PUBLISH JUNE 22, 2026 · CHRONIC DISEASE / MEDICATION ACCESS
Ran Out of Your Medication in a Foreign Country? Here’s How to Not Let That Happen at the World Cup
The flight and the hotel are the easy part. The thing that actually goes wrong is the prescription you couldn’t refill.
I’m an internal medicine physician. The question I get most from traveling patients is not about the flight or the hotel. It’s some version of: what happens if I run out of my medication over there? For a fan flying into Houston from another country for the World Cup, that’s a real problem. It’s also the one that’s most fixable before you leave.
Here’s the situation you want to avoid. You land, you packed for the trip you planned, and then the trip runs long. Or a bag gets lost. Or you just miscounted. Now you’re in a foreign country, your prescription was written by a doctor on another continent, and the pharmacy counter can’t fill it. For a blood pressure pill, that’s an inconvenience. For insulin, a blood thinner, or a seizure medication, it’s an emergency that builds slowly while you wait.
Start with the supply
Pack more than you think you need. I tell patients to bring enough for the whole trip plus a full extra week, and to split it across two bags so one lost suitcase doesn’t take all of it. Keep the medications in their original labeled bottles, not a daily pill organizer. The label is what a US pharmacist or physician needs to confirm what you’re actually on.
Carry a letter from your doctor
One page, in English. It should list your diagnoses, every medication with its generic name and dose, and any devices. Brand names don’t travel. The pill you know by one name at home may be sold under a different name here, but the generic name is the same everywhere. A US physician who reads “metoprolol 50mg twice daily” knows exactly what to do. “My heart pill” gets you nowhere.
Understand how a US refill actually works
A foreign prescription can’t be filled at a US pharmacy. If you run short, a US-licensed physician has to evaluate you and write a new one. A telehealth visit can often handle that the same day for stable, routine, non-controlled medications. Controlled drugs are a different story. The rules are stricter and the process is slower, which is the whole reason you don’t want to be the one running short on those.
Some medications need extra thought
Insulin and other refrigerated drugs
These need a cooling case. A bag sitting in the Houston sun for an hour can degrade insulin. And don’t trust the hotel mini-fridge without checking it. Some of them freeze, which ruins insulin just as fast as heat.
Blood thinners
These are not interchangeable. If you run out of apixaban, you cannot borrow a friend’s warfarin. They are different drugs with different dosing and different risks. Bring enough of your own.
Inhalers
They empty faster than you expect when you’re on your feet and shouting in humidity for three hours. If you have asthma or COPD, a match day can burn through a rescue inhaler quicker than a normal day at home. Pack a spare.
Controlled substances
Keep them in the original packaging and keep the doctor’s letter with them. A quantity that looks completely ordinary at home can raise a question at the United States customs.
A couple of Houston specifics
Most of the large chain pharmacies stay open late, and some run 24 hours. If you need a same-day evaluation for a routine refill and you’re visiting the area, an async telehealth visit can often sort it out without you hunting down an urgent care and sitting in the waiting room. And if you are ever genuinely unsure whether a missed dose is dangerous, that uncertainty is itself a good reason to call a physician instead of guessing.
My patients travel constantly. They fly across the world, run races, climb things. The ones who never have a medication scare are not the lucky ones. They’re the ones who treated the pharmacy problem as something to solve at home, in advance, while it was still easy. Do that, and the only thing you’ll be chasing in Houston is a better seat.
Texas Integrated Care Group sees medically complex adults in the Montgomery County and Harris County areas, including via telehealth. texasintegratedcaregroup.com.
