What is Altitude Sickness? How to Deal with?
Altitude sickness, also known as “mountain sickness,” is a symptom that can attack while you are hiking or climbing to a higher elevation. Especially this can be happening after 3000m/9840ft. if you walk too quickly.
There are three types of Altitude Sickness
1) AMS(Acute Mountain Sickness: Very common. Symptoms: dizziness, headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting.
2) HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema: This can happen when it buildup up a fluid in the lungs. This is very dangerous and even life-threatening.
3) HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema: this is the most severe form of altitude sickness and it can happen when fluids take a place in the brain. This is life-threatening and soon needs to seek medical attention.
What should you do
- Hike (Ascend) slowly.
- Take a rest and take a deep breath.
- Drink plenty of water and fluids, and stay hydrated.
- Walk on high and sleep at a low altitude.
- Descend (at low elevation).
- Take a Diamox or Tylenol.
Use the table below to get an approximate idea of how much effective amount of oxygen is in the air along the route. Normally air contains 20.9% oxygen.
Altitude | Effective Oxygen % | Oxygen Category |
4000ft/1219m | 17.9 % | Low Altitude |
5000ft/1524m | 17.3 % | Moderate Altitude |
6000ft/1829m | 16.6 % | Moderate Altitude |
7000ft/2134m | 16.0 % | Moderate Altitude |
8000ft/2438m | 15.4 % | Moderate Altitude |
9000ft/2743m | 14.8 % | Moderate Altitude |
10000ft/3048 | 14.3 % | High Altitude |
11000ft/3353m | 13.7 % | High Altitude |
12000ft/3658m | 13.2 % | High Altitude |
13000ft/3962m | 12.7% | High Altitude |
14000ft/4267m | 12.3 % | Very High Altitude |
15000ft/4572m | 11.8 % | Very High Altitude |
16000ft/4877m | 11.4% | Very High Altitude |
17000ft/5182m | 11.0 % | Very High Altitude |
18000ft/5486m | 10.5 % | Extrem High Altitude |