Overseas travel

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I have a holiday booked so I thought I would check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office site for advice for the country. It suggests getting a letter from the doctor to explain any drugs I may be carrying through airport security. Does anyone actually contact their own GP and do this or do you just stash things away with a copy of your prescription?

  • I don't know whether there are different rules for specific countries but we have travelled round Europe a lot. We take a copy of the prescription and the container if it had the name on it of the person to whom it is prescribed. Check whether the drugs you take have any ingredients which are controlled in the country you are going to just to be safe. In this case a letter from the doctor might be a wise precaution. I live in Greece and know what the restrictions are but as an example I have attached an information link.

    https://infocons.org/blog/2024/07/03/what-pills-are-banned-in-greece-what-shouldnt-we-pack-in-our-luggage/#:~:text=Banned%20Medications%20and%20Specific%20Regulations&text=These%20include%3A,your%20doctor%20justifying%20their%20use.

    Have a great holiday.

  • I always take my latest prescription and the tablets or whatever in their boxes.  Always carry them in my hand luggage and also in suitcase in hold so that if one or other goes missing I always have them. For the United States I always get a letter from my GP - Usually when I tell the Pharmacy I need a prescription as I am going away they arrange that - they actually print the letter out there and get the GP to sign it.  If my latest prescription does not have all my medication on - as some I only need to take when necessary so are not always on the repeat prescriptions then the pharmacy will print out the full prescription for me.  I have never had problems with travel in Europe, the Middle East, USA and South Africa