mstevens
Toadfish. Splendid is implied but not guaranteed.
As noted elsewhere in the thread, TSA is a United States agency. Nothing to do with Mexico.
I've had the very same thing happen to me, but only in Boston.
Right. Because every severe allergic reaction is to bees. Nobody's allergic to peanuts, for example, and nobody ever takes peanut butter cookies for their kids on planes and nobody's out-of-control toddlers ever smear their hands over other passengers' faces.
Seriously, anyone who has a known anaphylactic reaction to any reasonably common allergen for which they have an epinephrine injector but who travels without one is playing Russian Roulette.
I've run into all sort of "security" silliness in various parts of the world. Grumbling about it makes no difference, nor does the fact that for the most part it's senseless. Expecting life to make sense just makes people miserable.
It's actually pretty easy to check what the rules in Cozumel are: ASUR > Airports > Cozumel > Travel Tips then click on the Prohibited Items and Permitted Items tabs. It turns out those specify that camera, phone, and computer batteries are permitted, but the signs in the airport 2 weeks ago did specify that batteries were prohibited in carry-on. They may not be counting loose AA's or C-cells as belonging to cameras, phones, or computers. If you really need to travel back to the US with batteries, it could conceivably help to print out the current lists.
I've never had anything confiscated in Mexico, but the only batteries in my carry-on heading home are in my computer and phone. I tend to want in my carry-on heading to the island those items critical for diving. That includes spare dive computer batteries. On the way home, carry-on only includes expensive stuff (cameras, dive computers). The lights can go in check-through with their batteries on the way home.
I definitely recommend traveling with medications in carry-on but in original labeled bottles. For any controlled substances I think a copy of the prescription (a printout from the pharmacy works well) is a good idea. The only time I can think of a patient every having meds confiscated anywhere was a benzodiazepine when entering Jamaica. The pills were in an unlabeled bottle.
I'm with those who doubt the security staff want anyone's used cosmetics, flat batteries, half-consumed soda, or mysterious medications. They're just trying to enforce relatively nonsensical rules the best they can.
If you really want to be amused and outraged at the same time, follow what the TSA does domestically every day. My recent favorite is the woman who was forbidden to travel with EMPTY breast milk bottles but was allowed through once she pumped some milk into each one. A close second was the group of uniformed US soldiers armed with automatic weapons who had a nail clipper confiscated but were cheerfully allowed to keep enough tools of mayhem to kill everyone in the area.
