Altitude Sickness
Altitude Sickness or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is usually occurs at altitudes above 2500m or 8000ft. Symtoms include
* Headache
* Lack of appetite, nausea, or vomiting
* Fatigue or weakness
* Dizziness or light-headedness
* Insomnia
More serious cases can lead to High Altitude Pulmonary Edema or (HAPE) or High Altitude Cerebral Edema.
HAPE occurs when a person goes above 2500m or 8000 ft. Fluid fills the lungs slowly and the person essentially drowns themselves.
Symptoms include
- shortness of breath
- coughing
- weakness
- easy fatigue (especially when walking uphill)
- difficulty sleeping
- If you place an ear to the person's chest, you may hear gurgling noises. The symptoms worsen at night. Confusion, collapse, and coma follow. The victim may show a fever of up to 101.3 °
HACE occurs when a persons, again goes above a 2500m or 8000ft altitude and the brain swells
symptoms include
- headache fatigue
- visual impairment
- bladder dysfunction
- bowel dysfunction
- loss of coordination
- paralysis on one side of the body
- confusion
Treatment
- The best treatment is to go down in altitude.
- Diamox is a prescription drug that is used to treat altitude sickness, etc
Prevention
Try to gradually increase your altitude so that your body can get used to it. If you do jump drastically in altitude, drink plenty of water and slowly incease your physical activity over a few days.
