Bill

What exactly is altitude sickness? What symptoms does one experience? There seems to be a medication one can take. Do you take this BEFORE you reach high altitude as a preventive measure? Is it available over the counter or only by prescription? Any horror stories resulting in shortened vacations, etc?

Escritora

Altitude sickness is your body's reaction to being at higher altitudes that you are accustomed to. Symptoms vary tremendously from one person to another. At their mildest, they involve headaches, fatigue, insomnia and nausea. I can attest from experience that altitude sickness can make you sick to your stomach. Extreme reactions can require emergency evacuation, but that is rare. Moreover, your body will give you some warning signs leading up to real trouble. <BR> <BR>One factor to consider is exactly what level of altitude your trip will involve. You body will notice if you go from sea level to 10,000 feet in one fell swoop, and if you're going even higher than that whatever reacion you have will be intensified. You can reduce the impact by moving up gradually in altitude if that's possible. <BR> <BR>If you're heading to a high altitude, it's advisable to do vigorous aerobic exercise for a while leading up to your trip to build up your endurance. Other preventive measures include keeping well hydrated and limiting physical activity for a day or two while your body adjusts. Generally it's those who ignore their body's signals and try to push through the problem who wind up in serious trouble. <BR> <BR>Caffeine is said to help allieviate the symptoms. There's also a prescription sulfa-based drug that can be taken prophyllactically. Sorry I can't speak to how well either works, but I am that rare lucky person who is allergic to caffeine AND sulfa drugs. Someone else want to tackle that end of the discussion?

Escritora

Thanks for the excellent detailed info on altitde sickness. My wife and I will heed ALL of your suggestions. <BR>Bill

John

It is prudent to visit a dentist before going to a high altitude, particularly if you have a lot of plaque building up.

Dan

Please take into serious consideration any condition you may have which reduces the lungs capacity, such as emphysema or reduced actual capacity. In Cusco I had the bad experience of holding my unconcious friend in the front seat of a beat up pickup (holding the door shut with my other hand), as the Doctor rode in the back. My friend and I had traveled quite a bit, but he never realised why he felt bad in the mountains. It was only our local friends who saved his life by calling in their cousin, head of the Nationals Hospital emergency room, who quickly re-evaluated Dwight`s condition and expedited his admision into the Peruvian Nationals Hospital. Dwight had polio as a child and as a result was left with reduced lung capacity. Mind you, the hotel 'Doctor' had checked him and given him a sedative, of all things, so he could relax and aclimate. He was dying without being able to rouse. We can laugh now, the story included me dressing him and overlooking his money belt in the bed, when we got back I was most surprised to find it still there, with about five years of hotel 'Doctors' pay still in it! The real Doctor, whom I shall never forget, saw Dwight aboard a flight with Oxygen bottle and he went back to Lima, where he had no further problems. The reason I felt this story was worthwhile is that Dwight`s own Doctor in the states, a respiratory specialist, did not warn against the trip to high altitude. Hope it helps someone!

Deb

My suggestion would be to have your doctor refer you to a travel clinic -- they usually stay current on what vaccinations and medications (such as Diamox for altitude and Cipro. for diarrhea) are receommended by the CDC for the area(s) you are traveling. And it is usually covered by your health insurance. We just got back and had no problems...which made for a truly enjoyable trip!

Marilyn

My experience was going by plane directly from Lima (sea level) to Cuzco (10,000 ft?). I was with some friends and we noticed that our varied fitness levels were by no means an accurate indicator of who felt the worst. I was in crummy shape at the time, but mostly felt lethargic and had slight headache. One of the fittest of our group had severe headache and vomiting. Of course we drank lots of coca tea, which I didn't think helped much, and chewed some coca leaves, which helped a lot.<BR><BR>You do get used to the altitude, and a week later after being down to 8000 ft (Machu Picchu) and back up to 12,000 (Lake Titicaca) we all felt fine.<BR><BR>I have never taken the medication, but I have heard that it can make you feel just as bad as altitude sickness.

Karen

Bill,<BR><BR>Altitude sickness can produce symptoms from headaches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, cold-like symptoms, or need for an oxygen tank. Listen to your body. We live at 5,200 feet and felt no symptoms at Cusco or MP. But certainly felt fatigued at Lake Titcaca (13,000 feet). Drink plenty of water. Repeat. Plenty of water. Coca tea is great because it's almost all water. Rest. Adjust to the altitude. Talk to your doctor before you go if you have any health conditions. Safe travels...<BR>Karen