Traveling With Medication Requiring Refrigeration

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with this. I need to make a plan.

I have a medical condition that, at least for now, requires a weekly injection of a material that requires refrigeration. Getting it here and keeping it refrigerated is not a problem. But I want to go to the US to visit family this summer, thus the need to travel.

I have ordered a bag from Amazon that will keep something cold for up to 12 hours that has been successfully used by others to transport medications. If I could make the trip in one day, there would be no problem. But if I fly from here to Boston and will very likely have to lay over in Miami or somewhere else.

One possibility I thought of was having the hotel where I stay hold it in the refrigerator over night. But I am wondering how reliable that is.

I also thought about taking my papers to a doctor there and getting a prescription. But doing Google searches leads me to believe it is more difficult to find there and possibly a lot more expensive.

In any case, one of the things I am considering is buying a sufficient quantity of the medication here and taking it with me. Thus my asking if anyone else had experience with this.
 

davetuna

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Jun 19, 2012
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Cabarete, Dominican Republic
only experience i have is when people come to me and ask if they can put meds in the fridge........

over the last year or so, many companies are now refusing to do this due to liability issues. Obviously if your hotel room has a fridge then you are good to go.

sorry I can't be more helpful.

dave
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Thanks Dave. I am glad to know about the concern about liability, and can understand it.

But I think my problem is solved. Either Jet Blue or United from POP would get me to Boston during my window of protection.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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meds usually require low temperatures but not super cold. my advice is to buy a small cooler - kind of like a lunch pack. then buy two cold packs: those little packets full of gel that you can refrigerate or freeze. freeze the packets solid. put in the cooler: first the packet, then medicine, then another packet again. this will keep your medicine cold enough. have the meds in a small plastic bag and the bag inside a small plastic box.

as gel packets warm up (it will take time) you can throw some ice inside the cooler. since your medicine will be in a bag and box it will not get wet but it will keep cool. all this should hold for 24 hours easily. ice, i am sure, is available anywhere and it will be easier to get some ice than have someone store your meds in the fridge at the airport or inside the plane. heck, you could ask for ice on the plane as well...
 

davetuna

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Jun 19, 2012
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Cabarete, Dominican Republic
just having a quick scour around the internet and there are small battery powered refrigeration units available, used for unsulin or epipens etc, for future reference it may be worth picking one up sometime.

dave
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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meds usually require low temperatures but not super cold. my advice is to buy a small cooler - kind of like a lunch pack. then buy two cold packs: those little packets full of gel that you can refrigerate or freeze. freeze the packets solid. put in the cooler: first the packet, then medicine, then another packet again. this will keep your medicine cold enough. have the meds in a small plastic bag and the bag inside a small plastic box.

as gel packets warm up (it will take time) you can throw some ice inside the cooler. since your medicine will be in a bag and box it will not get wet but it will keep cool. all this should hold for 24 hours easily. ice, i am sure, is available anywhere and it will be easier to get some ice than have someone store your meds in the fridge at the airport or inside the plane. heck, you could ask for ice on the plane as well...
I'd be surprised if gel/ice packs are allowed as a carry on.

Should be no problem in checked luggage.
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Not Using Gel/Ice Packs

I'd be surprised if gel/ice packs are allowed as a carry on.

Should be no problem in checked luggage.

i found a bag on Amazon that does not require use of an ice pack/gel pack that has been used successfully by others to avoid hassles when flying.

The bag is frozen before you put the medication in it and that is what keeps the medication cool. For up to 12 hours the manufacturer says, but some say they have kept the meds cool for a few hours longer.

I don't have it in my hands yet, but the description sounds like it should be sufficient. I'll have the prescription with me to show when going through screening if necessary. I would like to have it in carry on to be sure it gets to my destination.

The medication is EPOCASS, dv8. What do you think?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000K53U7K/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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this pack has a potential to cause security problems. just like gel packs, when i think of it. this medicine has to stay cold. the manufacturer clearly says so. so i suggest an alternative that is super fast, easy and totally safe.

how about two boxes, larger and smaller. small box with medicine inside big box filled with ice. you can change ice as you go. at the airport, on the plane, everywhere. this way you'd be fine even if TSA grabs the super ice bag (it way look like pressure cooker to them ;) ).
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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this pack has a potential to cause security problems. just like gel packs, when i think of it. this medicine has to stay cold. the manufacturer clearly says so. so i suggest an alternative that is super fast, easy and totally safe.

how about two boxes, larger and smaller. small box with medicine inside big box filled with ice. you can change ice as you go. at the airport, on the plane, everywhere. this way you'd be fine even if TSA grabs the super ice bag (it way look like pressure cooker to them ;) ).

The box of ice would be a good idea if traveling by car or bus where there would be less restriction on bag size and number. But with little space available and with ice melting, I envision problems.

The more i think about it, the more I think it will be best to take double what I need for this trip. One bag in carry on and the second in checked luggage. If both get through, then I will need to take less when I go again in the fall. When I get the bag i ordered, I'll have a better idea of how it might be used. I'm thinking of that bag with a freezer pack taped to each side put in a plastic bag, wrapped with t-shirts, packed in the checked bag

Or maybe for the checked bag a cooler box would be better. I'll look into that also.
 

CARIBETORNO

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May 3, 2013
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talk to the TSA they need like 72 hours notice for special medical needs. they will tell you what to do. you are not the first traveler.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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let us know how it went and good luck. if you can, take two small boxes (my alternative) just to be 100% sure.
 
May 5, 2007
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I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with this. I need to make a plan.

I have a medical condition that, at least for now, requires a weekly injection of a material that requires refrigeration. Getting it here and keeping it refrigerated is not a problem. But I want to go to the US to visit family this summer, thus the need to travel.

I have ordered a bag from Amazon that will keep something cold for up to 12 hours that has been successfully used by others to transport medications. If I could make the trip in one day, there would be no problem. But if I fly from here to Boston and will very likely have to lay over in Miami or somewhere else.

One possibility I thought of was having the hotel where I stay hold it in the refrigerator over night. But I am wondering how reliable that is.

I also thought about taking my papers to a doctor there and getting a prescription. But doing Google searches leads me to believe it is more difficult to find there and possibly a lot more expensive.

In any case, one of the things I am considering is buying a sufficient quantity of the medication here and taking it with me. Thus my asking if anyone else had experience with this.

Hate to give a respone without teh relevant inofrmation but it may provide you with soemhting to search

friend of mine has the same problem (Refrigerated meds) and he bought a small pouch that you immerse in water and it cools by evaporation. it will only cool about 30o below the ambient temperature (50o in a 80o atmosphere) but needs only to remain wet to work

Check under diabetic supplies
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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talk to the TSA they need like 72 hours notice for special medical needs. they will tell you what to do. you are not the first traveler.

The problem is my trip starts in the DR, and I know from experience that just because it is OK with TSA means nothing to the people here.
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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495
83
let us know how it went and good luck. if you can, take two small boxes (my alternative) just to be 100% sure.

Thanks, I will. I am still looking into insulated cases and boxes. The temp requirements seem to be the same as for insulin, so I am looking at products used for carrying it when traveling.
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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For the benefit of anyone in the future who has the same need, I recommend looking at The Insulin Case Shop. Home Page

This is their business. I called and talked with them and will be buying at least one of the products they recommended: either the ChillMed Elite which claims 14 hours but which they told is good for 15 or 16, or the premier version which is good for 24-30 hours and is a little larger than the elite so holds more, or both. The person I spoke with was very knowledgeable and very helpful.

I mentioned concern about TSA taking the gel pack, but they said they have sold many of them and nobody has reported a problem. She said it may have been that the gel packs were not properly marked on the outside (she said their are clearly marked for the length of cooling), ormaybe they didn't have the prescription in hand. The appropriate size gel pack is included in the price of the case.

Before finding these people I was going nuts reading about a host of alternatives on Amazon, each one with reviewers who were positive and others very negative.

I suppose even The Insulin Case Shot might be guilty of over selling, but since there only reason for being is the sale of products to people using insulin, I have more faith in them.

I am not using insulin, but the medication I use comes in the same size vials and has the same temperature requirements.
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Because making the trip in one day would be difficult and stressful--I couldn't leave until 2 on United, if plane on time, fly to New York, clear customs, board another flight, etc, wihin 1 hour for flight to Boston. My son has to drive about 1.5 hours to get me, then drive back.

An alternative is Jet Blue, but that would get me to Boston an hour later than United.

I called the women back and explained that I was thinking about traveling as usual and spending the night in Miami, then get an early flight the next day. But only if I had assurance the medication would stay cool. She said it would stay cool for at least 24 hours, and probably more since I would not be on the beach but in the plane, terminal or hotel, all of which are cool.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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the only difference, ken, is that insulin can go for a while without refrigerating and your medicine - as far as i know, can't, or at least shouldn't.
thanks for posting this. we learn something every day. i am sure that someone will find it very useful.
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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Ken:

You can fly Jet Blue from Santo Domingo to Boston. It connects through either Fort Lauderdale or JFK. The total time of the flight is around 8hrs. I sure if you look at all the airlines you probably could find someone like Delta that might have a direct flight. The other problem would be if you are considering carry this through security. That may be problematic. You might have to find out from the airlines or TSA if this is allowable. Good luck.

LTSteve
 

pelaut

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Aug 5, 2007
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Ken, US Customs as well as TSA can be problematic depending of the individuals you hazard upon.
A friend had his meds confiscated because he didn't have the original mfg's box and "indications" paper.

Also, prescriptions from here, though important to impress the fascisti in TSA or US Customs, won't help you get resupplied. Regulations favorable to Pharma and Doctors will require a new examination, labs, and BS to get an American prescription. You may find that the lobbyists have gotten the FDA to restrict it in the US. Even if it's available in the US, the process of getting it through all the consumer traps that "the greatest medical system in the world" has set for you may eat up the time you've got with the supply you brought.

Just some personal experience with far simpler requirements.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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the only difference, ken, is that insulin can go for a while without refrigerating and your medicine - as far as i know, can't, or at least shouldn't.
thanks for posting this. we learn something every day. i am sure that someone will find it very useful.

I'll let you know how this works. To be safe, I ordered the 24-hour case plus an extra 24-hour gel pack. When I make a hotel reservation, I will make sure they will allow me to put the extra in their freezer over night. With a new 24-hour period starting the next morning, I should be ok even if plane delayed, etc.

Maybe overkill, but what I will save by taking the medication from here rather than going through the process of getting a prescription there and buying the medicine will more than pay for the case and gel packs.