Altitude Sickness
What is Altitude Sickness and How Can I Prevent it?
Altitude Sickness
What is Altitude Sickness?
Altitude sickness is a general term for a group of medical conditions that can happen when you move to a higher altitude too quickly for your body to adjust. The higher elevations result in a thinner atmosphere and lower oxygen levels in the air, which means you are breathing in less oxygen than you would get at lower altitudes. When your body struggles to adjust to the oxygen difference, it causes the symptoms of altitude sickness.
How Common is Altitude Sickness?
Altitude sickness is most common amongst people who aren’t acclimatised and not used to breathing at high altitudes. It is rare below 2438 metres (8,000 feet) above sea level. Most people who ascend quickly to 3352 metres (11,000 feet) will develop some form of Acute Mountain Sickness.
When your body struggles to adjust to the oxygen difference, it causes the symptoms of altitude sickness. The three distinct conditions of altitude sickness are:
- Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), the most common and mildest form.
- High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema, when altitude sickness affects your lungs, causing them to fill with fluid.
- High Altitude Cerebral Oedema, when altitude sickness causes your brain to swell.
What are the Symptoms of Altitude Sickness?
The symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness usually appear within the first 24 hours of reaching a high altitude and include:
- Headache (the most common symptom)
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Fatigue and malaise (even when resting)
- Reduced Appetite
- Restless Sleeping
- Dizzy or Lightheaded
- Vision changes (a rarer symptom, but an indicator or more severe altitude sickness, usually due to blood vessel ruptures in the retina)
Can Altitude Sickness be Prevented?
Altitude sickness is easily prevented with good planning and preparation.
- Limit the speed of ascent (altitude sickness is more likely when you ascend too fast). Once you have reached 2500 metres (8202 feet), it is only recommended to ascend between 300-500 metres per day.
- Take rest days! Once you reach 2500 metres, have an initial rest day, then every third day as you continue to ascend.
- Sleep at a lower altitude (if you can, ascend during the day and rest at a lower altitude).
- Preventative Medications such as Acetazolamide (Diamox) can prevent and treat altitude sickness.
What does QuickDoc prescribe for Altitude Sickness?
QuickDoc offers prescriptions of Acetazolamide (Diamox) for altitude sickness, this medication is used for the treatment and prevention of altitude sickness.
What is Acetazolamide (Diamox)?
Acetazolamide (Diamox) is a diuretic, it helps you lose salt and excess water from your body. It is used in the prevention and treatment of altitude sickness. It is a potent carbonic anhydrase inhibitor causing diuresis and renal bicarbonate loss, this in turn increases minute ventilations and oxygenation by enhanced central chemoreceptor outputs. By using Acetazolamide (Diamox), high-elevation acclimatisation that normally takes between 3 and 5 days can potentially be achieved in just one.
What is my dose of Acetazolamide (Diamox)?
The usual dose that our Doctors recommend of Acetazolamide (Diamox), is to take one 125mg tablet twice a day (at the same times each day). Begin taking this medication 24 hours before arriving at high altitude and continue for 48 hours while at high altitude. If symptoms persist, you may take Acetazolamide (Diamox) for an additional 48 hours. If you vomit within one hour of taking your dose, repeat the dose. Ensure to store Acetazolamide (Diamox) in its original packaging at room temperature and keep out of reach of children.
