Traveling to USA, if you are on medication for some health condition, requires meticulous planning as far as the FDA guidelines and the CBP rules are concerned. Traveling to USA with gold jewelry is easier than flying into USA with medicines from India. It is because international airlines may not allow you to carry certain medicines on board, the medicines approved in India may not be available/sold in America, you may not get past the airport security for improper packing of medicines in your handbag, and your medicines would be confiscated if you don’t declare it or provide a valid prescription to the CBP officers.
The very first thing you need to do for hassle-free arrival at a US airport with your prescribed medicines is to check FDA’s list of medicines banned in the United States. The FDA-banned medicines include SIBUTRAMINE, an appetite suppressant drug affecting the heart health; PEMOLINE, a nerve stimulant drug; TROGLITAZONE, an antidiabetic drug with adverse effects on liver; EFALIZUMAB, a psoriasis-treating drug affecting the nervous system; and painkillers like VALDECOXIB with severe side effects.
Paracetamol is an extensively used over-the-counter drug. Precisely, it is a household medication across India. Many Indians wonder whether they can pack in Paracetamol drugs for a trip to America. You can carry it for personal use only if a certified physician has prescribed it to you, as it is not banned in the United States. Paracetamol is called acetaminophen in many US states. Similarly, Ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug for children, is allowed and available in the US. ADVIL is the most common brand of Ibuprofen in America.
FYI, Crocin which is sold across India is completely banned in the US for its side effects. Even if you carry Crocin with your doctor’s prescription, it would be seized by the US CBP officer. precisely, the medications validated in India and prescribed to you may not be allowed by CBP officers if they are banned in USA.
How to pack medicines for international flights to USA
The packing of medicines for your or your parents’ flights to USA may make or break travel. A crucial part of senior citizens’ international travel guide, bringing medications into the US is subject to the guidelines of TSA, FDA, and CBP. If they are on medication for a chronic disease, pack medicines for not more than 90 days, regardless of their duration of stay in the US. If your visiting parents stay more than 90 days in the US, you may have additional supply of their medicines from India by mail or courier.
It should be noted that proper documentation is required for having an additional supply of medicines sent to USA from India for your visiting parents. A copy of their passports with US visa stamps, a copy of the prescription, and a letter from their doctor are part of the documentation. The letter must be written in English and addressed to the CBP officer, ascertaining that the medication is essential for continuation of the treatment that started in India.
The second rule of thumb for traveling with medicines to USA from India is that the prescribed medicines should be brought in their original containers with dosage instructions printed on the containers (if bottle). Carrying your doctor’s prescription or note, written in English, is must for flying with medicines. The doctor’s prescription and/or note should be explanatory enough about your health condition.
If medicine containers/packets are not original or without labels, chances are that CBP officers might adjudge them as inauthentic as counterfeit brand clothes and accessories found in some foreign travelers’ bags. In such events, you might have hard times convincing the CBP officers until the medicines are examined and validated by an FDA inspector,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Senior Editor of Travel Beats, a leading USA-India travel guide and news portal by Indian Eagle.
CBP officials at major airports in USA may confiscate and throw away medicines with addictive drugs or narcotics. Some cold & cough medicines, antidepressants, and tranquilizers have narcotics. If you can’t help but carry such medicines while traveling to USA, make sure to declare the medicines, their usefulness, and your medical condition to a CBP official upon arrival at the first entry airport in the US.
Crocin contains only paracetamol. Your blog says actininophen (another name for paracetamol) is allowed. In the very next line, it says crocin is not allowed, why is crocin is not allowed?