Air travel question: medically necessary stuff? Legal help pls!

Since having radiation for tongue cancer a few years ago, I have no salivary function at all. This means I rely on sipping water every few minutes all day long, or else the inside of my mouth dries out and cracks painfully, inhibiting my ability to talk.

I have to fly in September to be there for my ten-year-old kid's surgery. Can anyone here with knowledge of disability law and airline regulation tell me if there is a way to ensure I get to take my water bottle onto the plane? It is a four-hour flight and the longest I can go without hydrating is about ten minutes, so going without is out of the question. If there is no way, I'll just have to take Amtrak. :shrug:

Tucker

Since the water's not a prescription medicine, leaving it in the bottle probably wouldn't be enough. Would a letter from the doctor help?

Tucker

I don't think that even the all-powerful DHS can keep these idiotic rules in place for much longer. There's gonna be some serious backlash from this if they don't let up soon.

...for Deep Vein Thrombosis due to insufficient fluid intake on a longhaul flight, this whole silly stunt will fold like a house of cards. You can only screw with people for so long before someone dies or gets very ill, then you're in for a world of trouble. The airlines don't give a crap about their passengers, but they won't let anything stand that costs them money.

DHS should repay all those who had to throw away items they purchased. Anyone who has suffered in any way needs to file a law suit. I'm serious. (And I'm not someone who promotes suing people just for the hell of it. I'm still so pissed about this whole crap, I'm still spitting out tacks...) :mad:

So I suspect that a letter from your doctor and a word with a TSA supervisor should suffice.

Failing that you might try calling the airline to check if a signed note by your physician would suffice or if they could stow some extra water for you. You might also try the airport or the TSA manager at the airport, but I'd wait till next week and hope this dies down a bit first.

Failing that I'd check with the gate and/or flight crew on boarding to see if they could give you a couple of bottles of water as soon as you board. Probably be best to bring signed note from physician.

It's not like they don't have water on a plane.

i was just online reading the regs...

any liquid that is "medically necessary" will be allowed on board

assuming the ban was still in effect, s letter on your doctor's letterhead / prescription pad would probably be fine

the regs basically said all prescription meds (with script_) and all medically necessary OTC stuff (like insulin... which is OTC)

but clearly, water would be fine with the dr thang

also, they do have bottled water on the plane of course

because of my liquid pain medication that I MUST take during the flight to be able to handle the change in air pressure during the descent.
:grr:

find out how far you can get with your water bottle. Agree to toss yours at that point IF the airline will send someone to that particular point with a bottle of THEIR water, and make sure they have additional water on the plane, etc. You need water, and you are willing to be flexible, I'm sure...but they gotta meet you at least halfway.

Good luck.

http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/threat-change.shtm

Have your doctor write you a prescription for water on his prescription pad.

at the moment, there is no legal help. All bets are off with this administration. We are seeing the start of a fascist government.

edited to add: wear a business suit.

Good luck