Medical Questions » Travel Questions » Question No. 988
| Question: | I am travelling overseas soon, but I have to take with me a lot of different tablets and sprays for my heart and chest condition. Do I need a letter from my doctor so that i can take these tablets through customs in foreign countries? |
| Answer: | Doctors have been unnecessarily inundated with requests such as these since a woman tourist was arrested in Greece for carrying headache tablets containing codeine. The Greek government has been trying to live down this embarrassing mistake ever since.
There is no need for people taking medication to take with them a letter from their doctor for customs purposes. The chemist' s label on the medication, with your name and the directions for taking the medication, are sufficient proof that the medication is genuinely required.
The one exception to this rule could be the traveller carrying narcotic painkillers, but I would doubt that anyone requiring such medication would be in any fit state to travel anyway.
If you have significant medical problems, it is a good idea to carry with you a letter from your doctor outlining your medical condition, so that you can show this letter to any doctor you may need to consult during your journey.
|
|
|
