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You are probably wondering, what is this “med bag” I’m talking about here?
A medical carry on bag, or med bag, is a separate carry on bag that contains any medication, medical devices, supplies or anything else that can be categorized as assisting to your medical needs, that must stay with you as a passenger throughout your travels. A med bag does not count as a carry on, or a personal item, it is its own entity.
A med bag is an easier way to travel if you need to travel with multiple medications, equipment, and supplies and need to have it all in one location. For instance, I as a PAH patient, need access to my medication and spare pump, when traveling, and need to carry many supplies for the trip, and backup. Before I learned that you could bring a med bag, and it would not count as a carry-on, I was trying to find ways to fit supplies in, along with my clothes and toiletries, and would find I had no room for anything and it was completely unorganized. Or, my bags would constantly be searched at the airport, and they would question me about why I had needles in one spot, and medication in another. The med bag was the solution to all these problems.
In a later post, I’ll talk about how I pack my med bag. But here are the basics you need to know when packing one, and how to go through security easier with one.
1. A med bag should only contain the medications, supplies and devices you need for travel and your trip. You should not pack clothes, electronics (unless needed), and others into your bag to save space elsewhere. Med bags are often searched at TSA thoroughly, either because of sharp devices or liquid, so you do not want to bring into question whether this is a legitimate med bag or not.
2. Have Medical Carry On Tags. I have tags on my bag to easily identify it as a medical carry-on, not a personal carry-on. With the tags, there are fewer questions about whether or not this is this 3rd bag you are carrying.
3. Have a note from your doctor that you need to carry medication with you throughout your travel experience. Luckily through my specialty pharmacy, Accredo, they provide a travel letter. The letter states who I am, my condition, and that per this condition and medications I take, I need to be in reach of this medication at all times throughout travel. If your pharmacy does not provide such letter, ask your doctor or their nurse to provide one for you to keep in your med bag at all times. This has helped me especially when traveling abroad, and they may not understand why I have a bag full of medication and supplies.
4. Your med bag should be small enough to fit under the seat if necessary. Overhead bin space can be limited, and you do not want to risk not having this with you.
In this post here, I review my current med bag and I why I like it for traveling. Check it out here.
5. If you need scissors, you may pack in your med bag a pair have a blade less than 4 inches from the pivot point. I recommend the following Folding Singer Scissor (TSA tested and approved). These scissors are below blade limit and can fold into a smaller item. I keep these in a pocket, so if TSA needs to search the bag and I can easily pinpoint where the scissors are located.
6. All medications need to have your name on them. If questioned by TSA or customs, if your medication does not have your name on the bottles, supplies, or other medication, it can lead to trouble and hold up your screening process, or worse case scenario have them taken away. If your supplies do not have your name on it, this is where your travel letter comes in handy. This is why I always travel with my medication pill bottles and supplies with my name on it to avoid any further complications.
I also recommend getting approved for TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry. This has made traveling with liquid medication 10 times easier, since I do not have to remove it from the bag each and every time. Also, with a med bag, and liquids, they are less likely to be searched and contaminate your bag’s items. For more about how to get TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry, an check it out the links.
Here are some important things to note while boarding with a med bag, since not all airlines and their employees are well versed in this area. Gate Agents and Flight Attendants are not allowed to ask if you why you have a medical bag, or ask to see inside of one. Only TSA can. A medical bag does not count as a carry-on or a personal item, so if a Gate Agent or Flight Attendant says you have too many bags, or you need to check your med bag, calmly explain it is a medical bag, that does not county as a carry-on, so you are allowed all three bags to board the plane. If they still give you a hard time, you can contact their supervisor so they can educate them on medical bag procedures. Medical Bags cannot be charged as baggage, for those airlines that make you pay for bags (other than purses and laptop cases). If you run into any issues with your med bag, check out this post, where I write out what to say and show to the gate agent.
Medical bags are not just great for planes. They are great for any trip, since they keep all supplies and medications in one location. When going on car trips, or need to bring your medications with you to work, it's easy to continuously keep it in the same bag for all occasions.
