Overseas Travel Altitude Sickness
zendoc / May 2023 (102 Words, 1 Minutes)
In Korea, there are not many altitudes of 2500 meters above sea level, so it doesn’t matter, but overseas, even if you are not a mountain climber, you should be careful of altitude sickness when going to common tourist destinations such as Aspen in Colorado, Machu Picchu in Peru, and Tibet Plateau in the United States.
Altitude sickness is caused by hypoxia, and like that terrible briquette gas poisoning, high-altitude cerebral edema can occur, leaving permanent impairment in brain function and death due to high-altitude pulmonary edema.
Around 2000 meters above sea level, 22% experience altitude sickness, and from 3000 meters above sea level, more than 40%. Headache, vomiting, anorexia, fatigue, dizziness, and insomnia occur within 6 to 12 hours after ascending to high altitude, and most of them improve as they adapt to the high altitude, but some may change to fatal conditions.
From 2500 meters, you must go through a 24-hour acclimatization period every time you climb 600 meters to reduce altitude sickness.
Acetazolamide can be used as a preventive treatment, ibuprofen for headaches, dexamethasone for symptoms of high-altitude cerebral edema such as incoordination or altered consciousness, and beta2 such as ventolin for high-altitude pulmonary edema with dyspnea such as tachypnea, cough, hemoptysis, and fever. Use an antidote in an emergency
Altitude sickness should not be thought of as just suffering from headache, vomiting, and dizziness when climbing an alpine zone. It is important to know that the aftereffects are no different from a stroke, and that permanent damage to motor function, emotion control function, memory and cognitive function may occur.
Even if you are young and have good physical strength, you must be prepared because the prognosis is unknown.