International Travel

[twinturbo]

Sanyo Foods USA in Cali makes Sapporo Ichiban ramen. The facility there is milk, wheat, soy, shrimp and sesame. If you can find the miso flavor made in that facility not only is it probably safe but it's higher quality. Although when Maruchan  still offered tomato flavor in the US that was the best, aside from curry flavors of course.

[CMdeux]

FOUND IT!

But not before "adventures in low-caffeine struck at Store number 1."     (Typical.)

See the rest in main general food allergy thread... this is one of those universal things that only other FA families can identify with.

[CMdeux]

Holey Toledo-- packed meds bag today.

I picked up a Trader Joe's lunch-bag for $3.99 and decided to just devote that to our carry-on meds.  Our Meds Bag is currently holding:

14 epipens
1 albuterol inhaler
1 symbicort inhaler
Prednisone (tablets)-- one full course
four face masks (at doc's recommendation)
~65 10mg cetirizine tablets (Zyrtec)
30 monteleukast tabs, 10 mg (singulair)-- which my DD is to begin this Monday
pseudoephedrine tabs, ~20
ranitidine tabs, 60 (this is also a histamine blocker)
clorox wipes-- 2 flatpacks
peak flow meter

Hopefully this won't be "counted" against us in terms of carry-on restrictions, because frankly I don't see how we will manage to carry on sufficient amounts of food with us otherwise-- each of us is also carry a quite modestly sized carry-on messenger bag otherwise, which will hold:

1 change of clothes-- probably something like stretch pants that can double as sleepwear in the event of lost luggage, an 'inner' layer including a tank top, underwear, and socks-- packed into a space bag
seat covers for airline seats
e-reader (DD) and Nook (me)
cell phones
 electronics chargers/adapter set-- that is, for everything we're bringing
food-- dehydrated fruit & soynuts in collapsible bowls, EnjoyLife bars (we will have enough food with us that we won't HAVE to do anything but bottled water from airport/plane sources for the first 36 hours)
documents-- passport, itinerary, contact info for hotels, etc.
MP3 players
earplugs and eyemasks (to sleep on plane)
emergency toiletries (face soap, shampoo, folding hairbrush, dental floss, travel deodorant, lip balm, toothbrush, and microfiber washcloth)
cameras
knitting for me
sketching supplies for DD
tiny counted cross-stitch projects
print reading materials
reading glasses and sunglasses (me)
playing cards
wrist wallets, moneybelts, etc.
zip-front hooded fleece jackets,
baseball caps (because we'll be going from flying for about 24 hours to sightseeing for six to seven)
 and
 pashmina scarves/stoles (DD and I each have one)-- these double as wraps/scarves/headgear/rainwear.

Most of that isn't heavy, but it DOES take up space.


In EACH checked bag:

additional adapters (to charge more than one thing at once, basically)
additional packets of clorox wipes
sleep-sacks (basically, just twin microfiber sheets, seamed sort of like a sleeping bag-- DD and I both have a LOT of trouble with harsh detergents and linen sprays, etc.)
full-sized toiletries of things like body wash and shampoo, and two or three pods of laundry soap
15 packages of ramen, 10-15 packages of instant oatmeal, ~1 lb of dry-roasted soybeans, 1 lb dried mixed veggies, 1 lb dehydrated fruit, coffee pods, immersion heater (well, this can only go in one, and maybe it needs to be in my carryon... sigh)
microfiber towel
3 pr underwear
underwire bra
2 tank tops
knit shorts (for sleep-- or if it is unexpectedly hot)
2 pr pants
button-up shirt
sweater
2 teeshirts
2 pairs athletic socks, 1 pr kneehigh trouser socks
tennis shoes
Oh-- and zip ties, safety pins, cord-locks, carabiners, extra memory sticks for cameras, and our travel alarm clock.

That's pretty much it.  We're really traveling VERY lightly, except for the food.  (We'll be gone for just over two weeks, remember.)

[catelyn]

No benedryl or immodium?

My portable pharmacy has never been counted against me.

Ear plugs also come in handy on long flights

My dear hubs never EVER travels without a flash light.  I can't tell you how  many times it has come in handy. 

[CMdeux]

Yes, yes, yes.  All of that.  Sorry. Benadryl is still in my other bag, not yet packed into meds bag, but it will be-- both cream (topical) and tablets (oral) and also thinstrips, which we still have a slim supply of.

Earplugs are going into carryons, flashlights into packed baggage (well, maybe we will toss one of the two into DD's carryon).

Oh, and a pencil with about 30" of duct tape wrapped to create a 'pencil grip' on it.  LOL. Safety pins, duct tape... hair elastics.  I'm like MacGyver.   

We also don't bring 'travel' bottles.  Nope.  I recycle tiny (250 mL) soda bottles for my shampoo and body wash for trips like this that are longer than ~2 nights.  They stay SEALED-- really sealed-- because of the silicon liners in the screw caps, and they hold just enough (about 1/2 a 12 oz bottle of shampoo, for example). 

We're also tossing in instant flavorings for bottled water into our carryons. 

[catelyn]

Do you have your laminated card of curse words - one side english and one side french?  Those come in handy too MUahahaha.

If need be the BIG curse  its "tabarnac" in France.  It will flag you as a Canadian when in a pinch if your really beyoned PO'd and you think they are treating you like crap for being an American tourists. 

[CMdeux]

I'm pretty sure that my version of that enters the realm of "international language" when I feel thus compelled either way.  LOL.

I'm methodically pulling a few things out of packaging and into packing containers each day at this point... not rushing, just thoughtfully packing.  I have loads of time still, so not worried.  As me again at Saint Patrick's day and that may be another story, though.  LOL.

[catelyn]

Should have sailed the Queen Mary II then you could have taken your steamer trunks with you lol.  Our friends actually did it when they moved back from the UK.  Quite classy, wish I have thought about it when we did that move lol. 

[eragon]

I take it you have a doctors letter explaining the reason for all meds and that you are not to be seperated from them?

Only once did they look at ours, and that was only because we took liquid antihistamine on board for son. But its a good back up to have, you never know what sort of jobs worth you are going to come across in an airport!

our doc did a very firm letter, and i had details of all the docs in charge of sons allergy life, and thats quite a list recently. (we are going back to france this summer, so can feel the lists forming in my head now)

sleep sacks- wish i sourced them for our last trip! good idea.

my son also takes a combo of anti histamine blockers, two different sorts a day with the emergency ones, and even though he doesnt have asthma, he has an asthma response, so a very similar med list to ours.
apart from the face masks, but, it they ever allowed you to sit with yr dog or cat on your lap while flying, that would mean face masks, and more drugs.....

apart from frantically packing and list making, do hope you are finding time to relax and move tense shoulders from your ears as the dates get closer......I found personally that once I had got on the plane, checked everything was going ok, and that my plans/packing were working I felt less stressed. even more once we got off the plane, and sorted out first safe meal.
Isnt travel FUN?!!!!!(not for mums!)

[CMdeux]

I probably will feel better with a letter on letterhead, yes.  We do have a medication list with his signature on it, and paper copies of our Rx, but yes-- an actual letter is a good idea.

Will do that this week.  You know, since I also have to contact allergist AGAIN re: our Air Canada flight number and all.  LOL.  Forgot that part of things the first time.


Oh-- and also need a notarized letter from the other parent re: the permission for us to be jauntily cavorting about the globe.  Letting security/customs/DHS know that yes, he's aware of it, and no, I'm not trying to steal her... and even if i were, in light of the fact that she can be a very mouthy and sulky teenaged girl... well...    he's confident that I will bring her back if only to turn her over to someone else after I grow... er... weary...   LOL.
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/268/related/1/session/L2F2LzIvc2lkL214alZiUWts/~/children---child-traveling-with-one-parent-or-someone-who-is-not-a-parent-or

That last part of things was something that I was SO not aware of-- it's because we aren't traveling in and out of the country with the tour group, basically.




Oh, and here's an interesting twist.

USA:  4 oz. limit on carryon liquids.  ergo, Diphenhydramine is sold in 4 OUNCE bottles here.

EU/UK:  Naturally, it's not in ounces.  It's metric.  100 mL.

The problem is that apparently the DHS/TSA are as dumb as most Americans when it comes to metric and conversions, and lack all common sense, to boot.    Why do I note this?  Because 4 oz. is only ~ 100mL.  It's actually-- wait for it... wait for it...-- 118 mL.  Yup.  Just OVER the limit for the EU, thank you very much.  There is no 2oz. liquid antihistamine. None.  Nada.  I've checked.

Who the hell knows whether or not this is going to pose a problem, and frankly, I doubt very much that we'll get through the entire trip without anyone USING any of the diphenhydramine liquid anyway...  but the only two options are "over the limit, but factory sealed medication" or "unsealed, ergo possible mystery liquid," which just makes no sense whatsoever.

I mean, my life is hard enough at this point without adding this kind of sheer idiocy into the mix.  Thus my angst.  If other people in the world weren't fundamentally stupid, wouldn't life be so much better?  It'd almost be manageable...   

[CMdeux]

I'm like a military tactician up UNTIL the trip, yes...

and then I just kind of have to relax and go with it.  But yes, I prioritize by:

a)"this item needs a failsafe system, because it CANNOT fail"
b)  "this item does not, but it needs a backup, being essential and a HUGE pain to deal with in a failure"
 versus...

c)  "Meh-- nice, but I'll deal..."

Priority A items require a significant amount of research, planning, and sometimes innovation to create a plan A, plan B, and plan C, preferably independent of one another.  (This is where carrying multiple epi lots on multiple individuals AND in multiple locations comes into play, YK?)  Plan for at least two things to simultaneously and catastrophically go wrong at once.

Priority B items require less planning, but still not insubstantial.  I'm never thrilled when I have a priority A item that cannot be moved OUT of this category via planning and positioning ahead of time, and that is where our cellular communications are at the moment.  Not thrilled, and it's a nagging worry.  KWIM?   Money stuff is in this category, passports, and trip documentation.

Priority C items are the things that most people worry about when traveling.  LOL.  Vitamins, the right brand of shampoo, the 'correct' coffee sweetener, one's favorite pj's, enough pairs of socks and underwear, that kind of thing.  Frankly, this is the stuff that I just shrug off-- because it pales in comparison to the other two categories.  I can roll with anything going wrong in this one, and often have.  It just doesn't faze me much.

Honestly, the only way that you can travel with a low threshold is to do this.  Because if you DO NOT let go of some things (place them into category c), there's no reasonable way to get priority A and B where they need to be.

[Janelle205]

CM, I always travel with tons of medical liquids, both prescription and non-prescription, and some WAY over the limit.  I've never had an issue, though this only includes air travel in the US and the carribbean.  They will typically open at least some of them and swipe a test paper over it - I kindly ask that they either change their gloves or allow me to open the bottle before doing this, and have never had a problem.

If you are taking a neb, they ALWAYS require extra screening, so make sure that it is easy to get to and easy to get out.

[CMdeux]

No nebulizer, so that's at least one thing that won't raise red flags with TSA...

I'm thinking that the sheer NUMBER of autoinjectors will, but it's not like we have a choice.

Here's a question, though-- do you think that those extras for air travel are secure if left locked in a suitcase at a hotel?  Been wondering about that.  I hate the idea of taking all of our meds EVERYwhere with us, though, and at museums and such, we'd have to check them anyway.

[eragon]

once you land split the meds up in to different packs.
for one you cant promise that it wont get stolen inside a bag, or misplaced. so back up meds for is really needed.


as for liquid meds, you may be asked to tip the small amount away if you meet a rather stubborn airport uniformed person, or you may be asked to that your daughter drink it, to prove its a medicine rather than some sort of liquid bomb thing. Our son had to do this once a well. it helped him relax!

[Janelle205]

The only place that I have had trouble with number of epis was a tiny regional airport that insisted upon taking each one out and inspecting it individually.  Was a pain, but they let me through.  I normally travel with 8 and have had up to 10 for just myself.