How can it already be November? How can it be almost Thanksgiving? For many families the Holidays mean traveling. Packing up presents and food to go visit loved ones who live far away. Special care is taken to make sure the presents are wrapped just right, the food stored safely, and everyone has the appropriate things to wear. Families who have visitors coming have prepared guest rooms and stocked the refrigerator. The question is how much time is spent on making sure everyone has the medication that they need, and making sure it is being safely transported and stored. Here are a few tips that will help make your holiday travel easier and safer. Nobody wants to make an emergency trip to the hospital over the holiday, either because they don’t have the medications that they need, or because a little one has accidentally gotten into an adults medication.
If you are traveling by airplane, always keep your medication in your carryon bag. This way if there is a problem with your luggage you will have your necessary medications. It is also a good idea to keep your medications in their original bottles so that you don’t mix them up and you have the dosages clearly written on the bottles. Keeping them in locked bag is also a good idea. Many companies sell medication totes that have TSA approved locks. This is also a good idea if you are traveling by car, that way no children can get to the medications while you are traveling to your destination.
Once you arrive at your destination, make sure to store your medications out of reach of children. It can be easy to get out of your routine when you are out of town, and you may feel like you have nowhere to store your medications, but it is important to store them safely, especially if there are small children in the house. Ask your host where an appropriate place might be to store them.
If you are the host, make sure to also clear out a section of your medicine cabinet for your guests to use, or find a safe place for them to store their medications. This can also be a good time to clean out your medications. Safely dispose of any expired medications before your guests arrive. Designate a place for your guests to safely store their medications.
The Holidays are such a busy and exciting time; it is easy to be careless with your medications. However, if you remain diligent, you can avoid health problems for yourself and also prevent a possible emergency situation. You may be on vacation, but your health and medications are not. Remember to treat your medication storage as safely as you do when you are home.