travel experiences with Cpap.

[scottb908]

Hello,
I am very new with this whole Cpap thing and trying to get use to it. This board has had some very helpful hints so far but now I got another question for all you experts. With my job I do a lot of traveling. Almost on a weekly bases I am between NY, NJ and CT with overnight stays in all of them. Its been fairly easy to pack up the machine and take it with me. Well I am going to be going out to CO for a week or so and would like to take the machine with me. I worry about putting in my suitcase, as we all know things arent always handled gently. So its going to be a carry on for me. Whats your experience been with flying with the CPAP? Has the TSA or security given you a hard time? Any tricks to make it go any smoother? I plan on having it hand checked I dont trust the Xray machines, and obviously the humidifier tank will be emply. Do I need to get a Dr note for carrying it on the plane?

Id love to hear your experiences, both good and bad, so that I know that to expect.

Thanks

[RoxanneY]

Cpap Machines now only have to go through the xray machines, like a laptop. It is no longer neccessary to have them swab them.
I travel a lot and the best way to do it is get a laptop case that is big enough to handle the Cpap and the laptop. I bought a Samonite 4 wheeled one and it works great.
I also have two masks and two hoses. One is for travel and one if for home. Anytime you pack Cpap's in suitcases that are not on you, damage is sure to occur.
I also travel quite a lot and once you get the hang of it, no big deal. Last, it is best to have a copy of you prescription for the machine with you when you travel.

Good Luck

[bayourest]

I traveled with my cpap 4 days after I got it. i was pretty nervous about it all. I brought Rx with me,, and I went to TSA site and printed the info that CPAPs are allowed as medical equipment and do not count as a carry on...so you get 1 carry-on, one personal item, and your cpap. As soon as you get to security tell them you have a cpap. On one way of my trip they just made me unzip the case and on the return they took it out of the case and looked at it. It was no big deal. DO NOT put it in checked baggage. I kept it under the seat in front of me.

[PST]

Since the beginning of 2011, I haven't even had to remove my machine from its case going through security on domestic U.S. flights. First TSA stopped swabbing the unit to check for chemical residues. Now it seems to have stopped even requiring that it go in its own tray. On two recent flights, I specifically asked if I needed to take the CPAP out and was told no. I have four flights in the next two weeks, so I'll report if it is different, but I believe many recent fliers have echoed that experience.

The new backscatter x-ray machines (the ones everyone hates) require taking everything out of your pockets, even non-metallic things like papers. That means a lot of extra hassle and delay at security, so I'm glad one burden got easier.

[rosacer]

I traveled last December and changed planes at NJ airport, I had no problem at all I didn't need to open my APAP bag.

Me too as RoxanneY I bought a wheeled computer's luggage and I put my PR System one inside, the hose with its insulation jacket, the hose's support, 2 masks, one extension cord and the medications. Nobody said anything at TSA or the air company (Continental). I toke a small jet (Air Canada) back to Montreal, the stewardess was asking people with small carry on luggages to register it, but the computer's luggage is just small enough to fit under a seat even in those tiny jets; so no problem at all and the machine was always with me in the cabin.

I found those wheeled computer luggage a marvel. In my way down I had my regular CPAP luggage hanging from my shoulder walking in the airport to go change planes to another far away concord, that was so tiresome that I decided to follow the suggestion one of the cpaptalk friends gave me once (I don't remember who told me that but a thousand thanks to him), I finally invested in a wheeled luggage and I don't regret it at all.