Questions about traveling with Pleurx bottles

[RmeDad]

My wife has a Pleurx pleural catheter and draining requires the special vacuum bottles. 1st question, is there a problem getting past TSA? Second question, is it better to pack the bottles in checked baggage or carry-on?

Thanks for the help!

 

[nikkislaght]

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/medical

This is the TSA website for what you can take on a plane..

If the bottles are glass I would not send them checked..
The airlines do not charge you for medical equipment, so on top of your limit of two carry on bags you can also take an extra bag or two for medical equipment..

TASA Cares:
TSA Cares is a helpline that provides travelers with disabilities, medical conditions and other special circumstances additional assistance during the security screening process.

Call 72 hours prior to traveling with questions about screening policies, procedures and what to expect at the security checkpoint.
(855) 787-2227
Federal Relay: 711

Weekdays:
8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET
Weekends/Holidays:
9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET

Here is a card that you can print from the TSA website which tells them what your medical conditions is and what if any devices you have on you..

https://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/disability_notification_card_508.pdf

 

[SueM in MN]

My mom actually had a Pleurx catheter during her final trip to WDW. She flew with my sister, so I was not with them on the plane, but they met and stayed with us at WDW and I helped with the planning.
First, I would suggest checking with her doctor about air travel. There should be no issues, but even though she had told the doctor ahead of time she was flying to WDW, my mom got blindsided at her MD visit a few days before the trip when the doctor said, “I forgot you had one of those. I’m not sure you can fly with it.”
My sister and I are nurses and had already checked, but his statement made my mom nervous until she had the OK of the doctor.
Her bottles were packed in a carry on in a bag of medical supplies; those can be carried on at no charge and do not count toward a carry on allowance (bag should contain only medical supplies).
As a general rule, don’t pack medical supplies in the checked bag unless there are more than you can carry on or you can easily replace them. My mom and sister were only staying 5 days, so she packed all her drainage bottles in carry on. Even if they had been staying longer, they would have still put them all in carry on. We knew they were vital to her and would be hard to replace.
If you choose to put them in checked bags (for example because you will need more of them then you can carry on):
- carry on enough to get through until you could get more or to get you through any potential travel delays (at least a few days worth) and the total amount should include at least one or 2 more than you think you will need.
- there is not a baggage charge for a bag containing ONLY medical supplies/equipment and it doesn’t count toward your baggage allowance. The airline has the right to check the bag if they choose and can charge you if it contains anything other.
- make sure before traveling that you know how to obtain more in case you have any issues (all the kits my mom brought with were fine, but during the time she was doing drainage, there were occasionally defective kits that had lost suction)

She had no issues going thru security and her drainage bottle kits came thru the flight just fine. My sister explained to the TSA agents ahead of time that their carryon contained a bunch of sterile kits with empty plastic vacuum bottles, so the agent seeing it on X-ray would not be surprised. But, they got thru fine. Be prepared that your wife might get a pat down - she should not be required to remove the sterile dressing from the site.

Another possibility is having some shipped to your destination by your usual supplier. My daughter has catheters, flush kits and flush solution that we get shipped to the resort. The WDW resorts do have a $5 per package handling fee, but they will waive or refund it for medical supplies. (Make sure to ask).
On one of our trips, some items were back ordered and we didn’t receive them until 2 days before the end of the trip. Luckily, we were able to get what we needed from a local medical supply store. Interestingly, we were able to get urinary catheters easily, even though they are marked in several places “by prescription only”. The saline solution and flush kits were not as easy to get.

For our next trip, we are looking into packing a box of medical supplies and shipping them down ourselves. That way, we will know exactly what is coming and won’t run into any back orders.

 

[RmeDad]

Thanks so much for the very complete and informative responses. I will make sure to follow all recommended suggestions. Hoping for a very enjoyable and uneventful May 1 trip. Thank you again.