I’m a flight attendant and I always pack one vital item in my hand luggage

A FLIGHT attendant has revealed what vital item she always packs in her hand luggage.

The cabin crew-member recommends Brits ALWAYS take a Ziploc bag filled with essentials to keep you fit and well on your travels.

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Travellers’ personal pharmacies can include creams for sore muscles, pain killers or allergy eye drops among countless other medicines.

Taking to a Reddit page for “essentials and tips for packing”, the self-professed cabin crew worker wrote: “Be sure to get a big Ziploc bag and make a mini pharmacy for yourself”.

“There is nothing worse than feeling under the weather when you’re in the middle of a trip or at the airport and subjected to pay £18.60 for an eight-pack of cold pills.

“I keep my ‘mini pharmacy’ stocked with decongestant spray, Sudafed (the one that you get from the pharmacist works wonders for congestion or feeling clogged in flight), […] allergy eye drops, allergy medicine, and basically anything else that you know that you’d want with you if you’re prone to something.

“Sounds a bit overkill, but my mini-pharmacy has alleviated me so many times throughout the years.

“I always have something to help out my co-workers if they need something.”

The NHS website recommends that you put any medication in your hand luggage, the main reason being that if luggage in the hold gets lost, you would still be able to take the necessary medicine.

Before travelling, you should check the airline’s regulations, but most of them will allow it.

Make sure to pack your medicines and any equipment such as needles, syringes and others in their original and correctly labelled packages.

You should also carry the prescription from your doctor, just in case you are questioned about the medication.

It is recommended that you pack some extra medicine in your suitcase, just in case.

You never know whether you might miss your flight and have to stay longer in another place – you wouldn’t want to run out of necessary drugs.

Before packing your medication make sure that the expiry date will be valid for as long as you’re abroad and also check how it needs to be stored.

Most of them, need to be kept at room temperature but if you’re travelling to a warm country, you should get advice from your pharmacist on how to store the medication.

You might need to store it in an ice bag or a thermos flask.

In UK airports, you can also carry medication that exceeds the 100ml limit, but be aware that airport staff might need to open the containers to screen the liquids at the security point.

You will need to have a covering letter from a medical professional.

The UK government website states that if you’re taking oxygen cylinders in the hold or hand luggage, you must contact your airline before travelling.

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