Traveling takes a lot of hard work and preparation for your travelers. Even if you're doing majority of the planning, they still have a great deal to worry about. Add prescription drugs into the mix and your clients officially hit the mother load of pre-departure anxiety.
Depending on the types of medications your clients are on, they may have to worry about temperature regulation, customs, and time zones. This can be stressful for travelers who are on long-term or short-term medication.
We put together a list of tips you can give your clients who are traveling with prescription medication.1. Use Their Carry-On
Your client may feel secure packing their medications with their checked luggage if they are flying direct, but it is extremely important they avoid doing so. Lost medication isn't the only risk they face when going that route.
Bags are often carelessly handled in airports, potentially resulting in compromised medications. But the biggest worry when checking baggage is temperature control. Most pharmaceutical manufacturers recommend their products be stored in a controlled temperature between 68 - 77 degrees.
The temperature of most cargo holds can be between 44° and 50°, but a bag waiting on a trolley in the sun can heat up very quickly.
Your client may be tempted to stockpile their medications in their luggage to save room in their carry-on, but it just isn't worth the risk. If they can't avoid checking some of their medications, suggest temperature controlled storage.
2. Bring a Cooler
Some medications, like insulin, have to be kept refrigerated. Flying is their initial concern but many travelers will request a kitchenette and avoid excursions that pose threat to their medication.
Advise your travelers to have a cooler as their carry-on, or maybe purchase a item designed to keep medications cool like The Frío Wallet by Frío, a U.K. based company.
Either way, your client should carry their refrigerated medication on board with them. No exceptions.
3. Take Extra
By take more than necessary, we don't mean telling your client to take two month's worth for a week-long cruise. We mean your client should pack extra tablets in case they were to drop a pill or experience a form of travel delay.
Maybe Grandma is spontaneous and decides to stay an extra night in Cabo! Having 2-3 days worth of extra medications makes her spontaneous behavior a possibility.
4. Keep Original Packaging
Some countries have very strict policies on medications they allow. To avoid skepticism from a customs agent, it is important to keep prescriptions in the original packaging which is clearly labeled.
They can save last month's bottle, divide the medication and leave the older bottle safely at home. This will ensure they are taking the necessary amount of medication on their trip, but also keeping it in the original packaging to avoid complications.
5. Bring Physicians On Board
Who wouldn't love to take their doctor on vacation with them - right? It is obviously not something the average traveler can do, so advise them of the next best thing – taking a letterhead from their doctors office with them.
The letterhead should contain detailed information on their medical conditions, duration of the scripts, prescription medications and the generic name of the drugs. Medical documentation is often required to bring even non-prescription medications into the country.
You want your clients to include the generic prescription information because certain physicians in other countries may not know the exact brand name of your client's medications. However, they would know the components of a different and/or generic brand.
If your client has any complications while traveling, it is vital the treating physician knows what medications your client is on and why. This could not only speed up treatment, but also save their life.
6. Bring Specific Contact Info
Suggest for your client to carry the contact information of both their physician and pharmacist in case they need to get in contact with them. You can even go the extra mile and ask your client if they would mind leaving the contact information for you as well. If they lose the info while traveling, they can easily call you.
7. Call the Consulate
One thing you can do to assist your clients with their travel booking arrangements is aide them in calling The American Embassy or U.S. Consulate in regards to their medications.
If you do not feel comfortable handling sensitive information such as lists of prescriptions, you can call with your client or provide them will all of the contact information they need to gather information.
8. A Second Prescription
How inconvenient and absolutely annoying would it be to lose medication while traveling? Probably very, and having to spend money on unnecessary long distance calls to have the appropriate prescriptions faxed to the local pharmacy would only add to the disaster.
Have your client see if their doctor will write them an extra prescription for the duration of their trip, in the event their medications should become lost or stolen.
Be sure to advise that each medication is on an individual prescription, and not a multi-prescription form. A lot of pharmacies will only fill one script if they are all listed on the same paper.
9. Preparing for a Change in Time Zones
If you are booking your client in a country where there is a change in time zones, you may want to consider suggesting they talk with their physician about changing their medication schedule.
Their physician may help them gradually change their schedule before their trip, or have them start a new schedule upon arrival. Suggesting they set calendar reminders in their phone or tablet could assist them with the break in routine.
10. Pre-Existing Conditions Waiver
If your client is traveling with a pre-existing condition, it is important for them to ensure they are covered for this condition with their travel insurance pre-existing condition waiver.
Sometimes this requires your client to purchase their travel insurance within 14 days of their initial trip deposit, but with some companies - like TravelSafe, it may be 21 days. You can read more about our Pre-Existing Condition Waiver in a previous blog post.
11. Researching Travel Vaccinations
There are a lot of vaccinations out there for travelers, and some of them are considered routine and harmless. This may not be the case when paired with your client's current medications. Something as simple and an anti-malarial medication could conflict with a current prescription and pose health risks.
12. Offer Them Travel Insurance Plans with Services like Global XPI
Anyone traveling with prescriptions should take extra precautions. Using a travel insurance plan that provides services like Global XPI is a good start. Prior to departure, your clients can register their medical infromation, including any and all prescriptions. Should they need to access this information, or fill a prescription abroad, their insurance services can help.
Read more travel safety advice for your clients here.
