks to do more research.

The probability is, it wasn't made here. Many of our medical supplies are imported from Germany, Italy or Holland. I am not really excited about making international calls to try to figure it out, but maybe next week I will be excited about the challenge. :)

Thank you both!

I think I am bringing the IV supplies, including the saline, in my hand baggage. It is more to carry, but less to worry about. I have a good four wheel rolling hand luggage piece that I did a trial pack of our medical supplies into, and the weight isn't an issue for rolling along, it will only be an issue when trying to get int into the overhead compartment.

Will it be over the allowable weight for the overhead bin?

Will it be over the allowable weight for the overhead bin?

I don't see a weight on British Airline's website. I was told that medical supplies wouldn't count toward our luggage allowance, but I certainly don't want anything falling on our head from being over loaded...

I don't see a weight on British Airline's website. I was told that medical supplies wouldn't count toward our luggage allowance, but I certainly don't want anything falling on our head from being over loaded...

You are correct on not counting against baggage allowance, I was referring to weight load limit on the overhead bins. Depends on the plane as to the limit. I've not seen a problem in my travels, but I don't travel that much. My late wife was on self dialysis and her Solution and equipment could get quite heavy. I don't know the weight of your saline, but merely mention this for your consideration as you stated "it will only be an issue when trying to get it into the overhead compartment".

ncvet61,

Thank you for your reply.

I am particularly weak in my right arm, especially when lifting my right hand over my head. I had surgery on my neck and it took years of physical therapy to get my arm up straight. The bag is heavy, but even I can lift it and get it to bed or counter height, I just worry about getting it into the overhead compartment because of my physical limitations.

Three liters of saline weighs 3kilo/6.6lbs, but it won't be the only heavy thing our carry on bags. I really do wonder what the weight limit is so I can make sure to stay under it! I would prefer to pack all of the medical supplies together, but there are a bunch of us flying so we can spread the weight around if we need to.

Thanks.

no hand baggage weight limit on BA as long as you or someone with you can struggle it into the overhead there will be no problem. The overhead lockers are easily up to heavy bags. The Cabin crew are not supposed to assist you (if they did they would risk injury and no one should have to do that at work) but sometimes fellow passengers will assist, I find college age American men to be very polite in offering to help. I always help mothers with babies and elderly ladies if needed

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1219259-question-ba-employees-people-know-about-flight-oxygen.html I got good answers to my IV saline question on this thread.

It seems that water doesn't expand and contract like air (which makes sense!) so it isn't an issue. Also, there are bags of IV saline on the plane in the emergency kit and they are just fine.

Once travelled with some IV saline bags in case of emergency and had no problem in checked luggage. Actually never thought about it being a problem (they were 1L bags).

Also I regularly travel with bottles of water and wine in my checked luggage (double ziploc bags of course) and never had a problem with crushing, leakage, etc. Helps to make sure they are packed between "cushiony" items.