Whether you’re planning a trip abroad for business or leisure, there are many things to consider.
However, one of the most important things to prepare for before jetting off is your long-term prescription medications.
This is especially true if you’re planning a long-term trip where you will be away from home for a significant period.
Medication Preparation Before Travelling
No one wants to find themselves in a foreign country without the meditation that is vital for their health.
However, without proper planning and preparation, this could become a reality.
Therefore, be sure to do your research beforehand and understand all your options for obtaining prescriptions abroad.
Plan Ahead
We recommend discussing your travel plans with your GP or doctor one to two months before your trip. They will tell you how much of your medication they can legally prescribe to you at once.
If you don’t have a local GP, you can order your prescription medication online at Oxford Online Pharmacy.
The UK-based online pharmacy is a fully registered and well-trusted medication distributor with over 10,000 Trustpilot reviews from happy customers.
Oxford Online Pharmacy offers a wide range of prescription medications for different medical conditions.
You will need to send them your prescription or complete a free online consultation with one of their GMC registered doctors to qualify.
During the consultation, you can explain your travel plans to ensure you receive enough supplies to last the entire trip.
Oxford Online Pharmacy also sells non-prescription treatments. These including many helpful travel medications such as sickness and diarrhea medicine, and painkillers.
Therefore, they serve as a one-stop shop for all your prescription and travel medication needs.
One last note; even if you already have enough current medicine to last your trip, be sure to check the expiry date ahead of time (and not the day before your go!)
Make sure that the medicine does not expire during your trip, and if so, order some more.
Research What Medication You Can Take
Some countries have regulations and restrictions around certain medications. Therefore, it’s essential to check the rules for all the countries visiting.
This includes any that you are passing through or stopping over for a night. For example, India, Pakistan, and Turkey are three countries that have a list of restricted medications.
The best way to check that your medication is allowed is to contact the embassy of the country you’re visiting.
Doing your research will prevent you from having any of your medicines confiscated by airport security.
As well as restricting certain medical drugs, some countries will have rules around the maximum quantity of medicine that you can take in.
If you are travelling long-term and on multiple prescriptions, this could potentially cause an issue.
Understand The Regulations Of Your Medications
Keep in mind that some medicines available over the counter in the UK may require a prescription in other countries.
Therefore, if you plan to buy medicine as and when you need it, you may run into problems. Because of this, we recommend taking supplies of any medication you think you may need during your trip.
This can also work the other way. For example, some medications that require a prescription to obtain in the UK can be bought over the counter in other countries. We’ll discuss this further later on.
Safely Pack And Store Your Prescriptions
Always carry your medications and a copy of your prescription in your hand luggage when travelling by air. It’s safer to keep them with you rather than in your suitcase, which could go missing.
Plus, you can easily show them at customs, if requested. Also, to avoid any hold-ups, ensure all your medication and medical equipment are in the original, correctly labelled packaging.
While your hand luggage is much less likely to go missing than your suitcase, these things can happen. Therefore, you might want to pack some of your medication in your hold luggage, too.
Next, think about how your medications need to be stored. Some drugs should be kept at room temperature (below 25C), while others need to stay in the fridge.
If yours is the latter, use an ice pack, cool bag, or insulated pouch while travelling to your destination to ensure it stays at optimal temperature.
Moreover, if travelling to a hot country, you might prefer to keep any room temperature medicine in the fridge.
How To Replace Prescriptions When Travelling
Suppose you decide to extend your trip once you’re away, miscalculate your medication supplies, or lose some of the pills.
In that case, you’ll need to replace your prescriptions in the country you are currently in. The difficulty of obtaining prescription medicine abroad will depend on the country and the specific drug you need.
However, in most cases, you will have three possible options.
1. Ask At A Pharmacy
The medication you require may not require a prescription in the country you’re visiting. For example, in many Asian countries such as Thailand, all antibiotics are available over the counter.
Therefore, the first step is to ask a pharmacist. However, bear in mind that this may not be that easy if there is a language barrier. If so, visit a few different pharmacies until you find one that speaks English well.
2. See A Local Doctor
If you cannot get your medication over the counter, you’ll need to visit a local doctor. In most cases, if you explain your medical condition, you can obtain a new prescription to be filled locally.
Having a copy of your prescription and a letter from your doctor in the UK explaining that you need these medicines for a particular health condition will help in this situation.
Make sure the letter includes your name, the name of the drug, and the strength and dosage you require.
Furthermore, if you can get a copy of both the prescription and letter translated to the language of the country or countries you’re visiting, this is even better.
Moreover, remember to scan these documents and email them to yourself so that you have electronic versions should you lose the hard copies.
3. Have A Contact Person Back Home Who Can Obtain And Send Your Prescriptions
If for whatever reason, you are unable to visit a doctor where you are, there is an alternative way that you can obtain your prescriptions.
You’ll need to have a contact person back in the UK who has power of attorney to collect your prescriptions on your behalf and then send them to you.
However, this should only be used as a last resort as it will take some time for the medication to arrive.
Plus, there is always the chance that customs will seize them as they may be unregistered drugs in that country.
Alternative Replacement Medications
There is a possibility that you may not find the exact drug you take in the country you are in.
Instead, there might be an equivalent foreign version, but there may not even be this sometimes.
If this is the case, you’ll need to work with a healthcare professional (either locally or back home) to determine a suitable replacement medication.
They will access international drug databases to find information on equivalent products available in that country.
What To Do If Your Prescription Medicine Gets Stolen While Travelling
Say you did your research, planned ahead of time, and left for your trip with enough medication to last the entire time you are away.
However, at some point during your travels, you realise your whole prescription supply is gone. Suddenly, you find yourself without your life-dependent medicine.
If this unfortunate event happens to you, you should immediately call your health insurance company.
Your insurance company will contact your doctor back home and figure out how to get replacements to you as quickly as possible. If you do not have health insurance, you can contact the British embassy in the country you’re in to see for further advice.
Be sure to file a report of the incident too with the local police.
Or, if you believe it went missing during air travel, you’ll need to file a statement with the airline. Either way, you will need this for your travel insurance claim.
Final Thoughts
While you cannot eliminate the chance of a travel emergency occurring, you can take precautions to avoid potential distress on the road.
Following the guidance in this article will equip you with the knowledge you need and help you deal with any hiccups relating to your prescriptions while you’re away.
What’s more, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your vacation much more.
