I’m traveling and forgot my medications. What now? (2024)

FAQs

I’m traveling and forgot my medications. What now? ›

While traveling in the U.S.

The first step you take is to contact a primary healthcare professional. Depending on the type of medication you need access to, they can forward your prescription to a nearby pharmacy. The pharmacy will then likely give you a short supply of your medication to see you through until you return home.

The answer depends on the type of medication you're taking. For some drugs, your pharmacist may tell you to take your medication as soon as you realize you missed a dose. For other drugs, you may be told to just to skip past the missed dose and pick up with the next one.

If it is almost time for next dose (within 4 hours), skip the missed dose and take the next dose when it is due. Otherwise, take it as soon as it is remembered, and then go back to taking the medicine as usual. Do not take a double dose to make up for the missed dose.

Contact your travel insurance company; they may be able to help get your prescription replaced. If they cannot help, seek medical assistance and follow advice from the local authorities in the country where you are staying.

We recommend that you get your prescriptions filled before you travel. But if you need one filled while traveling, your options depend on where you're traveling. You should get all prescriptions filled before you travel.

It's important not to miss any of your doses, as this could make your treatment less effective. You may also get withdrawal symptoms as a result of missing a dose of the medicine. If you do miss 1 of your doses, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the usual time.

The dangers of not taking your medication as prescribed

Generally speaking, the more doses you miss, the higher the likelihood of a therapy failing and a disease progressing. For example, missing a preventive dose of an asthma inhaler can cause irritation in your airways.

If you're late to take a pill or forgot one day's pill, take it as soon as you can. Then take the rest of your pills like normal. You may end up taking two pills in one day to stay on schedule. You should use another type of birth control for the next 7 days if you missed a pill during the first week of a new pack.

Can missing my meds for one day mess with me? ›

Problems with missed doses of medicines

Sometimes people forget to take their medicines at the usual time. This may cause a problem because missing a dose may make the medicine less effective, but taking doses too close together may increase the risk of side effects.

You missed a dose—now what? Again, it depends on the medication you're on. But Danielle Berger, PharmD, a pharmacist who manages a Walgreens store in Charlotte, NC, recommends this general rule of thumb: If it's only been a few hours since your missed dose, go ahead and take it; then, pop your next pill as usual.

If you forget to take it

If you usually take it once a day, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it's 12 hours or less to your next dose, do not take it. If you usually take it twice a day, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it's 4 hours or less to your next dose, do not take it.

In many countries—even those that require a prescription—pharmacists may have the latitude to provide short-term or emergency refills (generally for a more common, benign, chronic medication) without a prescription. Travelers should show the pharmacist the empty bottle or a copy of the original prescription.

If you run out of your medication, call your pharmacy right away and ask them if they can fill it for you as soon as possible.

Travel medical insurance can cover the cost of medical care, hospitalization, imaging, lab work and prescription medication if you get sick while traveling. Many U.S. health insurance plans do not provide benefits outside of the country, so travel medical insurance is a good idea when traveling abroad.

However, if you forget to take your thyroid medication on time, it's generally OK to take it later in the day. The exception is if you missed a dose by more than 10 or 12 hours, in which case you should wait until your next scheduled dose.

You might face serious complications.

Even OTC drugs can be dangerous to skip. If your doctor told you to take aspirin every day after a heart attack or a stroke, quitting may make your condition “rebound” and cause another heart attack.

In general, if you miss a dose of your medication, take the missed dose as soon as you remember, then continue your regular schedule. If you are closer to the next dose, skip the missed dose and return to your standard time.