Traveling To High Altitudes

Experiencing an abrupt change in your environment can definitely have a negative impact on your health. One such environmental condition is high altitude and is typically the result of traveling or climbing in the mountains. High altitude sickness is caused from the lower oxygen levels at high elevations. Your body can acclimatize to the higher altitude however; you have to be patient because it takes time to overcome. And because each person reacts differently, there is no rhyme or reason to when your body may acclimatize.

Of course, to avoid high altitude sickness, you can either avoid traveling up mountains or take your time in making your ascent. It is the level of oxygen in the air that takes the most time to adjust to. To help with the acclimatization, you could also spend the night at or below the approximate line of your acclimatization before making your ascent.

If you are going to suffer high altitude sickness, you would likely experience it during your trek up a mountain. If possible, keep a log of the different altitudes during your travel, so that you can pace yourself during your climb or trek. In addition, avoid any medications, especially those with codeine, narcotics or other type of depressant or anti-depressant. High altitude can intensify the effects of the medication plus lower your heart rate and oxygen absorption.

There are three kinds of illnesses that stem from high altitude sickness. Each one is progressively worse than the last. First of all, there is acute mountain sickness also known as AMS. Symptoms of high altitude sickness can start to manifest themselves as low as 5,000 feet to 8,000 feet. You may get fatigued, nauseous, headachy and irritable. No appetite, inability to sleep and edema are other symptoms. If possible, slow down or stop ascending if you can until you feel better and acclimatize.

Acute mountain sickness can get worse and become high altitude cerebral edema or HACE. Basically, your symptoms get worse and you may start to hallucinate, loose coordination, have severe migraine type of headaches and extreme lethargy. If left untreated, this form of high altitude sickness can lead to death. The last stage of high altitude sickness is called high altitude pulmonary edema or HAPE. Your lungs start to fill up with fluid and you will develop chest pressure and lose your breath.

Some drugs do exist which can help high altitude sickness. However, the key is to quickly get medical treatment as soon as the drug is administered and you realize that you need help. It is not recommended to try and climb back up that mountain immediately after recovering. In fact, you have a higher probably than most of developing high altitude sickness again, even with proper precautions. The bottom line is that you need to be careful and be sure to travel with a companion or group. That way, if you do become incapacitated, you have the assistance you need to get off the mountain and to help.

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