High altitude sickness:
Sometimes people get sick at high altitudes, such as in the mountains. This is called mountain sickness or high-altitude sickness.
Causes of High Attitude Sickness:
Lack of oxygen causes high-altitude sickness. As altitude increases, the air becomes “thinner,” which means less oxygen is in the atmosphere. You get less oxygen in your lungs with each breath, so the amount of oxygen in your blood declines. (This is called hypoxia) (hi-POKS’e-ah). All people can experience mountain sickness, but it may be more severe in people who have heart or lung problems.
symptoms of High altitude Sickness:
Symptoms usually begin within 48 hours of arriving at high altitude. The higher the altitude, the greater the effects. People can notice effects when they go to an altitude of 7,000 to 8,000 feet. If you have heart disease (such as heart failure) or lung disease (such as emphysema), you may have symptoms at lower altitudes. Symptoms include
- headaches, breathlessness, fatigue
- nausea or vomiting
- inability to sleep
- swelling of the face, hands and feet
- tiredness
- loss of apetite
Both heart rate and breathing rate increase as the body tries to send more oxygen to its tissues. At very high altitudes, body fluid can leak into the brain (called brain or cerebral edema) or into the lungs (pulmonary edema). Both these conditions can be serious or even life-threatening.
Types of High altitude Sickness:
- A cute mountain Sickness (Ams)
- High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)
- High altitude cerebral edema(HACE)
symptoms of AMS
- Headache
- Nausea
- Shortness in breathe
- loss of apaetite
- Tiredness
- Sleeplessness
symptoms of HAPE
- Increasing shortness of breathe
- dry coughing
- Wet sounds on the lungs
- Feelings of excessive tiredness while climbing
- High pulse rate
- Blueness in face, lips and fingers
- drowsiness
- less urine
- pain in chest
symptoms of HACE
- Severe headache
- Vomitting
- Ataxia, lika a drunken man
- mental confusion
- irritable
- double vision
- hallucinations
- change in behavior
-
unconscious
Prevention of High altitude sickness
- walk slowly
- do not make rapid ascent
- drink sufficient liquid
- do not cary heavy load
- After 3000 mtr. do not sleep higher than 30-500 mtr of the last sleeping altitude sleep at the same altitude every third night if possible.
- do not drink Alchol, no smoking, no sleeping pills
- look after each other
- recognize the symptoms and stay an extra night in same place
- descend down rapidly as soon as possible
- use paracetamol, sprine or diamox if neccessary
source: internet/newspaper http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2356/1601661229_60b6c9ce4b.jpg http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/altitude-sickness-13.jpg
