<p>I will be going on a trip shortly and I am worried about my bra setting off the alarm because I really don’t want to be patted down. I would just buy a wireless one, but I only buy mine from Victorias Secret and they are kind of expensive for a bra that I would never want to wear again. Do underwire bras really set off the metal detector? I usually wear the VS Secret Embrace bra if someone knows about that one getting through.</p>
<p>My VS underwires never set off the machines. My husband’s partial knee replacements always set off the alarm.</p>
<p>I have not heard of underwire bras setting off the alarm. Zillions of women wear them and most seem to walk through the detectors just fine, including myself. </p>
<p>My daughter has five metal screws in her hip and I don’t know what those are made of but she does not set off the alarm.</p>
<p>Agreed- never ever had a problem with an underwire. My s has a titanium rod in his leg with screws made of a heavier metal (I forget which) and even that hasn’t set of the alarms, much to everyone’s surprise. No need for the extra shopping, IMO. Good luck! You should be fine. As an aside, I have had to take off some bracelets and necklaces as they have set off the alarm. Ditto for a belt buckle. Keep that in mind, but no worries about the bra!</p>
<p>The underwire does not set off the alarm, but if you set it off with something else and get wanded, the wand will likely pick up the underwire and clasps. The airport security guard, who will be female, will have to touch every area where the wand beeps, including around your bra. If you do need to be wanded, you can ask for a private room if it makes you more comfortable, though the process may take longer that way. </p>
<p>Things to remember: watch, cell phone, any kind of metal lanyard, coins, heavy bracelets, belt. Things that don’t usually set it off: small watches, smaller jewelry (including earrings), hairpins, the metal part of hair bands, even most belts.</p>
<p>Also, don’t get nervous and walk through the machine too quickly. That can also set it off.</p>
<p>OKgirl, if you don’t want to pay a lot for “a bra you’ll never wear again” then don’t buy a VS bra. Go to WalMart. Toss it when you’re done. On the other hand, if you find a VS no-wire bra you like, then set it aside as your “travelling bra.”</p>
<p>Metal detectors also seem to vary in sensitivity. For example, my belt buckle has activated a few, while it usually does not.</p>
<p>I heard (can someone confirm?) that the sensitivity of the machines is adjusted when the security alerts go up- ie higher sensitivity when the security code is orange than when it is lower. Anyone know for sure?</p>
<p>We’ve travelled during high security times and the underwire bra has never been a problem. Interestingly when my son used his asthma inhaler right before going through a puffer screen, the canister propellent set off the alarm.</p>
<p>What’s a puffer screen, DA?? The propellant (aerosol and contents), not the cannister itself set it of? Fascinating. I also smiled at your SN a it relates to the topic of underwires :)</p>
<p>It is not that big a deal to be patted down, but I hate it. Yes, it is irritating, embarrassing, and annoying. I sometimes wonder if they do it to see if someone will go postal…</p>
<p>The puffer is when you enter a chamber and then it closes and then you are hit with a whole array of air puffs (it will do a Marilyn Monroe on your skirt!). Then the air is wisked into a detector and it sees if there is any hint of explosive, strange chemicals and so on. </p>
<p>If you are exhaling propellant or if it is on your hands then it picks it up. they have these puffers in Hartford Airport (BDL).</p>
<p>My underwire bra has never set off the security alarm, and I travel at least monthly. The only thing it has set off is the hand wand the few times when I’ve been selected for additional screening, but then so do the rivets on my jeans and even the hooks in the back of the bra.</p>
<p>I have a plate in my knee and routinely set off the metal detectors, so that I get hand searched. The searchers are very careful but they do check for everything, including underwire bras. I now travel in a tank top and elastic waist pants because that way there are fewer spots to hand-check (rather than with the wand). </p>
<p>Allow me to recommend a t-shirt rather than a bra.</p>
<p>That’s good to know! I guess it was just one of those urban legends. Thank you!</p>
<p>Never had an underwire set it off. OTOH, I once had a nickel in my jeans pocket (didn’t know it was there) Got wanded, asked if there was “something” in my pocket. Truthfully told the lady there was a spare tampon in the pocket. Fortunately they didn’t have me empty them out - but did go back and forth for several minutes with the wand and questions about brand and type. Eventually it was decided that I was safe enough to fly… felt a little bad when I found the coin in there as well. I could have saved myself some grief and the screener some delicate questions.</p>
<p>Am I the only one here who has never been pulled aside for random screening? In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever set off the alarm, and I consider myself a fairly active traveler.</p>
<p>I haven’t set it off at the airport. Set one off going to see the President speak once ;)</p>
<p>I once set off a metal detector at the White House and then at the NIH the next day. One day it was my shoes, the other it was my belt. Never at an airport, though (and I only wear underwire bras).</p>
<p>I have another question. Can birth control pills be put in the carry on bag? I really don’t want the screeners to have to go through my bag and pull out my pills because of the foil backing showing up on the screen (Would foil even show up?). I also don’t want to risk them being lost with my luggage. Is there a possibility that the pharmacy could give me a bottle with the prescription label and I could just store them in there?</p>
<p>I’m sorry for all these dumb questions. It’s my first time to go on a trip since 9/11 and I just don’t know how things have changed.</p>