Altitude sickness

Altitude sickness is one of the things that you can be bothered by when you go hiking in Ladakh or go high in the mountains. It is a condition that can occur when you ascend rapidly to heights over 2000 to 5000 metres (6500 to 16400 feet). Sensitivity to altitude sickness can differ from person to person. If you’ve had no trouble one time from altitude sickness that does NOT mean that you will never have any problems with it and that altitude sickness will not affect you this time. If you have a slight headache when you wake up, you probably have altitude sickness.

Altitude sickness is caused by the low levels of oxygen in the air available for breathing at high altitudes. Altitude sickness general occurs above 2500 metres (8200 feet). Sensitivity to altitude sickness differs per individual and symptoms can also occur at lower levels. It is generally impossible to predict who will have problems with altitude sickness. However people who have previously had altitude sickness, have a higher chance of suffering from altitude sickness the next time. Altitude sickness can be avoided by giving the body time to acclimatise. There are various forms of altitude sickness that are all caused by a lack of oxygen.

Mild altitude sickness: This occurs several hours to a day after arriving at high altitude. The symptoms consist of shortness of breath, headache, nausea, and general feeling of being unwell, a sort of hangover feeling.

Treatment of mild altitude sickness consists simply of ascending no further and if necessary descending if the symptoms do not improve within a couple of days. For the headache paracetamol can be taken. Additional medicines and oxygen can be given.

Serious altitude sickness: The headache worsens, the shortness of breath is also worse and occurs even when resting, especially at night. It can make the person so sluggish that assistance is needed with eating and dressing. They walk as if they were drunk. This is a serious condition and without treatment can lead to fluid accumulating in the lungs and in the brain (lung and brain oedema), coma and death. The treatment of serious altitude sickness is to descend immediately! Medications and oxygen can also be administered. If you go to Tibet you are already at a very high altitude when you land. If you are having problems with altitude sickness then it’s not possible to descend because you are on a high plateau. That’s why you absolutely have to take time to acclimatise before you go to Tibet.

Prevention of altitude sickness consists of:

* Gradually ascent to altitudes over 2500 metres (8200 feet).
* Acclimatise for 2 days when ascending above 2500 metres (8200 feet)
* Do not drink alcohol or take sleeping tablets
* Drink lots and lots of water or herbal tea (no alcohol or coffee)
* Your overnight accommodation must preferably be no more than 300 metres (1000 feet) higher than the accommodation for the previous night
* Be very cautious about using Diamox (acetazolamide - a medicine used prophylactically for altitude sickness)
* For serious altitude sickness a helicopter can be used (is necessary), but it is very expensive (about 1200 euro per hour) and can only be organised by a trekking agency or by the embassy. It will fly if a security bond (400 euro) is paid in advance
* In consultation with the doctor a medicine (acetazolamide) can be used to promote acclimatisation in people who have previously had altitude sickness and when there is a sudden ascent to altitudes above 3500 metres (11500 feet) when acclimatisation is not possible.

More information about health can also be found on our Health page