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Staying Healthy on the Road Medical info, e.g. malaria, vaccinations, travel medical tips, medical insurance, where to find a doctor.
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 12 Feb 2009
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Travelling with drugs
Hi

I'm planning a 12month or so trip and woulds be interested in peoples experiences of travelling with medication.
I am type 2 diabetic and need to take tablets.
What can I do to avoid having problems with customs etc ?

cheers

John
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  #2  
Old 12 Feb 2009
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I've been all over the place by plane, car, motorcyle, boat and have meds for diabetes, high blood pressure, pain killers etc.never had a problem.
the stuffs not in the boxes but are still in the origional blister packs.carry a prescription just in case.customs people have seen them and passed no comment, they are not idiots, it's obvious i'm not a drug smuggler even when i've got 2 or 3 months worth on me.
if you go to certain areas you may get someone try and tap you for a bribe but just tell 'em he can keep them...that usually does it.anyway you can get diabetes pills in most of europe ceaper than the uk!
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  #3  
Old 13 Feb 2009
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I've traveled all over the world in one way or another, and I finally realized that no one cared a bit about what sort of medications I'm carrying....so I consolidated them, re-packed them in mis-matched containers, left behind all the paperwork, even forgot what a few of them were for. Never been a problem yet, although some are definitely controlled substances (e,g, opiates) everywhere.

Mileages vary, sometimes greatly. But I suggest not bothering to obsess unduly over it.

Mark
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  #4  
Old 13 Feb 2009
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Thanks guys

I'll just bung em in and not worry about it then

cheers

John
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  #5  
Old 13 Feb 2009
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Speaking of drugs. I got into an interesting situation back in '77 when I had a packrack malfunction in the middle of the Khyber Pass, 'went back to Peshawar to have it rewelded and a local passed my pillion passenger a block of hashish (unasked for and for no charge - ostensibly included as part of welding costs). When we arrived at Kabul that evening I discovered I had it in my trouser pants - I must be the first person to actually smuggle, albeit inadvertently, hash in to Afghanistan.

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  #6  
Old 14 Feb 2009
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John, my mum's type 2 diabetic and makes frequent trips round Europe. She's never had a problem, either when she was on pills, or now she's onto injections, I think most customs people recognise it as proper medication easily enough.

I would make sure you carry a couple of copies of your doctor's prescription though, but that's mainly in case you lose your meds, so you can seek out replacement. Also if you're going anywhere hot there's a range of water cooled med bags that'll keep your pills cool (often there's something in the small print about keeping drugs at room temperatures and on a bike in the sun, they're likely to go well over that.

Finally there's also those little bracelets you can get which say "I'm a diabetic" on them, you never know.
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  #7  
Old 14 Feb 2009
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Hi Axlebrit

I've not had any problem in Europe either

Its the rest of the world I'm not sure about

Thanks for your suggestions

cheers

John
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  #8  
Old 5 Apr 2009
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I have never had problems and no one seems to care.

The recomendation is to keep medications in its orgional packaging - whether in the orgional box or bottle from the drug company or the bottle with label from your pharmacy.

A writen prescription in a plastic zip bag is a good idea in case you meet up with some official idiot that you've pissed or need a refill in a place that actually requires a prescription or needs to more information for looking up the medication (spelling, and doctor lingo).
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  #9  
Old 3 Jun 2009
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No one should have a problem with that...if you can confirm your diagnosis there shouldn't be a problem taking meds... ----------------------------
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  #10  
Old 3 Jun 2009
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Hi,

The first time I travelled further than europe with epilepsy meds I took a doctors note. I don't bother any more, but you might want to if it'll mean you are more at ease. I think I would if I was going anywhere that didn't see a great deal of tourists or had drug smuggling problems.

Matt
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