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Can you fly with bacteriostatic water and syringes?
Yes — medical liquids are exempt from the 100 mL limit in every country here. What to pack, what to say at the checkpoint, and why nothing goes in the hold.
Last reviewed · written by PepPrep · not medical advice
Yes, in every country this site covers — and the rules are friendlier than most people expect. Airport security treats mixing water, vials and syringes as medical supplies, and medical supplies are exempt from the usual liquid limits. What trips people up is not the rule but the paperwork and the packing.
The one rule that matters
The 100 mL liquid limit does not apply to medically necessary liquids, and every major security body says so in writing: the TSA in the US, CATSA in Canada, the UK Department for Transport, EU regulation 2015/1998 and Australia's Home Affairs. A 30 mL bottle of bacteriostatic water is well under the limit anyway; a mixed vial is a few millilitres. Ice packs and gel packs for keeping them cold are allowed too, and — this is the part people miss — they may be partly melted, because they are there for a medical reason.
Syringes are allowed in hand luggage when they travel with the thing they are for. A bag of syringes on their own invites questions; the same bag beside a labelled vial does not.
What to bring
- The original labelling. Keep water and vials in their labelled boxes or with the pharmacy label attached. The name on the label should match the name on your ticket if it is a prescription item.
- A letter or prescription copy if you have one. Not required by the rules, but it ends most conversations in ten seconds.
- A small sharps container. Used syringes cannot go in the seat pocket. A travel-size sharps container is allowed through security.
- An insulated case with a slim ice pack. Security may ask to swab it. Say what it is before they ask.
At the checkpoint
Take the case out of your bag and put it in its own tray, the way you would a laptop, and tell the officer "medical supplies, syringes and a cold pack" before the bag goes through. Declaring first is the difference between a thirty-second look and a fifteen-minute one. You may be asked to open the case; you will not be asked to open a sealed vial.
Checked bags: don't
The hold of an aircraft can drop well below freezing. A frozen vial is a ruined vial, and a checked bag can also be delayed for days. Everything temperature-sensitive goes in the cabin with you, without exception.
For the longer version, including how long a cooler actually holds temperature on a flight, read Flying with vials, syringes and ice packs. For the exact wording from each country's security body, see Official sources by country.
Supplies mentioned: Travel