Kathmandu:

April is considered a good month for trekking. But there’s something that those embarking on the tortuous trails of the mountains can’t afford to close their eyes to: the very common but lethal-if-neglected Acute Mountain Sickness or altitude sickness. Usually striking trekkers at any point above 2500 meters, altitude illness may not spare even the most experienced of trekkers.

“As we ascend up the hills, the atmospheric pressure gradually decreases, and oxygen molecules have bigger space to play in. So as we breathe, we inhale fewer and fewer oxygen molecules, whose loss the body tries to recompense mostly by faster and deeper breathing,” explains Dr Kulesh Thapa.

Altitude sickness may also depend on our exertion level. This typically makes young and healthy climbers more vulnerable to the illness, as mostly due to their energy level they are inclined to travel faster. In the severe cases, it is visible in mostly two forms- High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). HACE results out of the brain’s inability to work properly due to swelling.

In this case, the patient should be taken to an altitude where the patient felt normal before. HAPE another condition of altitude sickness is actually a case when fluid forms in our lungs. This occurs due to the pressure imbalance between atmosphere and the body due to lack of oxygen. The fluids from blood and cells find their way into the lungs. HAPE also is reduced by descent, and it is also fully curable if the patient is made to rest at lower altitudes.

Symptoms

Altitude sickness usually begins with headache, although it may also be attributed to other factors. “Headache coupled with symptoms like fatigue, weakness, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, dizziness, difficulty in sleeping or feeling unusually sleepy, breathlessness even while resting, high irritability, lethargy and inability to think properly, unbalanced or drunken gait, dry cough, congestion, blueness of tips and fingers, and noisy breathing, are clear indications of altitude sickness. These are more pronounced during the evening or night,” says Dr Thapa.

Treatment

Says Dr Thapa, “Some doctors recommend diuretics like Diamox or Lasix tablets. Some may also recommend steroid tablets consumed with plenty of water. However, what we should note carefully is that these tablets may not be that helpful if we continue our ascent despite conspicuous signs of the sickness. So the best treatment for altitude sickness is to ‘descend, descend, and descend’.”

Recognising or judging correct altitude sickness is the first and foremost thing that we should note. Some may neglect it, whereas some of us may be too conscious of it. We should avoid both of these. We should walk with a positive attitude, confidence, without getting too panicky. This reduces our chan-ces of suffering from the disease.

Precautions

1) Eat sufficient calories of food rich in carbohydrates

2) Drink plenty of fluids- water, soup (mostly of garlic), and juices

3) Avoid fried and heavy items difficult to digest

4) Avoid alcohol and smoking and

5) Acclimatize:a) Walk slowly b) Climb high, but descend again to eat and sleep at lower altitude.