# How do you carry prescription medication and medical supplies in a carry-on?

> OneBag Kit · https://onebagkit.com/carry-on-medication/  
> Updated: 2026-10-07 · Published: 2026-10-07

Our pick is the personal item: all medicine and supplies in the bag that stays with you, in labelled packaging, with a copy of the prescription or a doctor's letter. Tablets go through US, UK and EU security. Liquid medicine is allowed over 100 ml; in the US you declare it, in the UK you need the prescription or a doctor's letter for it, and EU staff may ask you to prove it's authentic. The cost is space, since a diabetes kit fills much of an under-seat bag.

## Security rules in the US, UK and EU

![An open green backpack with a clear zip pouch holding three plain pill bottles in front, plus a single terracotta pill bottle and a sage seven-day pill organiser.](https://onebagkit.com/img/brick-spot-carry-on-medication-640.webp)

All three allow medicine in the cabin, including liquids over 100 ml. They differ on proof, cooling packs and worn devices. The six pages linked in the last row were checked on 7 October 2026.

| | US (TSA) | UK airports | EU airports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tablets and capsules | Allowed; labelling them speeds up screening | Allowed; no proof needed | Outside the liquids rule |
| Liquid medicine over 100 ml | "Reasonable quantities for your flight", declared at the checkpoint | Up to 2 litres a container; proof needed for a liquid over 100 ml | Allowed "only for use during the trip"; staff may ask you to prove it's authentic |
| Ice or gel packs cooling medicine | Frozen, partially frozen or melted | Cooling gel packs allowed; ice packs: "Contact the airport" | Not covered on the Commission's page; ask the airport |
| Pump or glucose monitor you're wearing | Stays on; self pat-down and hand swab in standard lanes | "Medical equipment is screened separately" | Not covered on the Commission's page |
| Official page, checked 7 Oct 2026 | [TSA medical conditions](https://www.tsa.gov/travel/tsa-cares/disabilities-and-medical-conditions), [TSA liquids rule](https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/liquids-rule) | [GOV.UK medicines](https://www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/essential-medicines-and-medical-equipment), [GOV.UK liquids](https://www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/liquids) | [European Commission](https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/air/aviation-security/information-air-travellers_en), [Schiphol](https://www.schiphol.nl/en/prepare-for-your-flight-at-schiphol/prepare-your-bags-for-travel/) |

At a US checkpoint, TSA asks you to take medically necessary liquids out of the bag and put them in their own bin, along with "freezer packs, IV bags, pumps and syringes". You can ask for liquid medicine not to be X-rayed or opened, and TSA then clears it another way, which can mean a pat-down and a closer look at your bag. TSA also says officers will never put anything into the liquid. Its [item pages](https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/medications-liquid) end with the same line: "The final decision rests with the TSA officer".

In the UK, the proof rule is narrow. GOV.UK asks for a letter from your doctor or a copy of the prescription only when the medicine is both liquid and in a container larger than 100 ml, and staff "might need to open the containers". In the EU, the limit for ordinary liquids now differs from one airport to the next. Schiphol has held to 100 ml containers since 1 September 2024 and lists "Medicines and dietary supplements with a doctor's certificate" among permitted items, while [Dublin Airport](https://www.dublinairport.com/at-the-airport/security) now takes containers up to 2 litres without a plastic bag. Dublin's security page doesn't mention medicine; the Commission's exemption for medicine used during the trip applies at EU airports either way.

## Worked example: six months of insulin from LAX

A [poster in r/tsa](https://www.reddit.com/r/tsa/comments/1sr67r9/large_quantity_of_insulin_medication_for_personal/) was packing for retired in-laws spending six months abroad: "About 42 boxes between 2 medication", flying out of LAX with a layover in Singapore, with TSA PreCheck. The plan was three ziplock bags of two months each inside an insulated lunch bag, two blue ice packs underneath and two on top, and a printed copy of the doctor's note inside.

At the LAX checkpoint, the cooler comes out of the carry-on and goes in its own bin, and the in-laws tell the officer that it contains insulin. One commenter warned that "the blue ice packs MUST be frozen" ([traysures](https://www.reddit.com/r/tsa/comments/1sr67r9/large_quantity_of_insulin_medication_for_personal/ohcquqf/)). TSA's page is looser for medical cooling: packs can arrive "frozen, partially frozen or melted", which covers a pack that thaws in the queue.

On quantity, TSA's wording is "reasonable quantities for your flight", and it doesn't define reasonable. Labelled boxes with the doctor's note on top give the officer something quick to read. Another reply suggested making that letter "very specific on what you're prescribed including the amount / dosage" ([WonderChopstix](https://www.reddit.com/r/tsa/comments/1sr67r9/large_quantity_of_insulin_medication_for_personal/ohcquam/)).

Singapore and the destination are outside TSA's say, so check their entry rules separately. Before running the same bag back through a UK airport, ask the airport about the ice packs: GOV.UK marks ice packs in hand luggage "Contact the airport" while it allows cooling gel packs outright.

## Pumps and glucose monitors at the scanner

TSA asks you to tell the officer where a pump or glucose monitor is attached before screening starts, and says you won't have to remove it. In a standard lane, an attached device gets a self pat-down and a hand swab. In PreCheck, that only happens if the device sets off the scanner. A device you disconnect may be X-rayed, and you can ask for it to be checked another way.

Checkpoints don't all handle this the same way. [One r/tsa poster](https://www.reddit.com/r/tsa/comments/1qzaiew/insulin_pump/) told the officer about the pump up front at Denver and got a full pat-down at "the newer scanners" ([urban-achiever1](https://www.reddit.com/r/tsa/comments/1qzaiew/insulin_pump/o4d2xiy/)). Another commenter, describing what officers have been told not to say to passengers, wrote that the new scanners "haven't been researched enough to confirm that they won't affect insulin pumps or other attached medical devices" ([Maybe_Traditional](https://www.reddit.com/r/tsa/comments/1qzaiew/insulin_pump/o4fcizo/)). TSA's own page gives the way out: if you don't want to go through the body scanner, say so, and you get a pat-down instead.

A Tandem user in the same thread disconnects and carries the pump in a baggie "with the Tandem notice that it can't go through x-ray" ([YouveBeenWarned213](https://www.reddit.com/r/tsa/comments/1qzaiew/insulin_pump/o4ak5ow/)), and gets a pat-down in Europe when the scanner picks up the CGM. The same commenter wrote that "a 3-4 week supply of all the pieces" often gets their carry-on pulled for a second look. Allow extra time at security for that. TSA also offers a Notification Card you can hand over instead of explaining your condition out loud.

## Quantity limits at the border

Limits on how much medicine you bring into a country come from that country's border rules, separately from airport screening. For the UK, [GOV.UK's controlled-drugs page](https://www.gov.uk/take-medicine-in-or-out-uk) says medicine containing a controlled drug must travel in your hand luggage when you enter or leave the UK. Before you leave, it says to ask a doctor or pharmacist whether your medicine contains one, and if so to check the destination's rules with its embassy. A visitor bringing such medicine into the UK needs a letter listing each medicine with the amount, dose and strength, and "can only bring up to 3 months supply"; more than that is taken away unless the Home Office's Drug and Firearms Licensing Unit has issued a personal licence.

A [poster in r/backpacking](https://www.reddit.com/r/backpacking/comments/1wuzcxc/traveling_with_prescribed_medication/) planning five months on brivaracetam (Briviact) for epilepsy, through New Zealand and Southeast Asia, read that some countries allow 90 days' supply and Thailand 30. They later posted the reply they got when they emailed about Thailand's rules: medicines "exceeding a 30-day supply" are "not considered personal medication under the Drug Act" ([reply](https://www.reddit.com/r/backpacking/comments/1wuzcxc/traveling_with_prescribed_medication/pe92we6/)). That is one traveller's correspondence. Ask the embassy yourself, and if the answer is shorter than your trip, plan a refill there with a local doctor.

Inside the EU, a prescription from a doctor in one member state is valid in the others, according to the Commission's [Your Europe](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/prescription-medicine-abroad/prescriptions/index_en.htm) guidance. It should give the medicine's common name, since brand names change across borders, and an e-prescription may need a paper copy to work abroad. Ask your doctor how much spare to carry, and ask your airline whether a separate medical bag counts toward your cabin allowance.

## Fitting a medical kit into one bag

A type 1 diabetic from the UK planning 3.5 weeks of interrailing with an Osprey Farpoint 40 described the core problem in [r/onebag](https://www.reddit.com/r/onebag/comments/1wxpdxz/osprey_farpoint_40_for_a_35_week_interrailing_trip/): the equipment for a Medtronic 780G pump and Abbott sensors "takes up a lot of room", and it needs to come out fast. The replies split the bags by job. [Windjammer1969](https://www.reddit.com/r/onebag/comments/1wxpdxz/osprey_farpoint_40_for_a_35_week_interrailing_trip/pdvxozf/) suggested the Farpoint for clothes and "a second bag for your med kit / valuables". [Retired-in-2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/onebag/comments/1wxpdxz/osprey_farpoint_40_for_a_35_week_interrailing_trip/pdwo7jn/) suggested a sling, worn the whole journey, and taking sensors out of their boxes into a zip bag, keeping "the part of the box with the serial number in case you would have to contact Abbott."

That is our pick: the medical kit goes in the personal item, and clothes go in the main bag. If the main bag gets gate-checked or put on a train rack, the kit stays with you. The trade-off is space. On a personal-item-only fare, the kit takes the room a day of clothes would have used. Medicine should keep its pharmacy label even when bulky boxes go, because TSA says clear labelling speeds screening, and a [commenter in r/backpacking](https://www.reddit.com/r/backpacking/comments/1wuzcxc/traveling_with_prescribed_medication/pd7i213/) added that a labelled prescription gets lost pills replaced faster. They also suggested photographing the label and emailing it to yourself.

## Related OneBag Kit guides

- [What counts as a liquid at airport security?](https://onebagkit.com/what-counts-as-a-liquid-airport-security/index.md): the 100 ml rule for everything that isn't medicine
- [What goes in your personal item vs carry-on?](https://onebagkit.com/personal-item-vs-carry-on/index.md): splitting the medical kit and valuables from the clothes bag
- [How to pack with only a personal item](https://onebagkit.com/personal-item-only-packing/index.md): when a medical kit has to share an under-seat bag
- [Carry-on packing list: Southeast Asia, one month](https://onebagkit.com/carry-on-packing-list-southeast-asia-one-month/index.md): a long trip where refills abroad may come up

HTML: https://onebagkit.com/carry-on-medication/