Taking drinks through airport security.

[youarenotkiddingme]

I know it's liquids below 100ml in clear bottles.

However what about for medical need?

Ds (14) has been getting sudden acute and severe migraines for a few years. We now think it's due to Hypoglycemia as his temp drops to 33-35° and he's pale/grey and confused.

He's seeing nurse tomorrow to get a blood sugar tester so we can test it when this happens.

But we need to carry paracetamol (liquid) as well as his sumatriptan spray with us and also jelly babies and lucosade.

Anyone know the rules (without me trying to navigate and airport switchboard)
about if I can carry the paracetamol in a unopened bottle (150ml) and I was thinking a can of mini cola (100ml).

Afaik there is no restrictions on food? So I can take jelly babies and bread roll?

I'm also assuming I'll need some kind of dr note to carry the glucose monitor on board as it's needles?

I have all his neuro letters re his odd episodes etc and that they suspect migraine and the fact he's also on another medication (tablets we crush) but it doesn't specifically say to take paracetamol and the sumatriptan isn't a large liquid as it's a nasal spray.

Anyone shed any light on this? (I will pay for private letter from gp if needs be and they can do this before next week!)

As an aside you can get sumatriptan in an autoinjectable form if he is unable to swallow it. Definitely worth asking for in the future. It has literally changed my life.

Also have you looked into freestyle libre? You'd have to pay but there's a few users of it on the Facebook group that have hypoglycaemia rather than diabetes. Worth considering

Get the sachets of calpol to take through security. If you need more for your journey or holiday, buy the bottle airside. Pack extra sachets in your checked bag to use in your hand luggage on the way back.
They will be fine having any liquids in the travel bottles - I don't label mine, so they wouldn't know if it was calpol or shampoo! You could definitely put some coke in a travel bottle to see you through the security check and they buy a bottle airside for the journey should you require any more.
My husband has to take a lot a medication and we always just take a copy of the prescriptions just in case, but he as never been asked to show them.

He doesn't regulary fall unconscious. I'd definitely not be going if he did! This happened maybe every 2-3 months. Sometimes we've had 6 months in between and just when we think he may be over it he does it again.

And Friday when we treated it as low blood sugar it's the first time he's actually recovered within half an hour and been fine. He even stayed upright!

So now I'm very particular about knowing i need to have the stuff with me as it works.

I'll be getting glucose tablets and paracetamol sachets (he cant take calpol) thanks to advice here.

Stuck I'd have thought it was obvious I use liquid as he can't swallow tablets? I did mention he crushes his daily meds. Obviously I'd use tablets if he could - much easier.

On a completely different note : Migraines.... So what happens to your body is that with the onset of a migraine your metabolism slows down. This results in different symptoms for different people - for me it makes me slow and confused, and I've noticed if I eat food doesn't digest quickly. It is also likly to cause temp drops, adn paleness etc - so this may be a symptom not a cause.

It's also the reason things like paracetamol dont work as they absorb into your bloodstreem more slowly than normal.

For me (an adult) I have to immediately take soluable asprin & soluable paracetamol together, with caffeine - a shot of espresso usually. Carbs also seem to help (although they digest slowly). I don't take triptans as they seem to cause more and worse migraines for me at least so be aware of that.

Fundamentally you need to find what causes the migraines , mine I worked out with a very detailed diary and are effectively a combination of hormones, dehydration, and tiredness. I also seem to get them from something in red wine.

So I would recommend a detailed diary - write down everything he eats, does, drinks, - you will need to do it for several months, then you will have a clearer picture.

I suspect the hypoglycemia is a red herring - a symptom not a cause.

Take an empty bottle then fill it with water airside. You are allowed prescriptions as long as you bring the script with you.

Some airports also have a fast track security at departures (I know Manchester does) for £5 per person.

Perhaps you book that too, to minimize how long you’re waiting so that you can go and buy proper sized drinks from the airport Boots/WH Smith

Addictive thanks. He has the nasal spray.

I see a few comment about calpol but as son 14 you just need standard paracetamol ask pharmacist there is bound to be a small bottle , or something like the sachets, or the fast melts, as one solution. With sachets you can have a box in one bag and other family members can have a box in another.

My eldest dc is working at an airport this summer and is allowed bring fluids through but first they got security clearance and training, so there is provision, but you may need to go through the process with airport.

I would recommend you don't decant coke and the like into smaller bottles, its the unknown liquids that give them most problems. My dc's water bottle is more likely to be inspected than bringing branded bottles through.

I guess an airport will question why you cant bring a bottle of coke with you right up to the bit they scan luggage , you son could be drinking it slowly in the queue to make sure his glucose levels were up, and then hand it over go through scanner and immediately go to shop on other side to stock up on drinks. Food wont be a problem and you can get glucose tablets in pharmacy.

You can book special assistance at the airport, this means your son will be given a wheelchair and you'll be taken through the fast track channel for security to avoid any delays. If you don't want an escort you can get a lanyard that alerts staff you may need assistance, so they'll usually send you through the fast track channel with that too.

OP, you can keep any sized bottles with you up until the point where you actually pass through security. Then a couple of minutes later you'll be airside and can pop to Boots to restock. So have your Lucozade with you and just leave the bottle at security. If he does have an episode actually at security, they are not going to let him through anyway. Take paracetamol sachets or ordinary tablets. Do you have travel insurance which includes this illness? He probably won't be allowed to fly if he has an episode in the airport.

He'll get fast track anyway as he's also on the autistic spectrum. I'm flying Stansted which I never have before. I know Gatwick fast track doesn't always mean fast. Just faster !

Surely you can bin the lucozade while putting the bags on the security belt then go and get some as soon as you're through. If you're travelling with another adult get them to wait to collect the bags and take your ds straight to WHSmith for more. That whole process shouldn't take more than a few minutes. You'll probably be back in time to help with bags. The needless etc are fine. Any prescription medicines labelled and in their original packaging are ok too. You may need letters depending on the size and if it's restricted. Buy the calpol once through.

Ticking. Thanks for that. That's a really good explanation. I think this is why they want to take blood sugar. We haven't found a cause. Despite tracking etc. I guess we are trying to discover if it's a symptom or a cause.

Another thought: I don’t know which airline you are flying with or which airport you are flying from, but perhaps you can call the airline or ask at check-in if they can give you a ‘Fast Track’ pass through security and you skip the long lines via a dedicated lane.

Sachets of paracetamol. You can pick them up easily in any chemist.

I would definitely get Fast Track or assistance if you're going through Stansted, the layout is a bit confusing sinde they moved the security entrance from the back to the side of departures. I echo pp that you can stock up on fizzy drinks or paracetamol airside. Its ok in the UK airport to buy this stuff but you'll have the same issues coming back, sometimes departures abroad don't have great facilities if it's a small airport.

You could also get some glucose oral gel. I’m pretty sure it’s an over the counter (P) medicine. It comes in little sachets and is easier/quicker to use than jelly babies or glucose tablets if the person with the hypo has a dry mouth, or is flat out denying they are having a hypo...

Also, you may be able to get the glucose sachets prescribed. We couldn’t when my DH was being investigated for severe hypos as it was for diabetics only, but if they’ve prescribed you a glucose monitoring kit perhaps you’ll have more luck than we did.

@youarenotkiddingme would he take soluble paracetamol or is the taste a problem? - that's one way round it. I guess you could dissolve in orange juice or put squirty squash in it. Or just get the pharmacist to give you another (smaller, 100ml) bottle with a label to decant into!

I would be careful with the triptans, as I was unaware they could make the migraines worse. I now don't take anything other that trying to prevent it and managing a migraine when it happens.

Last time he took soluble he threw it back up! Same with calpol!
Yes I'm avoiding Triptans if possible. Hopefully we've discovered the cause and so can manage it when symptoms appear.

But if it's a symptom and not the cause I'm not entirely sure where we go from here.

You need a doctors note if you need to take liquid medicin with you. Also, keep it in the original packaging. You are not restricted to the 100 ml thing if it is medicin. I take my liquid insulin with me everywhere, dubai, australua, singapore, it is not a problem as long as you have the correct paperwork with you. They do tend to check me more often, but I also use a pump and having electronics strapped to my body could also be the reason that they get a bit nervous . I've never had a problem.

As for the hypoglyceamia, you can bring biscuits and sweets on board.

Just get a doctor's letter and you can keep the lot.
Anything in original packaging with a pharmacy label is fine. Doesn't matter the size.

It won't work for the drinks, but if the liquid paracetamol is prescribed, you can take it through even if it is over 100ml. You just need ta letter from the doctor confirming it is needed or a copy of the prescription. If it is in the original packaging with a pharmacy label all the better.

They may open and test it and you have to tell security, but it is one of the exceptions to the 100ml rule.