International travel: Product availability
Cruise?
Some cruisers who are flying to the point of departure of a US-originating cruise prefer to purchase certain supplies after the flight lands. This way, they can avoid carrying large amounts of (for example) Clear Care solution in their luggage.
We recommend calling ahead to verify local availability, and also making sure there is adequate time in the schedule to cope with flight delays.
Can I buy preservative-free saline overseas?
Lacripure, Nutrifill, Scleralfil and VibrantVue are sold only in the US. Purilens is sold in the US and Canada. So saline availability at your destination country is a very important question to be asking.
Many people need large amounts of saline for longer overseas trips. In most countries you can easily purchase some kind of contact lens disinfection solution, but preservative-free salines are much more difficult to find. In many cases, no buffered option will be available, only 0.9% sodium chloride solution. Furthermore, preservative-free artificial tears are not always sold over-the-counter, so that may not be available as a backup option.
We recommend researching this before traveling. If you cannot verify a source before you leave, plan on packing enough in your checked baggage to last the trip, bearing in mind that you may have to keep the vast majority in your checked baggage.
In some countries, the best option will be to find a scleral lens provider who stocks a preservative-free saline for their patients.
What about hydrogen peroxide?
In some countries you might be able to find a Clear Care equivalent. However, for those who use “brown bottle” hydrogen peroxide as an alternative, this is not readily available in pharmacies outside the US.
Should I ship my solutions to my destination?
In most countries, there are import restrictions against contact lens solutions. We do not recommend shipping contact lens solutions internationally unless you can verify the arrival of your shipment at its destination before you leave on your trip.