Where do you put your air travel medical tag and where do you buy a new one so they don't take your luggage from you?

[cpapsnorechild]

Where do you put your air travel medical tag and where do you buy a new one so they don't take your luggage from you?

Do you put the tag only on your tiny cpap-carry bag or do you also put the tag on in your much larger carry-on wheeled luggage?

medical_device_tag_for_travel.jpg (371.63 KiB) Viewed 11102 times

[Miss Emerita]

Do you pack your ResMed bag inside another piece of luggage? I'd advise against that, if only to keep life simple.

When I travel with my ResMed bag, I don't have a sticker on it, nor do I need one. The TSA and airline personnel are all familiar with PAP machines, and I've never had a moment's trouble.

Be aware that your ResMed bag does NOT count as a piece of carry-on luggage in relation to rules about how many pieces you can carry onto the plane.

[ChicagoGranny]

Do you put the tag only on your bag or do you also put the tag on in your much larger carry-on wheeled luggage?

I've been forced to check my luggage so many times at the airplane door, that my CPAP bag is always in my hand. The airlines lose too many checked items of luggage to risk it.

[Janknitz]

cpapsnorchild, are you traveling abroad?

In the USA, medical devices like CPAP's do not count in your carry-on luggage limits. I agree with what others have said that you should carry it separately in case you have to check your bag. Also, the only thing that is "exempt" from the carry-on limit is the device in it's regular carry bag, so they may not permit you to take a larger bag that it is in if it is mixed with other items (although I regularly tuck a few items into my CPAP bag like a long USB cord and my eye mask).

I think I have read that you don't always get an exemption for medical devices when flying internationally, though, so in those cases it does make sense to pack your cpap bag in a larger carry-on. But I'm not sure this is correct. You should double-check with the carriers you travel on internationally.

[ozij]

I always bring along a letter of medical necessity. Don't live in the US, haven't run into problems in Switzerland, Austria or the Czech republic. For my convenience, my CPAP - in its bag - is inside a cabin trolly. If I were forced to hand in the trolly, I would take the cpap bag out of it. I keep the letter where I keep my passport.

[chunkyfrog]

I would imagine that a tag can be purchased from cpap.com.--reasonably, I trust.
No doubt a local DME will want an extremity or two.
Still, the letter of medical necessity sounds like a more reliable choice.

[Cecioboe]

I put my tag on the shoulder strap of my CPAP bag. I bought it off Amazon for a few dollars.