Travelling Abroad

I have traveled a lot with large amounts of prescription drugs (Imuran, Lialda, Prednisone etc.) and never had any problems. I always carry it in my hand luggage because I couldn't be without it, if the luggage got lost. On the other hand, I have only traveled within Europe, the US and the MIddle East, so I couldn't say with that area you're going to. I'd make sure you have more than enough to last you at least 4 months (you never now, you might stay there longer than you expect) and take plenty of Immodium. Might even talk to your doctor about getting antibiotics just in case..

I used to get diarrhea all the time when I lived in Hong Kong. It was from the meat. I don't know about now, but when I lived in Hong Kong back in 1990, merchants would hang their meat (except fish) outside in the sun to sell. I asked about it and was told that people in Hong Kong want their meat as fresh as possible. They don't like meat that has been frozen. I could smell the meat starting to rot when I walked by it. Of course, it gave me diarrhea when I ate it. If you see any practices like this, then avoid that particular food. The fish was okay, except for the one time I got fish poisoning from an incident of illegal dumping of heavy metals in some part of the bay. It was big news at the time. I ate a lot of fish in Hong Kong. It's very fresh since they usually keep it alive until it's time to cook it. I still remember when my aunt-in-law prepared a shrimp dish for us. My older daughter thought the shrimp were pets and was horrified when my aunt-in-law tossed them into a pot of boiling water. My daughter still won't eat shrimp to this day.

Also, be careful about food sold from carts. Many merchants who sell from carts do not follow sanitation laws. I did used to buy egg pancake from a cart in Taiwan and never had any issues with it. However, I saw how the owner made it and everything was clean. Plus, one person made the egg pancakes and another handled the money.

Post Edited (subdued) : 5/9/2011 5:08:45 PM (GMT-6)

I've been traveling with my meds only to Europe, but never had any problems on the borders. Just keep them in original packaging and if possible - have the RX info on them. It should be fine.
BTW, do you need any special medical treatment before you go to Nepal? Like immunization or something else? Keep in mind that with UC and some meds you can not take all those treatments for granted.

I live in Korea now and was in Japan before (and Korea again before that) and it's never been a problem, although both of these countries are first world countries unlike Nepal or China. Because of this, I think it'd be even easier to get any medication you need into the country as they probably don't have as stringent screening (unlike Japan where Prednisone was actually illegal up until very, very recently). Keep it in a carry on and be candid about it unless absolutely necessary and you'll be A-okay!

My friend just went to India and had diahrrea and stomach problems the whole time. She was bed ridden for a few days. Everyone I know who went to India had some kind of health problem as a consequence, so be prepared as Nepal neighbours India and probably shares a lot of the same food treatment / hygiene customs. Only buy bottled water, don't eat street food, don't eat anything that looks "off" and use common sense. I'd go a step further and say to abstain from meat or dairy.

In these countries, sometimes stuff is left out in the sun, sometimes expired goods are sold and hygiene is often very questionable. The locals are accustomed to bacteria that Westerners aren't accustomed to.

You should be fine, though. Common sense!

I might be going to Pyongyang, North Korea in a few months on a one week tour. Any advice about that? Bahaha...

Post Edited (Wavefunction) : 5/10/2011 3:33:17 AM (GMT-6)

One time I bought a parakeet from a US pet store when I was living in Taiwan and had gone to the US for a family visit. I brought the bird back to Taiwan with the store receipt. The person at customs did not know what to do; so he let the bird through. I left the bird in Taiwan with relatives when I moved back to the US. Apparently, the US requires all birds brought into the country to be quarantined for a month. I didn't want my bird living in quarantine for a month. But I did bring the two cats that my family had gotten in Taiwan. US customs weren't keen on the cats. They thought my older daughter and I were drug dealers due to the fact that we had new, foreign-bought luggage and two cats. They thought the cats were a diversion. We were interrogated as a result.

I learned something that day. Drug dealers probably try to look as inconspicuous as possible, because security and police are always on the lookout for something unusual. If we were drug dealers, then we would have been carrying US luggage, wearing US clothes, and not bringing two cats with us.