Can you Bring Vitamins on a Plane?

If you are someone who cares for your health, taking vitamins and sticking to a regime is an excellent way to receive all the necessary nutrients your body needs. Being health-conscious doesn't have to end when you are traveling.

You can bring vitamins of all types along with you in your carry-on bag and checked bags when traveling both domestically and internationally.

Learning the rules of flying with vitamins and supplements can save you from any additional stress and delays during your travels. To ensure the safety of everyone on a flight, there have been strict guidelines set by the Transporation Security Administration on what you can carry on planes. In this article, you will learn the policies related to taking vitamins in your carry-on bag.

Pill and Softgel Vitamins

If you have vitamins that are in pill form, these can be carried on a flight with no restriction with their quantity. When traveling with vitamin pills or capsules, it isn't necessary to tell airport security at a checkpoint unless asked. Vitamin pills do not need to be labeled or put into special containers for travel. When carrying dry vitamins, you can use the original bottle or any container that is convenient for you. If you have soft gel vitamins such as fish-oil, these capsules have the same restrictions as dry vitamin pills and can be taken in the original bottle or a convenient vitamin carrying case.

Prescription Pills

Prescription medication pills are allowed in carry-on bags but must be screened at the airport security checkpoint. Airport security recommends that you keep all prescription medications in the original packaging received from a pharmacy. While it may be more convenient to place all prescriptions in a single bottle, TSA views this as a security risk. Airport security may confiscate prescription medications if two or more prescription medications are stored in one container.

Liquid Vitamins

Vitamins in liquid-form have strict limits on the amount you can carry for each person. Like all liquids, liquid vitamins are subject to the 3-1-1 policy that TSA will use to check your carry-on bag liquids. TSA enforces the 3-1-1 rule for liquids in carry-on bags that states that you cannot exceed 3.4-ounce containers of any liquid. Travel-sized containers are made not to exceed the 3.4-ounces required by TSA. Along with only 3.4-ounce containers, these liquid containers must all be able to fit in a one-quart sized bag.

The only exception to the 3-1-1 for carry-on bags is if your doctor has prescribed a liquid vitamin or medication. If the liquid bottle has a prescription label from a pharmacy on it, TSA will not confiscate it. Prescribed liquids have no limits to the ounces that can be carried in a bottle. To carry bigger non-prescription liquid vitamin bottles in your travels, you will need to place them into your checked bag and not a carry-on bag. The 3-1-1 rule does not apply to a checked bag.

Vitamin Powders

Another form of vitamins is powdered vitamins and supplements that can be mixed with liquid. Vitamin powders are allowed in carry-on bags, but restrictions limit the amount you can carry with you. TSA allows only 12oz or 350mL amounts of vitamin powders, including protein powder, creatine powder, and other powdered supplements. The most convenient way of storing these vitamin powders during travel is in plastic ziplock bags. Ziplock bags will keep the powder from spilling out during the process of being screened by airport security or in-flight. Placing the retail label of the vitamin powder on the ziplock bag can also quicken the process at the airport security checkpoint.

If you are traveling from an international location and flying into the United States with a powder-based substance, it may be additionally screened. Quantities of more than 12.oz or 350mL are additionally tested, and if they cannot resolve at the central checkpoint of the airport, the vitamin powders can be discarded by airport security. Carrying vitamin powders in your carry-on is recommended because explaining what they are to the TSA agents is easier. If you put some supplement powders like protein powder in a checked bag, they may get discarded due to their appearance. A checked bag with an unidentified white powder could lead you to have your checked bag confiscated completely.