Prescription Drugs--original containers?

indiajesse

Okay. Leaving in one week, going for two weeks.

I'm currently taking 5 prescription drugs (don't ask! ), plus I have prescriptions for Doxy (malaria) and Cipro (in case of traveler's diarrhea). That makes 7 prescription bottles if I take all the containers! I'm only taking a small backpack, so these are taking up tons of space! I know "they" always advise you to take the original bottles, but is this absolutely necessary? I will be bringing the typed sheets of info. that come with each medication, and those have my name on them...

What do you all think? If I only brought the pills, I would just need one or two bottles...

Thanks for your help!

wonderwomanusa

I've never had a customs officer look at my medications in any country. Last time I went to India, I stuck all the Rx labels to one sheet of paper, and stuck all the pills in however-many bottles necessary and there were no questions at either end of the journey.

Go for it!

crvlvr

drugs (yes, even prescrption ones) are so much cheaper in India that the customs don't care what you bring it. They probably think you are not so smart to bring it from abroad to begin with.

trvl_in

One approach that works is to break your meds down into ziplock bags along with the original prescription label. An exception to this is that if you carry commonly smuggled / abused drugs such as benzos, narcotics, stimulants, or steroids keep these in their original packaging.

However you package your meds it's best practise to keep them neatly arranged with the paperwork at hand so that you can do an orderly presentation if challenged.

Nick-H

These are the only ones you need have any concern about at all.

It's worth having prescriptions in case you loose and have to replace anything. You should make sure you know the generic name of the drugs, as the same trade-name versions may not be available here.

If in need of help or advise, though, just call into a doctor's clinic. Pharmacists will try to help, and they know basic stuff, but are not trained and qualified like their Western counterparts.

Even if you have specialist requirements like heavy pain control or something, a consultant or surgeon at a private hospital can usually be seen same-day, and will not take much out of your travel budget.

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team