jesirose

Do prescriptions have to have your name on them? I have an ointment which is RX only, and says so on the tube, but it's not in the original bottle with my name written on it. We're only doing a carry-on and no liquids at all so I won't have a 1-qt baggie, unless I should specifically do one for meds? (I'll have the ointment and 2 pill bottles with my name)

Advice?

Devil_Dog99

I have never had a problem with my rx bottles nor have I ever heard of anyone having to show them to the screener. To be on the safe side (i.e. avoid any potential hassle from a TSO with a hair across his butt), put the tube in a 1 qt baggie and treat as if you were doing the whole 3-1-1 deal.

RichardKenner

TSOs have said here multiple times that prescriptions are useless because they can be forged trivially. Don't even bother with them or labels.

N965VJ

Short answer, the TSA has no reason to be concerned about what your prescriptions are, though you may want to put the tube in a baggie.

More here:

TSA policy concerning prescription med labels

jesirose

What do you mean don't bother with them? I need them...they're prescribed. I'm not the one who wrote the labels either...They came that way from the pharmacy.

Thanks - my concern is it's larger than the 3.4 oz volume so I was worried they'd treat it like a non prescription.

mindcandy28

I put all my prescription pills into a 1qt clear plastic bag.
All of them .. dumped together.

Hey .. the bottle with the prescription on it might have been 3.5oz .. can never be too careful when it comes to aviation security, right officer?

PS: go ahead and confiscate it .. it's an anti-seizure medication .. that'll be fun at 30,000 feet.

pmocek

It really comes down to what an individual TSA bag checker thinks at the time he or she searches your belongings. We're not allowed to read the rules TSA requires us to follow. The best we can do is try to distill their press releases, blog postings, and "tips for travelers," then go to the airport, throw ourselves at the mercy of whichever staff are on duty, and hope for the best.

brandinius2

And the good ol' "Are you a medical doctor?" comes into play as well if questioned.

sangreal

I always check liquid/gel meds so I don't have to deal with this (since often the label is on the box and not the tube), but I'm pretty sure they don't care as long as you declare the medication for addt'l inspection (if it exceeds 3.4oz). I've never had them ask about pills of any kind -- I don't even bother putting them in a bag.

Obviously if you are travelling internationally you'll want to have your prescription documents in order.

janetdoe

I put all my personal care liquids (shampoo, cleanser, etc) in one baggie.

Anything liquid that is medically necessary, I put in another bag (a gallon bag if need be) and put that in a separate bin. If there is any item that I think will trigger a bag search, I put it in a bin so that they have no legitimate reason to search my bag.

TSA cannot take anything you say is medically necessary, and they can't ask you why you need it. If they do ask, say "My doctor prescribed/ recommended I use that." If they press further, ask them for a HIPAA Privacy disclosure that explains how they would be using my private medical information, and whom they would be sharing it with. I have no idea whether or not HIPAA applies, but that is what I would say.

The TSA shouldn't be looking for drugs, so I wouldn't worry at all about prescriptions or solid medications. Unless you have prescription painkillers - there is one thread about a TSO 'losing' a passenger's narcotics while she was having a patdown.

pdquick

I don't think it's a good idea to put prescription meds in a checked bag? What if they lose the bag? For me, that would mean a trip to the ER.

Exactly what I do. Prescription medications do not count against the 3-1-1 rule. If I have room, I may combine the bags, but on a longer trip or on a trip requiring sunscreen and mosquito repellant, meds get their own bag.

gojirasan

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread. Check any medication that you do not absolutely need for the flight itself. Usually this only amounts to less than 10 pills in your carry-on. ALWAYS, ALWAYS use a prescription container with a label on it which you are prepared to claim is the same as the medication within it. NEVER mix pills in the same container. Take it from me I was detained for over an hour and almost missed my flight because I had a small unlabeled prescription container with a mix of pills I needed for the flight. I had to wait while an LEO first used some kind of informal (but ineffective) narcotics detection system on them IIRC, and then proceeded to call in the individual pill numbers to check them out. They can and will keep your pills if you cannot prove they are both non-narcotic and legally prescribed to you, which could involve having to call and get through to your doctor etc. In my case they did not keep my pills, but according to them this was just a favor on their part. They were just being nice. They claimed to have full authority to keep the pills long enough to GC/MS them, which would require sending them to a police lab I believe. Again, according to the government you have no rights at the airport. None at all. Unless you are trying to make some kind of protest or legal case and are prepared to miss your flight do not follow the advice on here about not worrying about labels.

I agree that you don't need the prescriptions themselves. I have always wondered how they expected you to still have the prescription after you have given it to the pharmacy to get your pills. I have never had a pharmacy return a prescription to me. Although admittedly I have never asked for them back. If I were an LEO, carrying both the prescription and the pills would actually make me more suspicious that something wasn't right.

AINITFUNNY

Other than my comments, I mostly agree with what you said. I cannot understand WHAT LAW an innocent private citizen supposedly "breaks" by carrying medications lawfully prescribed to him/her in unmarked containers. I am not required to be able to prove the camera, cellphone, laptop or ipod I carry belongs to me,

WHY should I need to prove "my" medicine is mine? The mere possession of medication is not a crime nor "PROBABLE CAUSE". That is none of their business and if they think it is, then it is up to THEM to prove guilt of some crime, not up to me to prove innocence. I don't think there really is any such law, but FOR THEIR CONVENIENCE, law enforcement agencies have convinced the public they have no right to carry their medicine in unmarked containers. I call bull on that.

The BASIS of their "Authority" to search us AT ALL is to "prevent terrorists and their weapons" from boarding the aircraft. They have NO Authority under those auspices to challenge us to prove our medication was prescribed to us OR TO SEIZE IT. It merely remains for that to be challenged in court, and we would win.

skeptiCat

Ask your pharmacist for a duplicate Rx label, they should be able to print one off for you. I learned to always ask for the actual medication to have the label on it for situation like this, but particularly for things like my EpiPen & inhalers.

gojirasan

I tend to save my prescription containers for this reason. I have a mix of large containers and small containers with valid labels on them for all my medications. Most pharmacies allow you to fill a partial prescription. So it isn't too difficult to get smaller containers for your carry-on. These prescriptions could be verified by calling both my doctor and the pharmacy and that is your ultimate defense, although I usually fly when my doctor's office is closed.

The problem with bringing a huge prescription bottle with hundreds of pills is that you may get hassled by the TSA or LEO about it. "Why are you bringing so many pills with you on the aircraft?." "What are you doing with so many pills?". I have enough things to worry about without such hassles. Last time I traveled I must have been hauling at least 500 pills. Probably more. I had a whole pill bag within my duffel devoted to them. Generally when I travel my trips last 6 to 12 months and they are outside of the US. So I bring as many pills as I can.

Why would you have to lie? Just be prepared and bring each drug in its correct container. If by some chance you didn't have an original container, then lying is really your only choice if you don't want to get hassled. Everyone has to make that choice for themselves. IIRC the drug questions were mostly from the LEO that was called over. I don't think the TSA really deals with drug issues except to decide whether to call over the LEO. So you'd probably just be lying to the LEO, which I think is perfectly legal. Although I think you are also allowed to lie to a TSA screener. They are not even a law enforcement officer. Maybe you are confusing them with the Customs/Immigration people. Lying to them really is considered a felony, although I have never heard of anyone actually being prosecuted for it.