# Have you traveled to Spain with prescription medication lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2017, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-traveled-to-spain-with-prescription-medication-lately/805031 "2017-12-22T06:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-traveled-to-spain-with-prescription-medication-lately/805031/1 "2017-12-22T06:28:14Z")
We are planning an 8-day trip to Spain. Is it truly necessary to have a doctor’s letter stating what you are taking and the reason? Will there be any problem just in taking the 8-day supply, and keeping them in the original bottle which has my name and dosage info? How much hassle and grief can we expect in Spain regarding medications? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-traveled-to-spain-with-prescription-medication-lately/805031/2 "2017-12-22T10:48:55Z")
I haven’t been to Spain since 2009, but I went with my prescriptions in unmarked baggies, and an additional set in my carry-on. No problem; nobody questioned them. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-traveled-to-spain-with-prescription-medication-lately/805031/3 "2017-12-22T11:25:10Z")
We just travelled to Ireland and are in Italy with prescription meds. No problems at all. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-traveled-to-spain-with-prescription-medication-lately/805031/4 "2017-12-22T15:11:12Z")
It isn’t about the 8 days: it’s for if you get sick. Haivng all relevant information in writing will make your life a lot easier if you need to see a doctor or be admitted to a hospital. I don’t have any scrips (the strongest thing I take is ibuprofen) but my mother does and having what the docs call a “traveling history” makes processing her a lot easier, when she needs treatment away from home. For example, her history doesn’t just indicate what diabetes meds she takes, it also has a bold “DO NOT GIVE METFORMINE (secondary effects)”: that’s important, as metformine is pretty much the go-to med for someone with her symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-traveled-to-spain-with-prescription-medication-lately/805031/5 "2017-12-23T16:39:39Z")
I’ve been a few times (from the UK) and once I did get made to throw away my prescription meds because they weren’t in the original packaging. I had a prescription form with me but they didn’t want to spend time checking that my pills were actually the pills on the prescription. Since then I take it in the original packaging - that’s actually really inconvenient due to the amount of space they take up in carry-on luggage (there are reasonable exceptions to carry-on luggage size when it comes to medical goods but you still have to carry them to and from the airport), but I do understand their reasoning and it’s waaay less inconvenient than buying medication in a foreign country. If you take the stuff in its original packaging and have something from a doctor with you - like I said, mine was a prescription form, not a specially-provided letter, and that was accepted - then you’ll be fine. You might be fine otherwise anyway because it depends who checks your stuff but personally I don’t want to run that risk. Also if it’s relevant - if you have mobility or communication needs - then booking special assistance at the airport helps massively with anything health-related.