Keeping Your Fertility Meds Safe While Traveling

The holidays are here and you’re panicking because you are in the middle of fertility treatments and need to travel on a plane with medications. Don’t worry, we’ve got tips that will make sure you and your meds arrive safe and sound!

Here are 5 tips to consider when preparing to travel with fertility medications:

1. Check Your Schedule

Everyone is different, your fertility treatments may be more involved than another person’s and you may have a strict schedule to follow in terms of monitoring appointments and egg retrieval dates. For example, the requirements for in vitro fertilization (IVF) can be quite different from an IUI.
With this in mind, it’s always a good idea to triple-check your schedule and correspond with your CFS fertility nurse before making any arrangements.

2. Get a Doctor’s Note

While making sure that your trip lines up with future appointments, you should also ask your nurse for a doctor’s note that you can present to the airline or other travel service. This will safeguard against any restrictions regarding medicines you can and can’t travel with. These medications are vital and expensive, so you don’t want to run the risk of there being any issues.

3. Check Your Airline’s Policies

A doctor’s note will prevent most mishaps but just to be sure, consult with your booking agent or a customer service representative to know exactly what your airline will allow you to travel with. Since you may be storing various medications and syringes, learn how to handle them so you can keep within airline guidelines. Typically, airlines are pretty flexible if you inform them upfront, so prepare ahead of time to keep your travel moving smoothly.

4. Store Your Medications Properly

Remember, all of your medications require special instructions regarding storage. For example, injectable medications must be stored in a chilled environment, whereas a medication like Endometrin must be maintained at room temperature. Regardless, use your best judgement and take measures to handle them accordingly.

If you have to bring a round of IVF medications, pack a small, insulated bag along with an ice pack to keep things cool until you can properly store them elsewhere. For other medications, use a different bag that you can easily access and store somewhere safe. It may even be a good idea to have a third bag specifically for other necessary supplies, such as alcohol wipes, gauze pads, syringes, and a sharps container for proper disposal.

Your Coastal Fertility nurse may have some useful advice. In addition, here is a helpful link that explains the storage instructions for many fertility medications.

5. Keep Your Medications in Your Carry-On

Lastly, once you’ve got everything in place, make sure to always keep your medications stored in your carry-on bag. Placing valuable and sensitive medications in a checked bag increases the odds of something going wrong: theft, misplacement, damage, etc.
Your carry-on bag is the safest place for them since you and your partner can frequently check them to make sure they are safe and sound.