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Comment by jupp0r | Hacker News Reader

Anybody who puts important meds into checked luggage is really to blame for their problems. Bags get lost even when airlines don't have catastrophic breakdowns of their normal operations and taking this risk is really not necessary as meds can totally be carried in carry-on. It's really unfortunate that this is causing problems for people but it's totally preventable.

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Your getting downvoted a lot - but as someone who has been racking up north of 100k miles/year for five years pre-pandemic (somewhat less now) - anytime I checked luggage I essentially needed to be mentally and emotionally prepared to say goodbye to it. I booked my tickets with Chase Sapphire which has very good missing luggage/toiletries/etc... insurance - and had my luggage go missing five times in as many years - though, I will say, all five times I had the airline deliver it to my destination hotel within 48 hours.

Regardless - don't check anything you aren't prepared to say goodbye to.

Yes, but I think the comment is being downvoted for tone, not accuracy. It’s not nice to lecture people when they’re down, even if they’ll never read it.

You shouldn't be downvoted for this. Southwest (and other airlines) specifically recommend bringing all medication in carry-on bags. I have had checked bags delayed multiple days on other airlines. It happens.

https://www.southwest.com/help/accessible-travel-assistance/...

There being a possibility of a negative event providing motivation for a strategy to mitigate the event doesn't provide justification for realizing the negative event through sheer incompetence nor does advertising your incompetence ahead of time clear you of the blame for said incompetence.

Except that even if you only bring a carry on, it’s not guaranteed that you won’t be hit with the “we’ll have to check this bag free of charge for you”. I’ve been in my seat, the lady takes my bag down from The storage to fit something else, can’t fit my bag back, and decides to check my bag without even talking to me. Other times it happens as you walk down the aisle and find no room, it’s very common.

Meh, it's avoidable. I travel with a medium-big backpack as my only carry on, usually, and have never been gate-checked. The roller bags which barely fit in the overheads and have no compressibility are the ones that get gate checked.

There are only two kinds of bags: carry-on and lost. I always travel as minimal as possible so I can stash my gear under the seat.

So you travel for a meeting for a day and back? Ever travelled from warm weather to cold weather? Ever travelled to a place where you’ll need two types of shoes? Or multi city with different weathers, different engagements… I don’t know how you can believe that “you can just travel with a small backpack anywhere!” “If I did it, it must work for everyone!” “99% of the people have carry ons bigger than a backpack because they are stupid and literally do it for no reason”. Is that the logic you’re following? I don’t get it.

Note the word 'usually.'

But also I've traveled for a month (us to India) from my backpack. One week of clothes, a laptop, some cables, notebook and pens, perhaps a couple more books, a few toiletries. And still some room for one 'fun' thing, like a small synthesizer to jam on.

It's a bit like ultralight backpacking; you can cut down quite a lot one you get in the mindset. I definitely don't claim it works for everyone... But probably most people can travel rather lighter than they normally do.

Fwiw, my travel backpack is pretty similar to this one. Definitely a bit bigger than the standard backpack, much smaller than a hiking backpack, and rather smaller than a roller bag.

https://www.chromeindustries.com/product/hondo-backpack/BG-2...

100% agree that happens, and frequently, but it's also perfectly avoidable - don't try to maximize volume. Bring a carry on that fits underneath a seat. I typically travel with a rectangular backpack (plus, if needed, a check in, which I acknowledge may not make it there). It gives one an independence and self sufficiency that's completely worth it.

The expected downside of a lost bag is that you get it back in a day or two — not ten days.

And usually not in a city other than your point of departure or expected arrival.

Southwest should be responsible for making it worse.

The expected downside of a lost bag is a lost bag.

Still there are plenty of medicine you don’t want to miss for a few days. For me and my family anything that we absolutely need travels in hand luggage always. In my experience getting a lost bag can be a huge pain specially if it was lost during a layover

This is really harsh but it’s good advice. I’ve never checked important medicine but I never really thought about the danger of losing access to it in a random city. Fortunately I think local pharmacies would be pretty understanding in this situation… and give people temporary access to missing medicine… hopefully… perhaps the airport could even act as a middleman (I got urgent care drugs at a foreign airport once when I was sick).

I don’t know that pharmacies are allowed to do that. What you usually have to do is call your primary care or other doctor and explain the situation and have them send a prescription to the new city

Pharmacies cannot and will not do that (except for insulin, for which it's now allowed in some states, and maybe a few other non-abusable things.) If it's a controlled substance -- which includes most things you'd be worried about withdrawal from -- forget it. If it's a more tightly scheduled drug, you'll have trouble even getting an unfamiliar doctor to prescribe it. It's not that they don't care about your withdrawal syndrome, but they generally care much more about not losing their license.

I think it would be a matter of calling the prescribing doctor’s office, explaining the situation and giving them the details of the pharmacy you’d like to pick up the prescription from. The biggest hurdle would probably be insurance, who doesn’t want to pay for more medicine than was necessary.

Good luck with that Dec 24-26 (the time frame we're discussing). You might get an answering service that can get a message through to your doctor but the office is likely to be closed and empty. Then you still have to find an open pharmacy with your medicine in stock.

Keep it on your person. Always.

Totally agree. Everytime I fly I think about how I'll feel if my bag gets lost forever. I then plan accordingly to minimize the tail risk.

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