Travelling and flying with it
Hand luggage, always, with an ice pack in a hard case. Aircraft holds go below freezing. Empty pens, sealed cartridges and boxed needles are unremarkable at security; anything liquid follows the normal liquid rules, so check your airline and destination before you fly.
Cabin, never the hold
Hold temperatures on a long flight routinely drop below freezing, and freezing is the one thing that reliably ruins reconstituted liquid. Bags also get delayed, and a bag that arrives two days late arrives warm.
What security actually sees
An empty metal pen, sealed glass cartridges and a boxed set of pen needles look like what they are: small medical-style equipment. They go through the scanner without fuss. The travel case reads as a spectacles case with foam in it.
Anything liquid is the part that has rules, and those rules are set by the airline and the country you are flying to, not by us. Check both before you pack. Some destinations also have their own rules about bringing in substances, which is entirely your responsibility to establish.
Packing it
Hard case, everything in one place
Pen in the cut slot, cartridges in their channels, needles boxed. Nothing loose to rattle or break.
Ice pack in the pocket
Frozen the night before. How long it stays cold depends on the room and the flight, so for anything long, see the note below.
Case in your hand luggage
Not the hold. Not even for a short flight.
Straight into a fridge on arrival
Hotel minibars run warm and swing about. Ask reception for a proper fridge if there is not one.
For a long-haul flight, take a second ice pack sealed in a bag. Airport security may take issue with a fully liquid gel pack, whereas one still frozen solid usually passes. Rules differ by airport.
Driving and days out
The same case handles a day out. The one thing to avoid is leaving it in a parked car, where the interior can reach fifty degrees in summer and drop below freezing on a winter night. Take it with you.
Questions
- Do I need a doctor's letter?
- For the equipment itself, no. For anything you are carrying that is a prescribed medicine, a letter or a copy of the prescription is sensible and some countries expect it. That is a question for your doctor, not for us.
- Can I take pen needles through airport security?
- Sealed pen needles in their original box are normally allowed in hand luggage, but the airport and the country you land in make the final call. Check both before you fly.
- How long does the ice pack last?
- Hours, not days. It depends how warm the room is and whether the case is inside a bag. Treat it as cover for a travel day, and get to a fridge at the other end.