EpiPen On A Plane: Get Vital Tips For Flying With Epinephrine
As a food allergy family with severe food allergies and gluten intolerance, we are used to flying with our EpiPen on a plane. We’ve traveled all over Europe, Mexico, the US, Canada, the Bahamas, and more! We have 2 girls (one with severe food allergies) and we’ve prioritized travel as a family because of all the bonding and educational benefits, and of course, it’s fun too!
Just so you know where we’re coming from, we’ve taken many, many flights and trips over the years to a variety of destinations. Not just cultural destinations, but beach vacations, cruises, and Disney too (we’ve been to Disney World and Disneyland several times and even Disneyland Paris too). Our extensive experience has made us very confident traveling with severe food allergies.
Not only that, but I’ve helped hundreds of food allergy families travel safer and with less stress with my blog and business, Friendly Pantry Consulting.
Are you going on a trip, or thinking of booking one soon?
If you’ve already booked a trip, maybe you’re…
having second thoughts about the trip because of food allergies
worried about taking unnecessary risks.
wondering if you forgot anything important.
hoping all your bases are covered.
If any of these are you, OR if you’ve never booked a trip because one or more of these things are holding you back, you’ll want to check out one of my most popular workshops: The Food Allergy Travel Workshop.
It’s one of the most popular because the Food Allergy Travel Workshop helps make food allergy travel safer and less stressful. After traveling worldwide with severe food allergies, I teach you what our family has learned. You don’t have to learn the hard way!
Even if you leave next week, you can implement what you learn.
**When you click on the links or button above, you’ll go to a page where you can learn more and buy the Food Allergy Travel Workshop. I completely trust and recommend this workshop!
This space was created for food allergy mamas and families. You’ll feel less alone in this part of the internet. Make sure you check out the other blog posts I’ve created to help make your food allergy lifestyle less worrisome. Just click on “Blog” at the top right of this page to see more posts that will help you.
Now let’s get to those vital tips for flying with an EpiPen on a Plane.
Our family in Ireland.
First, there’s ONE thing you need to know.
These tips can be used for the epinephrine injectors we use which are EpiPen and Auvi-Q (Allerject). These injectors (and most other injectors used to treat anaphylaxis) use the drug epinephrine which often dictates what’s required for storage.
That said, each epinephrine injector may have its own requirements and I urge you to double-check everything with the specific epinephrine injector you use.
From here on out I will use the term EpiPen for all epinephrine injectors because that is the most common name that people know, but of course, there are MANY different brands and it’s important that you know the type that you have and the specific restrictions for that brand.
Here’s how we travel with an EpiPen on a Plane
Where do you put the EpiPen when flying?
This is a really important question and very common. There are a few things to take into consideration here.
First, safety.
Think about this. If your child were having an anaphylactic reaction, where should the EpiPen be? Definitely somewhere easy to access, and not in the belly of the plane where there is no possible way to get it. This medication is life-saving and needs to be administered as quickly as possible, which means it should be wherever the food allergy child is.
For this reason alone, the EpiPen needs to be kept in your carry-on luggage in a place that’s easily accessible during the flight. Some places we’ve kept it are below the seat in front of us and in the seat pocket in front of us.
Second, ideal storage temperature.
So maybe you keep a couple of EpiPens in the cabin with you, then you might think that it would be ok to store the extra EpiPens you have in your checked back, right?
Not a good idea. That’s because EpiPens have a drug called epinephrine which has an ideal storage temperature.
That ideal storage temperature happens to be close to room temperature. Knowing this little bit of information has changed everything when it comes to making good decisions about where to keep our EpiPens. A good rule of thumb is to decide if I am comfortable with the temperature in my normal clothes, then the EpiPen will also be comfortable. Remember there is a bit of wiggle room in the ideal temperature for epinephrine, but this is a good rule to make it simple.
Knowing this means that it’s super important to keep all epinephrine injectors in the MAIN cabin of the plane simply because the temperature in the luggage compartment will either be much hotter or colder than room temperature since it isn’t regulated.
Third, Do the TSA in the USA and CATSA in Canada allow EpiPens in the cabin of the plane?
Yes.
EpiPens are considered personal medical devices and are allowed in your carry-on. At the time of writing, you will not need documentation, as long as the prescription label is on the EpiPens to show that it is for you or your child’s personal use. See the information from the TSA here (USA). See information for CATSA here (Canada). If you are going to/flying out of another country, you will want to look up their requirements individually.
2. Can you put EpiPen in a checked bag?
No. The reasons are that you want to have the EpiPen easily accessible in case you need to use them AND because of the ideal storage temperature for EpiPens. See the note above for more information.
3. Is EpiPen considered a liquid when flying?
No. According to both TSA (USA) and CATSA (Canada), the EpiPen is not considered a liquid and so you do not need to fit it into your liquid bag allowance. That said, we usually pack all of our EpiPens together into a clear plastic bag and take them out at security to show to the screening officer.
4. Can EpiPen go through an X-ray?
According to Drugs.com, EpiPen or epinephrine can go through an x-ray because there is no indication that the xrays will damage the epinephrine. That said, I wasn’t able to find any other science-based studies to back this up. If you are worried, feel free to ask the screening attendant to visually inspect the EpiPens. Keeping them in a clear plastic bag and bringing them out at security will help with this.
5. How many EpiPens should I bring on a trip?
Here’s the thing. We forgot to bring medication on a trip one time. What we learned is that it’s NOT easy to get a prescription for your medication when you’re away from home. You need to get an appointment with a doctor, and they need to do all the testing required to prescribe you that medication. For a one or even 2 or 3-week vacation, that’s very time-consuming and a huge hassle.
You might think, maybe we can call our pharmacy to transfer our prescription to a pharmacy close to where we are visiting, but because of regulations between countries and even states or provinces, this can also be harder than you think and will take a lot of time from your expensive vacation.
That’s why, we always bring enough EpiPens for the whole trip. If it’s a week or longer, we bring 6 EpiPens. That way we will always carry 2 with us wherever we go, and then we have 2 sets waiting back in our hotel in case we happen to lose (or use) the set we’re carrying.
If we are going for less than a week, we usually bring 2 sets (or 4 EpiPens total).
Some of you let me know that your insurance only allows 2 EpiPens per year. I would highly recommend paying for and getting at least ONE backup to bring along (this is handy for school or other uses as well). In this case, I would keep the 2 EpiPens that you normally carry with 2 different people (mom carries one and dad carries one, or you carry one and your friend carries one). That way if you lose one, you still have the other, and you can still have the backup in your hotel room. Just make sure everyone knows where the EpiPens are at all times so they know where to find them if needed.
6. Do you need to have a Doctor’s note or prescription with you?
We have always traveled with a doctor’s note stating that our EpiPens are required medically, but we have NEVER been asked to show it on many, many trips. Now, we just ensure that the prescription sticker is attached to the EpiPen so it shows who it is medically required for and that it is a personal medical requirement.
Many airlines want proof that the EpiPen is prescribed to you specifically which is why we do this. That said, double-check with your airline since I’ve heard that some airlines require doctor’s notes in addition to prescriptions.
7. You may also like these posts:
Confidently Flying With A Nut Allergy
Must-Try Snacks For Peanut Allergy At Disney World
Unlock the Magic of Disney Allergy Menus
8. What to do next.
Remember, this blog only covers one small step of the whole food allergy travel process and there’s a whole trip to get through safely!
I have a proven Food Allergy Travel Planning Pack that guides you through the planning and packing process to make sure you’ve got all your bases covered, without wasting time or money or forgetting something.
For example, how much allergy-friendly food should you pack for your trip?
It can be hard to judge, and the last thing you want is to pay for a bunch of extra luggage, or even worse, not have anything safe to feed your child.
This helpful Food Allergy Travel Planning Pack will take you through the process step-by-step and it’s included in my Food Allergy Travel Workshop..
Honestly, the Travel Planning Pack is worth the price of the workshop by ITSELF because of how easy it makes planning & packing; but you also get the workshop too.
With the workshop, you’ll learn the tips and tricks and travel strategies to give you confidence and teach you everything we’ve learned over 16 years of traveling worldwide with severe food allergies.
You don’t have to learn the hard way like we did!
The Food Allergy Travel Workshop will help you travel safer and with less stress no matter which food allergy you manage.
**When you click on the links or button above, you’ll go to a page where you can learn more and buy the Food Allergy Travel Workshop. I completely trust and recommend this workshop!
Does this post answer your questions about traveling with an EpiPen on a plane? If not, please ask in the comments and I will do my best to answer.
