 Altitude
Sickness
One of the common sicknesses faced by trekkers; especially in
the higher altitudes of Himalayas is the Altitude Sickness.
The main cause for the sickness is change in environment due
to change in altitude. As the air becomes thinner at higher
altitude, the level of oxygen also reduces causing breathing
problem among trekkers. The illness is common beyond an altitude
of 10,000 ft.
A major reason for altitude sickness is fast ascend to higher
altitude without acclimatising with the environment. This may
lead to dehydration and hypothermia in high altitudes. Altitude
sickness may affect any person's health without any discrimination
of age and sex.
There are mainly three type of altitude sicknesses. These are
ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS (AMS)
This is the most common form of altitude sickness. A person
affected with altitude sickness suffers from headache and breathlessness.
Even a short distance walk may seem quite tiring and the patient
may tend to vomit as well. Loss of appetite is also common.
HIGH ALTITUDE PULMONARY EDEMA (HAPE)
The common symptom of HAPE is increased heart beat and cough.
The lack of oxygen in the patient may be reflected by change
of color of face, lip and fingernails of the patient to blue.
The affected person will find it difficult to hold breadth.
HIGH ALTITUDE CEREBRAL EDEMA (HICE)
The symptom in this case is a feeling of intoxication and loss of energy and temperament.
In general the following symptoms would suggest altitude sickness in the trekker.
 i.
Nausea
ii. Vomiting
iii. Insomnia or Sleeplessness
iv. Loss of Appetite
v. Relentless Headache
vi. Dizziness or light headache ness
vii. Reduce Urine Output
viii. Confusion
ix. Weakness or fatigue
x. Hand and Face swelling
xi. Breathing Problems
Prevention Issues
As for any other form of illness, prevention is always better
than cure.
The best solution for altitude sickness is acclimatisation.
After the end of a trekking day spend time walking around and
adjusting to the new environment. The big mistake will be to
take an immediate break and start resting after the trek. Give
your body the time to adjust.
 Before
you start your trek, check your gear. If your rucksack looks
slightly heavy to you, recheck your gear and remove what you
wont need. Remember, a slightly heavy rucksack may seem like
a bag full of stones during a difficult trek. Ideally you should
not carry anything more than 10-12 kg on your back.
Do not trek alone. You should always take a companion while
trekking. If you don't have a choice of companion, then take
a good guide along. Trekking fast is also not a good idea. Slow
walk with even speed is much better than a fast walk with frequent
intermittent halts.
You should not climb more than a 1000 meters in a day. If you
are at a higher altitude, the height gain should be even less
per day. Drink fluids in large volume, this will help you from
dehydration. Drinking of alcohol, smoking, taking slips etc.
during the trek should be avoided.
Cure
The first thing that should be checked is whether it is a genuine
case of altitude sickness or caused by some other disease such
as indigestion. Just taking an aspirin pill may solve a milder
problem of altitude sickness. Also do not climb any further
without first acclimatising with the environment. In a more
severe situation the best solution is to descent to lower altitude.
In severe cases of Altitude sickness the patient might need
to be transported to lower altitude fast with the help of helicopters
as well. |
