Prescription Medication in China -any problems you have had?

LynnetteeSpaghetti

Earning My Ears
Joined
Sep 15, 2024
Messages
5
Any trouble with prescription medications you have had in China?
I saw the things that are not allowed but I’m wondering if I can print out my Rx orders and show them if I need to. I take 5 prescriptions daily and the medication will take up too much space in my VERY LIMITED room so I put i]them into those daily pill containers. I worry about getting hung up on the 4 internal China flights.
 
I did not want to risk it as I need my prescriptions, so I kept them in the original bottles. I was never asked, and it probably would have been fine not to, but all it takes is one agent bent on following the letter of the law to give you a very bad day.
 
Any trouble with prescription medications you have had in China?
I saw the things that are not allowed but I’m wondering if I can print out my Rx orders and show them if I need to. I take 5 prescriptions daily and the medication will take up too much space in my VERY LIMITED room so I put i]them into those daily pill containers. I worry about getting hung up on the 4 internal China flights.
I didn't specifically have issues with this in China, but I will tell you that in the airports in both Beijing and Chengdu, they put my personal item through the scanner multiple times (seven times in Chengdu)! They kept pulling out seemingly random items like my makeup bag (no liquids), my eyeglass case, my portable umbrella, etc, and they did eventually confiscate my less than 3 inch blunt scissors that I was using to cut bandages (listed as acceptable for China's "TSA"). So it's honestly one of those cases of it could just depend on where you are, and what mood the particular guy is in that day. And you DON'T want to argue with them in China!

That said, I take 8 different prescriptions, and the first time I put them in my personal item in the original bottles, they literally took up ALL of my very large personal item. So after a good cry, I found out that they do NOT care about the actual bottles. It's the *labels* on the bottles they care about. So I got tiny pill-sized ziploc bags at CVS. My pharmacy includes extra copies of the labels with the paperwork (it includes all the same info that's on the bottles - drug name, dosage, prescribing doctor, where the pharmacy is, your name, etc.) You can usually request them from the pharmacy if they don't include them. I put each type of pill in it's own ziploc bag, and then taped the extra label to it. Then I put all of the baggies in a quart-sized ziploc. And then filled up my daily container once I arrive. I've been doing this for probably 12 to 13 years, and I've never had an issue yet (including China).

I know some people just go ahead & use the daily containers & carry printed or photo copies of the labels/bottles, and have had luck doing that, too.

Honestly, it just depends on whether you're willing to risk it or not. As @AquaDame says, it only takes once. But since I really need other stuff in my personal item, I've taken the chance, and been OK so far.

Sayhello
 
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I lived in China for five years and regularly flew in and out with prescriptions, plastic bags with tums and fish oil, and asuitcase filled with supplements. They just don't like coins, umbrellas and power banks. No issues with meds ever.
 













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