Some of you will remember the eye and the ankle. This time it is not me, which is a novelty.
My wife had her knee replaced at the start of the month. Surgeon has said yes to a short-haul flight to see our son in a fortnight, about two and a half hours. She will still be on the blood-thinning injections when we go, and she has a box of painkillers that the pharmacist made her sign for, which I gather means they are one of the stronger ones.
Questions. Do the injections go in hand luggage or the hold? Do we need a letter for the painkillers, and from who? And is there anything else people wish they had packed? I am trying to do it properly this time.
#2October 20, 2026, 8:45 am Keith, doing it properly the third time round is very on brand for this forum.
Hand luggage for both, no question. Anything she would need if the hold bag vanished goes in the cabin with you: injections, painkillers, dressings, stockings and the paperwork. The injections also do not want to sit in an unheated hold. Keep everything in the pharmacy packaging with the labels showing.
If the pharmacist had her sign for the painkillers, ask them whether it is a controlled drug, because if it is, UK rules say it has to travel in your hand luggage when you leave or re-enter the UK, and she needs a prescription or a letter from her doctor to show it is hers. The GOV.UK guidance on what the letter should contain is a good template: her name, the travel dates, a list of the medicines with the amount, dose and strength, and the prescriber's signature. Check the rules of the country you are going to as well, through its embassy, because some are stricter than ours.
For the needles, ring the airline and ask how they want them carried. It is a two minute call and the answer varies. And whatever you do, do not let the trip change the injection course; that is the surgeon's decision.
I wrote the whole list up last week, including the paperwork folder and a small wound kit, in packing for travel after surgery. The bit I would underline for a knee is the stockings: on before you leave the house, not in the bag.
Our GP practice did the letter for my mum in two days, but they charged for it, so ask about that when you ring. The hospital pharmacy was quicker in the end and did not charge.
Spare dressings. Always spare dressings. I ended up in a chemist abroad trying to mime "the square ones with the clear window" and it was not my finest hour.
Done. It is a controlled drug, the pharmacist confirmed. Surgeon's secretary did a letter with everything Tom listed. Airline said needles in hand luggage are fine with the prescription label and a letter, and to tell the crew she has them. Spare dressings, three. Stockings bought in the right size, which apparently my wife had been wearing a size wrong since the hospital. Folder made. I feel unreasonably organised.
