Altitude sickness advice please

[Alan Dale]

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[cdonline]

A "second best friend's mum's friend's daughter".

I'm afraid my concern would probably pettered out at the second best friend's Mum.

[Annasfield]

If you suffer with altitude sickness, the only immediate cure is to get to a lower altitude. I know that is obvious, but I know a couple of people who suffer and when they are ill that is the only way to get relief.

I'm not an expert, but would assume that the only way to prevent it is to acclimatise yourself to being that far above sea level.

[Ladygooner]

When I was in Peru I found the best advice was to eat bananas (potassium helps apparently) and chew coca leaves and or drink coca tea. There is no hard and fast rule as to who will suffer with altitude sickness - it can affect anyone.

[Nero]

I had it at about 14-15000 feet in China/Pakistan. It is not pleasant, and it was made worse by a stomach bug. The headache, nausea, breathlessness and lethargy it brings are nasty. I believe we ascended way too quickly and once I got down to a lower altitude I felt much, much better. A friend was unconscious with it and, perhaps, the cold - we were stuck in snow for a couple of days in the mountains. Because we were young and bold and very naive and under-prepared we didn't dwell on it. I'd check the Foreign Office website for further advice and don't underestimate it. Nero

[acer]

It's unlikely that they won't suffer from some form of altitude sickness if they are trekking to base camp - its not so much the actual altitude you're at, but the speed at which you ascend that is the problem. Taking it slowly means you aclimatize as you go and your body will get used to the lack of oxygen. For example, people who walk all the way in are likely to fare better than those who fly in to Lukla, then walk up from there.

One other thing to consider is if they are on an organised tour which has a specific number of days to complete... some guides push their groups to achieve a fixed amount each day, but due to different capabilities this may prove too high too fast for some - better to go at your own pace and be comfortable. but the key thing is to be aware of the symptoms so you recognise them if you experience any. see this: http://www.traveldoctor.co.uk/altitude.htm

hope that helps! You do need to be aware of it, but it is not a reason not to go! I'm off to base camp myself later this year... can't wait!

[Alan Dale]

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[mockney piers]

Coca leaves. Get a bunch and shove them in your cheek. Works wonders, apparently enhance's your bloods ability to store oxygen.

[mattham]

keep your fluids up; avoid alcohol. And you can get drugs...a friend mentioned dimox(??) not sure how to spell it. Think it's available over the counter

[acer]

Alan Dale wrote:

> Why? What's there that means it's worth the risk?

Its the journey that's worth it, there really isn't anything there apart from a few tents, but the mountains are pretty special.

[Bellenden Belle]

Kendel's mint cake worked for me on the Inca Trail ....

And I was super fit when I did it (I had a personal trainer for eight months.... first day I met her, she looked at me and said "some people would call it fat, but I would say you have excess energy" - totally evil, but it did the trick.

[SteveT]

Two friend have recently returned from that very region with pictures or strangely primitive airplanes at Lukla airport.

They had 'done' all the monroes and went off to katmandu which was a very polluted place where your teeth went black from breathing the street air.

They had bought all sorts of gear antisweat tee shirts that breathe and dont hold the moisture, superlite walking boots.

They were gutted to find everything they had bought was about a third of the price they paid here.

Best advice if you are determined to go, take money, no clobber and buy everything there.

[ClareC]

Me ex did the Everest marathon a couple of years back, he researched altitude sickness etc before he left and it really is a matter of ascending a limited distance each day. That said he did still feel unwell at time as did most of the runners that were not local.

In addition expect to lose a lot of weight and be really careful what you eat! He looked a right state when he returned and wasnt in a healthy state! Made the mistake of eating a salad in a lodge on the way back (they had camped every other night but this was a celebration) - it was a new lodge and clean but the water isnt and the salad had been washed in the waeter..... enough said!

From what he said its a pretty harsh environment, he told me there was a Sherpa that suffered with altitude sickness who had been left to die because of the cost of helicoptering him off the mountain. That's the way of life there and deemed a risk of the job! Fortunately there was a whip round and the money was raised to rescue him.

Kit can definitely be purchased very cheaply, I have a really good quality Goretex running jacket that he brought back for me which was apparanetlyvery cheap.