Keeping Track of Pills When Travelling

Pill Preparation - Ordering

Order enough pills to last throughout your trip. 

Include any regular pills. Plus aspirin or paracetamol. 

Pill Labels

Make sure the pills are labelled so you know which pills they are, and to show to Customs officers. Be aware that some medication may be banned or require authorization.

What do I and you need to note

when packing pills? I remember these rules. 

Pill Packing

1 Whatever will go wrong will do so. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

2 A place for everything and everything in its place. 

3 Make a checklist and check the checklist.

4 Be Prepared.

5 A stitch in time saves nine. 

Better to pack pills, enough pills, rather than hope to buy at your destination. In Thailand five members of my family wasted an hour, walking to three different drug stores at our destination to buy me more Thyroxine pills. 

COUNTING DAILY PILLS

1 The number of days and pills. 

2 Spare pills.

3 Prescription.

3 The temperature of pill storage. Cool box. 

4 Record of which pill was taken each day. 

5 Liquids for taking pills. Water bottle. Cup.

Pill crusher - for a long trip to a second home.

Pack pills to go into hospital. You might be kept all night in A & E (accident and emergency).

For the return journey, I always take an extra pill. Firstly, on long flights back from Singapore to the UK,  You arrive the morning after the last day of your holiday.

Travelling in the other direction, UK to Singapore, and on to Australia or New Zealand you tend to forget that you are arriving a day later. You need your next day's pill in your pocket to take before breakfast. (My thyroxine instructions say take half an hour before eating.)

6 24 HOUR Pill Records.

Address of chemist and their opening hours. Weekend, evening and national holiday hours.

 My regular chemist in London, and nationwide Boots, sells pill dispensers with compartments for each day of the week.

This month, in July 2025, I found a wonderful new system. For calcium and vitamin D tablets, which I should have used every day after I stopped taking pills osteoporosis for post menopause.

I have had verious strategies. 

1 Counting Travel Days And Pills

One is to count out the number of pills you need for your trip.

Pill Storage - Choices

 Keep the morning pill for the day of travel in your handbag, or jacket pocket. That is so that you don't rush off to the airport leaving the day's pill behind in the fridge. 

Note down where the pills are. You don't want to be searching through four pockets, two inside your jacket, two outside, plus your wasitcoat poickets, your two dress pockets,  your handbag's three pockets, Your wheelie bag's outer and inside pockets, and your tote bag's inside and outside pockets. Then remembering that your husband has all the family's pills together.

Pills in fridges

Have you left pills behind in the fridge at home? In the hotel bedroom fridge? In the hotel reception or kitchen's fridge?

Pills in Pockets Of Vehicles 

 The back of the airline seat? The glove box of your own car left at the airport? The hire car glove box?

 The bag with the take away food, which the family are about to throw in a nearby bin?

Remembering to take pills - Reminders

You can add take pill to your to do list in the front cover of your travel diary, or each day in your diary. Or send yourself a reminder in wahtsapp every night for your monring pill. Or set an alarm on your phone, and label the alarm, Take Pill.