Packing Medicine

[rickster]

Any thoughts on how best to pack pills/medicine for the camino?

 

[mspath]

Any thoughts on how best to pack pills/medicine for the camino?

Rickster,

If you are bringing any prescription medicine into Europe be sure to have a copy of your doctor's prescription with you in case you either need more or are stopped at customs. I do not carry liquid medicine but do carry non-prescription pills in small, resealable, plastic envelopes within a basic toiletry kit. If you wear glasses a copy of that prescription is also handy to have.

Have a healthy Buen Camino!

Margaret

 

[dougfitz]

To add to Margaret's advice, I make sure that prescription medications are in their original containers with the prescribing pharmacists label on it, and that I only carry enough for the period of my absence and a buffer of a day or so in case of delays.

Regards,

 

[Trudy]

Take all prescription medication in your carry-on luggage and keep a copy of the prescription with you. You need to take everything in it's original packaging. I do that but, once on the Camino, I got rid of all cardboard packages and popped the tablet strips into a plastic bag - makes the backpack just that little bit lighter and less bulky.

Trudy

 

[gatothecat]

Has anyone been asked for the copy of the doctor's prescription? I never actually see those any more - the doctor always just calls the pharmacy. I do need to take one prescription with me but am hoping that the prescription label and the original packaging will suffice.

 

[jeff001]

Has anyone ever actually had a problem with prescription meds not being in their original containers? Unless you happen to be carrying an inordinate amount I can't imagine ever being questioned.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Another suggestion is to ask your doctor the GENERIC name of the meds in case the Spanish pharmacy doesn't carry the same brand name.

 

[max44]

Questions regarding prescriptions from customs is a case by case and what type of medication schedule number. If you are on strong pain medication, for example morphine sulphate and you have it in ampule form, I would get a letter from your doctor with his contact details etc.
I have travelled to many countries with a backpack and have had 50 or so needles and other medications. I allways declare what I have and have never been questioned once. In addition to what I need for work, my personal stock, would be ampoules of adrenalin, b12, IM antihistamines, I'm antiemetics, aspirin, iodine based items, oroxine caps, needles, sutures etc etc.
When I carry schedule 8 med's such as ketamine etc, I carry a letter of intention, just incase.
Customs are really looking at the potential to sell or narcotic drugs.
I allways put them in a checked in bag, rather than carry on bags. My personal medication I carry on with me.
Sharp objects such as an epipen, glucagon, diabetes IM medications etc, I would get a letter from your doctor to advise these are life saving medications.
Never try and hide items, be calm, be open, and make sure you can justify why you have so many with you. Customs officers are not doctors or pharmacists, take the box so they can see what the medication is.
A generic medication, may not be the same as what your doctor prescribed. The active ingredient may be the same, however, to get around some patent laws, some may have a slower release rate etc. your doctor will tell you if a generic brand is okay.
I take a thyroxine, oroxine medication, generic brands differ in action and coatings etc.
What I am really saying is, talk to your Doc before you go, get a letter, even for your own peace of mind. Keep medications in their box at all times, even on the camino. Pm me if you want to know why.
I have drifted off topic a little, however, it is all relevant.
Check the storage range on your medication also. Whilst first aid kits may be at the top of your pack, a heat sensitive med may need to stay lower out of the indirect heat.

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

They have a database where they can search for a medicines name in one country and find out what it is in Spain. They did that when I needed meds on the Camino. I had meds in original package but only brought what I needed for the weeks in Spain. I had paper packages so I had them in a 1 l sea to summit water proof bag. Just to make sure that the meds and package stayed dry.

 

[peregrina2000]

I suppose that it is not a bad idea to bring along a prescription if you have one, but I have always found pharmacists in Spain to be extremely helpful to pilgrims in need. What that means is that they are willing to sell you prescription medicine without a prescription. I carry two flat partial box covers for some allergy medicine that I was once given in Lisbon. I never have allergies at home, just on the Camino. I don't bring any of the medicine with me, but on two occasions I have had bad attacks and found that having the box was all I needed. I know that there is a possibility that a pharmacist will refuse to give you the medicine without a Spanish doctor's prescription, but that just isn't the standard operating procedure.

 

[HalfDomeOrBust]

Lots of good data here. thank you everyone....

 

[t2andreo]

In more than 30 years of international travel to most of the world I have never had problems with personal medication. However, carrying medication in the original pharmacy-supplied plastic bottles with the labels on them does take both space and weight. I also must take three prescription medications daily, plus all the other pharmacy supplied medications for possible illness on the road. Over the years, I found a good, inexpensive solution that seems to work very well. I used successfully it on Camino this past April and May.

One of my parents has diabetes and must blood sugar levels at least daily. The diabetes testing meter test strips come in a small cylindrical box with a thin foam lining (protects pills from cracking) and a good watertight snap cover that remains attached. I have been collecting the empty test strip boxes from my parent over time. I used a labeling machine to label each box with my name, the trade name, generic chemical name, dosage level, and daily use. The labeling tape is white with black lettering and measures 12 mm or about 1/2 inch in width. For example:

Last Name, First Name
Trade Name, Generic Name 0.5 mg (1/PRN), Purpose

If you use small sized labeling, it all fits. Then I place a strip of 3/4" (20 mm) clear "Scotch" tape over the label to provide protection to the label. These black plastic tubes are 50 mm long and 30 mm wide / diameter (at the lid) and 25 mm wide at the base. They provide perfect protection to the medication inside. This reduces the size of the medication bottles for both prescribed and over the counter medicines. If the pills or capsules are too large, simply use more than one bottle. As each bottle is emptied, you can remove the label and dispose of it then recycle the container. No excess pace or weight is carried.

The several 8 - 10 pill bottles I use are carried in a 1 liter zip lock bag. This traveled in my carry-on luggage then in my rucksack. I had no problem with water penetration while on Camino.

IMPORTANT - I also retain a copy of each prescription label, obtained from my pharmacy, in a separate plastic bag in case I am asked. The labels are very small and my pharmacy usually provides an extra label with each filled bottle of pills.

I hope this helps.

 

[k-fun]

This thread inspired me to write the Camino Tip: Take your medication. Thank you for the suggestions; I hope this tip helps.

 

[MendiWalker]

I would bring a copy of the prescription if possible. I also would bring all the meds in their original box with instructions. Once here you can always get rid of the bulky box.
Pharmacies as someone has already posted are pilgrim friendly and will try to help you out in most cases.
Regarding Customs, in all my life I have never seen any one having been stopped in this country because of their meds. It doesn´t mean it doesn´t happen just that I haven´t seen case.

Buen Camino!

 

[JoanneK]

Any thoughts on how best to pack pills/medicine for the camino?

My husband takes daily thyroxin (he has no thyroid) which should not be exposed to great changes in temperature. Any suggestions as to how he can pack the medication to eliminate big temperature changes? Thanks Joanne

 

[Carol06]

I put everything into tiny ziplock plastic bags. I have never been stopped by customs. Pill bottles are bulky and add extra grams. But do write on each pack what is in it. I travelled with a fellow pilgrim who just threw everything into one large bag and no names anywhere.. Eeks. Scary stuff.

 

[gerardcarey]

I have never been stopped by customs.

I've never been stopped either. My meds come foil blister packed. I need 200 for a couple of months that's four boxes. So I pop them all from their foil sleeves and put them in a small plastic bottle with a screw cap. Then I carefully peel the sticker (that has the chemists name, my name, and instructions) off the original packet and stick it on my plastic bottle.
This saves space and will hopefully satisfy any authority that may search me in the future.
Also take letter from my quack detailing meds.

 

[Chacharm]

https://www.pillpack.com/?utm_sourc...hipping+Audience+-+Signups&nan_pid=1837145281

 

[clearskiescamino]

I have always walked 2 week Caminos but hope to walk longer in the years to come. I too take prescription meds but I've always been a nervous traveller when it comes to my meds. They are large, are in blister packing and do take up alot of room. The suggestion of discarding the packaging and travelling with the meds in a ziplock bag does sound feasible if I was to walk for 3 or 4 weeks.

 

[t2andreo]

The need to carry increasing amounts of prescribed medication and nutritional supplements is a consequence of living long enough to develop conditions that are now treated with easily taken medication. Consider that "back in the day" most adults did not live to see their 60th birthday... So, I consider myself lucky to have remained vertical long enough to experience multiple Camino pilgrimages.

My personal weight penalty for having the temerity to survive so long amounts to .5 kg (@ 1 pound) of medication, and another 2.5 kg (@ 5.5 pounds) of protein powder that can be mixed with water or even instant coffee. That is for a one month pilgrimage. The protein powder amounts to just under .5 kg per week, stored in one zip lock bag for a week's supply.

So my mythical 10 Kg goal for rucksack packing automatically increases to about 3 - 3.5 kg. THAT is before first aid materials... On the bright side, my pack does get lighter as I progress.

So, all in, I am looking at a 3 kg (@ 6 pound) "older guy" penalty...

 

[Sandune]

Including walking the Camino Frances we will be away for 3 months. For me that's a lot of pills and supplements to carry. How easy is it to get supplements and prescriptions filled in Spain?

 

[peregrina2000]

I posted earlier in this thread about my experience, which is that I have never been unable to get prescription medicine from a pharmacist, either with my US prescription or the empty boxes of medicine. I remember this past summer when LT and I were in Puente la Reina, and one of us needed a prescription medicine and had no prescription. The only pharmacy open (it was lunchtime and there is always one open "de guardia") was one with a big sign on the door that said -- we will not give you medicine without a prescription. Undaunted, we went inside, explained our plight, and got the medicine. Sometimes you have to know the names of the active ingredients because brand names differ, but I have never had a problem. If I took a lot of serious medication, though, I probably would figure out a way to bring it all, but maybe I'm needlessly risk averse. You could send some ahead to some designated stops along the camino (reserve a room in a hotel or pensión, and they surely will let you send a small package there). Send the stuff for after the camino to Santiago and store it with Ivar. Hope it all works out, Sandune, buen camino, Laurie

 

[t2andreo]

Okay, let me see... You say you are walking the Frances, so I will presume you are starting at St. Jean Pied de Port. About 35 days later, you arrive at Santiago. You may stay at Santiago for a few days, then proceed to somewhere else.

So, you need to leave St. Jean Pied de Port with enough supply to last until Santiago, but you can ship ahead everything you will not need until you get to Santiago.

I will presume you will bring all your supplements and prescription medications with you to start. While many nutritional supplements can be obtained in Europe, the entire concept of Over The Counter (OTC) medications, and all the stuff we can get without prescription is radically different across all of Europe. Allow me to explain.

In every European country I have ever visited or lived in small, family run pharmacies abound. There are no chain pharmacies, per se. Those that appear to be chain stores are usually cosmetics shops. My European friends stock up on OTC stuff when they visit the US because so much of this stuff is only available either by prescription, or you are at the mercy of the local pharmacist as to brand selection. In Europe, in a supermarket, you typically cannot get anything more health related than maybe band aids (plasters), first aid tape perhaps some gauze. But typically nothing more, not even aspirin or Tylenol (called Paracetamol in Europe)

One of my favorite stories goes back about 10 years when I was in Venice. I contracted bronchitis, with a hacking cough. I KNEW exactly what I needed. I needed the sort of industrial strength cough syrup to cover all the symptoms, such as we have in every grocery store in the US.

I went into a pharmacy with one of those green neon crosses out front. The woman behind the counter was very polite and helpful. She listened patiently as I explained, using basic Italian phrases and pantomime that I had a chest cough, nasal congestion and headache. I used the correct Italian phrases. She kept saying "bueno, bueno, bueno," and "si, si, si."

After I finished, she shrugged and turned to the shelves behind her, grabbed the ONLY likely looking box on the shelf, literally blew the dust off the box top, and ceremoniously plopped it down in front of me explaining that this was exactly what I needed. So I paid for the syrup and left. It did help.

The point is that there was only one, dusty box containing one bottle of cough syrup in the pharmacy. This occurs across Spain as well. However, I and many others have found that most Spanish pharmacists speak some English, they are very helpful, all the time. The availability of something you need is very good. But do not count on getting the same brand, dosage, or delivery method.

However, as regards nutritional supplements, and all prescription medications, I would advise strongly that you carry on board the aircraft your entire supply with labels, in as many original bottles or containers as possible. At least you will start with everything you need.

BE AWARE of the security rules and repackage your supply as needed to ensure it travels to Europe with you. Some times you have no choice but to send some things in checked luggage. Say a prayer. All my my prescription pills ride in the cabin with me, all the time.

On arrival, say at St Jean Pied de Port, I suggest you repackage the items into appropriate containers, splitting the supply into four portions. I presume you cannot or will not be willing to lug everything all the way. You do not need to.

Here is what you can do:

• Prepare the entire "to be" packaging system at home, then bring the pills, capsules, etc over in original containers with labels and prescription labels, and the eventual labelled supply of various sized zip lock bags.
• Organize your entire stash of meds and supplements into two parts.

Part A - everything you will not need until you arrive at Santiago.
Part B - 35-days “Camino supply” that you will divide into three parts.

Here is how you handle both parts:

Part A - EVERYTHING you will need once you arrive at Santiago.

When you arrive at St. Jean Pied de Port, contact, contact Express Bourricot there to convey one piece of luggage for you from St. Jean to Santiago. They make a run once or twice a month. It takes two days to drive the distance. At Santiago, Caroline (the owner) has an arrangement with a very nice hostal to lock the suitcase in a secured room until you arrive.

The service costs €70 (IIRC) for one bag up to about 40 or 45 pounds. In various years, I have used a large, locked, zippered duffel bag, and a rolling suitcase. Plan on one rolling bag or a large soft duffel bag well stuffed. Share space with another in your party if you can. Include your tourist clothes and any medication, beyond what you will need for 35 calendar days, the time you need to reach Sanitago. include the ubiquitous souvenirs you bought at St. Jean. Women love the locally-made espadrille shoes. They are a Basque speciality, and CHEAP.

The service is very reliable and secure. Storage at Santiago is also secure and reliable. While not cheap, it is, in my view far superior than sending through the post and closing your fingers. Others on the Forum share that view. Caroline’s web site is: www.expressbourricot.com. Her phone number is: +33 661 960 476. She speaks good English. Also, your hotel or hostal host will know of her and can make the contact for you.

Part B - Your enroute / Camino supply

I advise using zip lock bags (snack sized) inside larger, thicker zip lock bags (quart or liter sized) to organize your medications for carrying on the Camino. In the US many pharmacies sell packages of small zip lock bags, small enough to put one day's supply of multiple pills and capsule into. Or, use two or three per day (morning and night), etc. depending on your needs. You can use a Sharpie pen to mark the bags. Save and recycle the tiny bags.

Next, separate the 35-days supply into 3 parts. The parts are as follows:

Part 1 - 14 days daily supply of prescription medications and supplements.

Part 2 - 14 days daily supply of prescription medications and supplements.

Part 3 - 7-10 days (choice) supply of prescription medications and supplements.

Are is what you do with each part:

Part 1 - goes in your rucksack for when you depart St. Jean Pied de Port.

Parts 2 & 3 - two smaller boxes inside one larger box mailed to you, Poste Restante at Burgos.

Burgos is a 12-days walk along the Camino from St. Jean. There is a post office (La Poste) in St Jean Pied de Port. Mailing from France into Spain is not difficult, but is a little more expensive than shipping from Spain to another Spanish town.

Some people carry the extra bit as far as Pamplona, then mail it from there. You can do this. Consider using a mochila / rucksack delivery service at least until you get too Pamplona to facilitate this. You do NOT want to cary extra weight over the Pyrenees.

Check with Caroline at Express Bourricot for her transportation offerings. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Not cheap but oh so convenient. For example, for afee she MIGHT be able to delver your large box to your hotel / hostal at Pamplona, so you can mail it entirely within Spain from there to Burgos.

There are instructions here on the Forum for how to mail stuff to yourself via Poste Restante at Spanish post offices (Correos) along the Camino.

When you arrive at the Correos (post office) in Burgos, you retrieve the one large box. Open the box and place the contents of Part 2 into your rucksack to replenish what you have consumed since leaving France.

Immediately purchase another box at the counter, probably a Caya Verde Mediana. That is a medium sized "Green Box." The box costs a few Euros. Postage will be about Euro 7, depending on what you place in the box.

Place the container / box labeled “Part 3” into the new box and mail it Poste Restante to you at the Correos at Astorga. Astorga is a further 10 days down the Camino.

This is also a good opportunity to shed souvenirs you picked up along the Camino to Ivar at Santiago. Look under “Services by Ivar at Santiago” on the Forum for how to do this.

Part 3 - will be waiting for you at the Correos in Astorga. Retrieve it and replenish your rucksack supply.

As was the case at Burgos, this is also another good opportunity to shed souvenirs you picked up along the Camino to Ivar at Santiago. Again, look under “Services by Ivar at Santiago” on the Forum for how to do this.

General Points:

As you are shipping OTC medications, supplements and maybe prescription medications, across the border form France to Spain, make sure you have these items in the original containers, or as close as possible. If you are shipping wholly within Spain, you can repackage the items into the zip lock bags as discussed.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A LEGIBLE COPY OF YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS WITH YOU JUST-IN-CASE...

I use a recent refill label from a prescription supply bottle showing the number of refills remaining. Usually, a Spanish pharmacist will refill using this information. But this is an emergency fallback, not a reliable regular supply method.

This was a long reply. Sorry about that. But there is a lot of information here.

I hope you and others can benefit.

 

[C3 to Camino]

Has anyone ever traveled with blister packs made up by your pharmacist? I know here I can ask my pharmacist to take all my prescription and OTT meds, and make up blister packs showing the appropriate days/times to take the meds, as well as complete info re: the prescriptions. They usually make them for a month's worth of meds. It seems to me that that should be workable for a Camino, but have obviously never tried it...

 

[Nanc]

perhaps there is a pharmacist on the list that can comment more accurately
BUT there is a reason why some meds are in blister packs-- particularly those susceptible to moisture
To remove them in advance from the blister pack -even in a closed container defeats that purpose.
What I don't know is the effects of 21 (for you speedy guys) to 40 odd days will have on different meds
just a caution
nanc

 

[Tia Valeria]

I was advised to take my previous medication on the Camino in case of need. For travelling, in case customs asked questions, I kept it in the original blister packs, then on arrival in Spain decanted it into a medical bottle (light weight plasic). The bottles are hard to get as so much is now blister packed. I carried my repeat request form, not a full prescription, as proof of possible need. No one asked any questions, the small bottle took 6 weeks worth of capsules and weighed just 95gms. A lot less weight then the packaging and about an eighth of the volume. I am not sure that I would have been happy using a zip-lock bag, although I did consider it.
Same bottle, medicine now technically out of date, might go with me this year too......this for others obviously depends on the medication etc

 

[clearskiescamino]

I'm on 3 different sets of medication, so I'm glad my Caminos last 2 weeks per year. I would have alot of extra weight if I took on the full Frances in one go