Contact lens cleaning solution in carryon

The cleaning solution I use only comes in 4 oz bottles. From what I%26#39;ve read on TSA%26#39;s website, saline solutions are allowed in excess of 3 oz in carryon if declared separately. Anyone have any experience with this?

Contact lens cleaning solution in carryon

I have always understood that you can carry a full bottle of saline, but I haven%26#39;t tried it. The TSA Web site is contradictory ... it says one thing under ';Eye Drops'; (okay to take larger size if you declare) and another under ';Saline Solution'; (only 3 oz in carryon).

A few thoughts ...

1. I have carried the 4 oz bottles of OptiFree in my 1 qt bag A LOT and haven%26#39;t been stopped ... but now that I%26#39;ve said that, I probably will next time :)

2. Both Renu and OptiFree, if you use either of those, do make smaller bottles ... you just have to look for them. Ask your optometrist if he/she has any small samples ... Our target store sells a ';trial size'; bottle of RENU in the samples section where all the small shampoo, etc. are. These bottles are 1.5 oz.

3. If you have to have another brand, pack it. Consider taking a small bottle of another brand in case you need it on the plane and pack your brand in your checked bag.

Try a bigger bottle in your carryon ... you are going to Hawaii, so you can always buy another bottle!

Contact lens cleaning solution in carryon

The TSA website does not say that saline solution is allowed in carry on luggage in 3 ounces only. The website specifically provides an exemption for the 3 ounce rule for saline solution (see info below from TSA website). The question is does contact lens cleaning solution qualify as ';saline solution for medical purposes';?

From TSA website:

To ensure the health and welfare of certain air travelers, in the absence of suspicious activity or items, greater than 3 ounces of the following liquids, gels and aerosols are permitted through the security checkpoint in reasonable quantities for the duration of your itinerary (all exceptions must be presented to the security officer in front of the checkpoint):

* All prescription and over-the-counter medications (liquids, gels, and aerosols) including KY jelly, eye drops, and saline solution for medical purposes;

You are allowed reasonable amounts over 3 ounces of the items above in your carry-on baggage, but you will need to perform the following:

1. Separate these items from the liquids, gels, and aerosols in your quart-size and zip-top bag.

2. Declare you have the items to one of our Security Officers at the security checkpoint.

3. Present these items for additional inspection once reaching the X-ray. These items are subject to additional screening.

Check with your optometrist for trial sizes of contact cleaning solution, saline, etc. If you ask to purchase one or two bottles and explain why, they will likely just give them to you... it works for me!

Oops -- Sorry, Bud is correct -- I misread the TSA%26#39;s Saline thing ... it just has to be declared.

Anyway, as I said, I have always understood you can do this ... I never take a big one b/c I prefer to travel light. Anyway -- print out the stuff from the TSA Web site ... then if they give you trouble you have backup.

squonk --

My daughter is legally blind without correction - she wears her coke bottle glasses to fly and carries her contacts even though they%26#39;re the 30-day type. She thinks that the chance of having her lenses dry out too much on the flight is an unacceptable risk because she%26#39;s not willing to waste vacation time going to an emergency room or an ophthalmologists office. She says you haven%26#39;t lived until you%26#39;ve had to have your soft contacts soaked off your eyeballs in an emergency room, and as punishment for carelessness, your lenses are often trashed in the removal process.

She carries her contacts in her purse with a 1 oz bottle of saline (bottled and labeled by a pharmacist try asking yours) and leaves her big saline in her checked luggage.

Hmmm ... I have flown on 15 hour flights w/o taking my lenses out and haven%26#39;t had a problem ... the ER thing does not sound fun!!

I always wear my lenses when I fly ... in case something happens with the plane, I want to be able to SEE! (Paranoid, I may be :) but that%26#39;s what I do!

I have read the same thing that Bud mentions from the TSA website, but have yet to try the special declaration thing. For long trips I have packed a big bottle of contact lens solution in the checked back and carry on a small 2 oz trial size. But I will be trying the larger bottle in my carry on with an upcoming trip where we will do only carry-ons (the amount of small liquid or gel items that my wife and I bring along makes the space in the small quart bag/person very precious). So I will post my experience then.

My goal is to not check any bags at all. My contact cleaning solution seems to be at issue here.

I wear gas perm contacts-can%26#39;t see out of glasses due to a ';warped cornea';. I always put the travel size bottles of cleaner and wetting soln. in my carryon bag and pack large bottles in my checked bag. Never declared it, and even when my bag was ';searched'; on my last flight, they never questioned the lens solutions. Have not yet flown on a 12 hour flight, and I am sure I will popping out those lenses at some point to avoid the dry eyes!

Good luck!

If all else fails, pack your large bottle, and fill the contact lens case with saline solution so you can take them out if need be. (I even did this a year ago when they had the ';no liquids at all%26#39; ban... ;-)

Or just buy some saline when you get to Maui.

I fly with mine in all the time, but know I can take them out if I need to.