How to avoid altitude sickness?

What is Altitude Sickness?

Altitude sickness, also known as Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) occur, when your body cannot adapt to lower oxygen levels at higher altitudes, which typically happens above 8000 feet (2500 meters). Some of the symptoms of Altitude sickness are:

• Rapid breathing
• Headache
• Vomit
• Loss of appetite
• Exhaustion
• Fever
• Tiredness
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Drunken Gait
• Highly irritable
• Nausea

Recognizing these early symptoms is necessary, or else it can be fatal overtime, and if safety precautions or solutions are not applied, it can worsen the symptoms.

Causes of Altitude Sickness

High-Altitude Sickness is mostly caused by low oxygen supply to the body due to high altitude or when your body struggles to adapt low oxygen, which results in high-altitude sickness. However, there are other causes that increase the symptoms:

• Speed of ascent: Trekking up at higher altitudes with a faster pace can increase the risk of mountain sickness. Avoid directly flying into the higher altitude town and do not hike more than 300–500 meters (1,000–1,600 ft) per day in sleeping altitude, or your body cannot adjust to the low oxygen environment.
• Dehydration: While travelling at high altitude, it is necessary to drink enough water due to rapid water loss from your body. Not drinking enough water or hydrating your body can increase the symptoms.
• Alcohol and poor diet: Heavy meals or drinking alcohol before trekking in high altitude can stress your body.
• Exposure to cold: If you are not wearing warm clothes, it can lead to frost bite and hypothermia increasing the risk for Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS).

Tips to Prevent Altitude Sickness

Preventing the problem is better than a cure, so some of the tips to prevent high-altitude sickness are:

• Descending: If you feel any symptoms of altitude sickness, retreat immediately but slowly.
• Ascent Slowly: High-altitude trekking requires a slow and steady pace due to low oxygen levels. After reaching 2500 m above sea level, limit daily altitude gain to around 300 m to 500 m for a better experience.
• Stay hydrated: Increase your water intake up to 5-6 liters, and don’t drink any alcohol for hydration.
• Eat properly: Consider eating light weight food (like rice and bread).
• Medicine: Take paracetamol or acetazolamide (Diamox), which helps prevent AMS and helps your body adapt to a low-oxygen environment.
• Experienced guide: Make sure you hire an experienced guide who knows what to do in serious and unexpected situations.
• Acclimatization: Acclimatization is a crucial step for trekking at higher altitudes, as it gives time for your body to adapt to low-oxygen-level environments.

Training and Physical Preparation Before Trek

Before starting a long trek, it is important to ensure you have your body physically and mentally fit, especially if you are at a high altitude where the oxygen level is very low. By proper training and preparation you can significantly improve your performance during the trek and help your body acclimatize to thinner air, reducing the risk.

Some type of the training that helps during the trek is:

• Cardiovascular training for lung and heart.
• Strength training to strengthen legs, back, etc.
• Breathing and Endurance Exercise.
• Hiking practice with a loaded backpack.

Roles of Trekking Guide and Support Team

An experienced trekking guide plays a crucial role in every trip, especially in high-altitude treks. They are responsible for leading the way as well as ensuring your safety and comfort throughout the trek.

1. How experienced guides help identify symptoms early: The early symptoms of altitude sickness are often ignored by trekkers, which can result in serious problems if not treated in time, however professional guides are skilled at spotting these early symptoms and take immediate action.
2. Importance of Trekking with a Professional Agency like Epic Trek Nepal: Choosing an experienced and professional agency like Epic Trek Nepal is compulsory when hiking in high-altitude areas to ensure trekkers safety.
3. First-Aid Support: Epic Trek Nepal always carries a first aid kit and additional oxygen on high-altitude treks. This is crucial because in remote areas of the Himalayan region medical facilities are limited and unavailable for several hours to days.

Conclusion

High altitude sickness is one of the most common challenges trekkers and even inexperienced guides encounter during the trek in mountain areas but is preventable with good training and planning. Trekking in the Himalayan region is challenging due to unpredictable weather conditions. Therefore, comprehensive travel insurance is a must before starting any high-altitude trek. The important thing to do during the trek is listen to your body, don’t ignore early symptoms, maintain a proper diet, and stay hydrated.

Remember that this is not a race; it is a journey where you need to appreciate each and every moment to the fullest.