POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: tonynich on September 11, 2009, 06:04:09 pm
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I just started a job that requires me to travel to South America on a monthly basis and, I am concern about how to travel with my meds.
What are the procedures? Do I take then on my suitcase or carry on?
Do I need to carry a prescription from my doctor?
Do I take the bottle of meds or should I put them on a weekly pills holder?
What are the procedures if the airline lose my suitcase or meds?
Are there countries that deny entrance if they find out you are HIV+?
I have been told that they are several countries that do not let HIV+ people enter once they know your status and some other people have told me that if they check your luggage and find pills, they might make you throw them away.
Please advise.
Thanks.
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I just started a job that requires me to travel to South America on a monthly basis and, I am concern about how to travel with my meds.
What are the procedures? Do I take then on my suitcase or carry on?
All my advice is what my ID told me, in Europe.
Check to see if there are HIV travel bans to the country(s) you are going to. (see below)
If not, then the procedure is as for any essential medicine that you can't miss:
Put some in your carry on - enough to cover a few days if your lugguage is lost or stolen.
Put some in your suitcase.
Carry a perscription, clearly printed by the doctor.
What are the procedures if the airline lose my suitcase or meds?
Are there countries that deny entrance if they find out you are HIV+?
I have been told that they are several countries that do not let HIV+ people enter once they know your status and some other people have told me that if they check your luggage and find pills, they might make you throw them away.
Please advise.
Thanks.
Look here to see if there is a ban.
http://www.hivtravel.org/
God forbid you are turned away at the border - I have no advice here.
Common sense would seem to prevail if for some reason your medicine was confiscated but you were still let into the country: so, do you have more in your suitcase or carry on? If not, can you fill your prescription locally, and if so how will you pay for that, and will your insurance cover the loss and the replacement? If not, are you prepared to go without medicine, or should you voluntarily return home and take your pills. By the way, keep some extra at home, too.
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Why would you put any HIV meds in checked luggage and not all in your carry on?
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The only South American country with a ban for HIV positive travelers is Colombia. You should take all your meds in your carry-on luggage.
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Whenever I travel I keep all my meds with me, in their original bottles and I have a letter from my doctor that lists all my meds and doses. Never needed any of it so far.
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You would put it in two different places in case one is lost, stolen, or confiscated.
I've had my carry on bags opened and searched many many times. In all my years of travelling I've never once been asked to open my suitcase. I've also forgotten carry on luggage. In stopovers. On the transportation away from the airport. Etc.
I can have enough drugs to put in two places, that is what my ID said to do. Better safe than sorry.
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I assume that you are a US citizen, in which case you will not have to worry about the biggest potential problem for someone who is HIV+ - getting back into the US.
While the US no longer has an absolute ban on HIV+ visitors traveling to the US it can still be a big problem for anyone who has an immigrant visa.
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Every bit of advice that I've ever seen says to keep ALL your medicines with you, in your carry-on.
You really have no idea how your checked baggage gets stored -- could be very cold, very hot, very wet, etc. You (should) always know how your carry-on is stored.
The advice to keep some in 2 places, is good though. When I travel, I always keep a day or two worth of my meds in small pill containers, in my pocket. All the rest goes into my carry-on -- preferably the one stored under the seat in front of me and NOT in the overhead bin.
When I travel out of the country (I'm in the US), I always have my meds in their original bottles. If I am staying in the US -- I use my pillboxes (and med bottles, if it's a long trip).
Also, I always take about double what I need -- so if I get delayed in my return, I'm all set. I once had to spend 3 extra days in London because of snowstorm in the US (my airline couldn't get any planes out)
Mike
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Yeah bockers sounds like the best. You need some extra, just in case, and two places is better than one.
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Yes, I always take about three extra days worth of pills for the reason bocker stated, and because of similar travel delay experiences. I can't carry two days worth of pills on my body because I take many, many more pills than the rest of you. I just pay extra attention to my carry on.
Anyway, I've been traveling overseas with HIV meds for 16 years and I know what works for myself. Oh, and the only time I've ever carried a letter from my doctor was when I was on clinical trials and the meds are in plain non-pharmacy labeled bottles. You don't legally need one otherwise. I've also never been asked by a security official checking in my bags what medical diagnosis all of the bottles are pills are for. I would assume that they're trained not to do this.
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I think there are a total of 27 with a complete ban on us HIV folks even on short term stay (yes, US included), and none is in South America. You can check out this website (http://plwha.org/) on the specifics on those countries you need to travel to.
I do travel a lot and the swine flu panic in some countries have made things even more complicated. It's not totally helpful but if I have enough supply I do actually bring up to a week of extra pills, just in case I end up being quarantined for sitting next to someone with a confirmed case of H1N1 on a plane (or, touch wood, I catch it myself).