What is Altitude Sickness?

Altitude sickness, is the effect of high altitude, caused by hypoxia (low oxygen) at high elevation. Symptoms may include headaches, tiredness, trouble sleeping, and dizziness. Acute mountain sickness can progress to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) which can be life threatening.

How Does Oxygenation Prevent Altitude Sickness?

The classic cure for altitude sickness has been to descend to lower altitude where more oxygen is present in the air. Oxygenating your bedroom with a system from Altitude Control Technologies simulates this descent. It is as though each night you returned to sea level to sleep, waking refreshed and ready to enjoy your mountain home. Six to eight hours of oxygen at night is enough to restore the body’s oxygen saturation to normal levels and interrupt the cycle of hypoxia (low oxygen) that causes mountain sickness.

“Providing oxygen during sleep is a side-effect-free way to treat altitude related insomnia.” — Peter Hackett, MD. Institute of Altitude Medicine

How Can I Prevent Altitude Sickness in My Home?

ASCEND GRADUALLY – Spend a day or two at 5,000 feet, then gain 1,000 feet per day.

TAKE IT EASY – The body needs more oxygen when it’s working. Don’t exert too much. Make your first day or two at altitude easy ones.

HYDRATE – Water vapor is lost from the lungs more quickly at altitude. Dehydration symptoms can mimic altitude sickness. Drink extra water. Avoid alcohol and coffee which exacerbate dehydration.

EAT FEWER FATS AND PROTEINS – Foods high in fats and proteins are harder to digest, and consume more oxygen and direct blood flow to the gut. Instead, eat more carbohydrates, like pasta and vegetables.

SLEEP LOW – Altitude affects sleep, and the body’s oxygen saturation often drops at night. Sleeping at lower altitude or with oxygen can help you to sleep better, play harder, and enjoy your time in the mountains more.

WATCH FOR SYMPTOMS – The most prominent symptoms of acute altitude sickness are a headache, sleep disturbances, and fatigue. The cure is to descend or get more oxygen. If you experience more extreme symptoms, seek immediate medical attention.

Your Altitude Questions Answered
Do children get altitude sickness?

Several studies have shown that children have similar rates of mountain sickness, pulmonary edema and cerebral edema as adults. Children do get altitude sickness, but the very young are often unable to communicate their headache and other symptoms. Excessive crying at altitude could be altitude illness.

Why are six to eight hours with oxygen sufficient to prevent altitude sickness?

Six to eight hours of oxygenation restores your body to sea-level conditions. Altitude sickness generally does not start immediately. It usually needs one or two days at altitude before symptoms develop. Oxygen interrupts the exposure to hypoxia and “restarts the clock” on altitude sickness. Oxygenation eliminates the cause of altitude-related insomnia. So you sleep better and feel better upon awakening

What causes mountain sickness?

There is so little oxygen at altitude; it should be no surprise that it causes people to feel unwell. How this shortage of oxygen leads to altitude sickness is still not fully understood. Many scientists believe that it is due to swelling of the brain caused by increased blood flow.

Two things are certain to make altitude sickness worse. 1) Ascending to altitude quickly – such as in a flight from sea level to Aspen or Vail. 2) Exercising before full acclimatization – exactly what most of us do on our ski vacations. Physically fit individuals are not immune and get altitude sickness as well as the unfit.

Can mountain sickness become serious?

Yes. Acute mountain sickness can progress to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE). Both can be fatal. It is good to take cases of mountain sickness seriously and watch for symptoms of HAPE or HACE.

What is high altitude pulmonary edema?

Mountain sickness can progress to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), a dangerous build-up of fluid in the lungs that prevents the air spaces from opening up and filling with fresh air with each breath. This leads the individual to become increasingly short of oxygen, which in turn worsens the build-up of fluid in the lungs. In this way, HAPE can be fatal within hours.

HAPE usually develops after 2 or 3 days at altitudes above 8,000 feet. Most will have symptoms of acute mountain sickness and breathlessness. They may have a cough and this may produce white or pink frothy sputum. Breathing may make a sound like crumbling a paper bag. Heart rate may be fast, the lips may turn blue and body temperature may be elevated. It is easy to confuse symptoms of HAPE with infections, but at altitude HAPE must be suspected and the affected individual must be taken to a hospital immediately. Oxygen can prevent HAPE from occurring.

What is high altitude cerebral edema?

High altitude cerebral edema (HACE) is a build-up of fluid in the brain. HACE is life-threatening and requires urgent action. HACE is considered to be a severe form of acute mountain sickness. Symptoms include a severe headache, vomiting, lethargy and ataxia (unsteadiness walking) confusion, drowsiness and ultimately coma. A person with HACE will find it difficult to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line – this is a useful test to perform in someone with severe symptoms of acute mountain sickness. HACE should also be suspected if a companion starts to behave irrationally or bizarrely. HACE can be fatal in only a few hours. The affected individual must be taken to a hospital immediately. Oxygen can prevent HACE from occurring.