We Don't Talk About Altitude Sickness Enough

[RuleMiHa]

My first few trips to CO were bad and I used bottled O2 (Boost Oxygen I think) to get through a few nights. Staying slopeside at WinterPark was a disaster.

Last 3-4 trips have been good, I started staying in Idaho Springs (around 7500 ft), and skiing at ABasin or Loveland and occasionaly shopping/dining in Denver. It seems Crazy but Loveland is less than 30 min away from Idaho Springs and I feel SO much better it's totally worth the inconvenience and risk of I70 traffic.

Not to mention the trip becomes so much cheaper I can take twice as many trips!

 

[SBrown]

The article referenced merely speculated about altitude sickness diagnosed by her mother (who was not identified as a doctor). The severe altitude issues of HAPE and HACE (high altitude pulmonary edema and high altitude cerebral edema) are clearly indicated and would show in an autopsy....

The coroner has confirmed both HAPE and HACE, btw. http://www.aspentimes.com/priority/...vania-hiker-cause-of-death-altitude-sickness/

 

[Tricia]

The coroner has confirmed both HAPE and HACE, btw. http://www.aspentimes.com/priority/...vania-hiker-cause-of-death-altitude-sickness/

Wow, it kind of shows how it can sneak up on you, even if you think you're doing the right thing.

 

[BGreen]

More on the hiker in Aspen

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/lif...ckness-hiking-colorado-trail-coroner-confirms

 

[Steve Turner]

Hi @Steve Turner Its been a while. (if you're the same Steve Turner I'm thinking about)

One of the old ESA participants. Glad you and Phil were able to keep the good vibes going. Hope to cross paths again.

 

[SkiNurse]

Even if you live at altitude, altitude sickness can affect you at any time

http://www.summitdaily.com/news/sum...de-disorder-that-affects-even-the-acclimated/

 

[HDSkiing]

Great information.

I work at a high elevation ski area where the parking lot is 10,350 feet and the peaks are over 12K. My home is around 7K and while that feels perfectly normal I don’t think you ever really aclimate to the higher elevations. Even after climbing the steps from the parking lot for 90 days or so over the season the steps don’t seem that much easier in April than in November.

I suppose it’s all relative, someone just arriving from sea level would find those few steps up to the lodge even more taxing. I know when I walk with new students from the ski school meeting place up a slight grade to the base of our Never Ever teaching area, a distance of 25-50 meters I might stop as many as 3 times depending on how the student is doing. Walking in ski boots, all dressed up for artic temps and carrying skis only makes it harder.

One of the things that I really have noticed is that kids seem more prone to be affected, particularly in the 7-15 age range. Even some of the local kids who live at 6-7K elevation of the town are not immune. I had one 9 year old pass out on me just after we got off the lift, a few minutes earlier And it could have been a really bad scene. Up to that point she showed no symptoms and was otherwise energetic.

I suspect that hydration plays a major role, most adults will hydrate, not just when their thirsty (when your behind the curve) but will load up in advance. Kids, unless you really monitor them sometimes don’t drink enough and often don’t pre-hydrate as they should. Throw in sugar, the sugar crash and caffeine (diuretic) from the hot chocolate and then add 10K feet it’s not hard to understand why.

The scary thing is you really won’t know if you, or more likely your child will have an episode is till you get to altitude. All the more reason to take precautions and take some time to acclimate and especially hydrate. Fortunately most cases are minor but for a few people it can be deadly.

 

[SkiNurse]

From UC Health, which is our University Hospital system.
https://www.uchealth.org/today/2017...paign=Lung+and+Respiratory&utm_content=Canvas

 

[Ron]

article should be a sticky

 

[Tricia]

From UC Health, which is our University Hospital system.
https://www.uchealth.org/today/2017...paign=Lung+and+Respiratory&utm_content=Canvas

article should be a sticky

I copied the post and created a new thread/sticky in the fitness and infirmary forum area.
https://forum.pugski.com/threads/important-information-about-altitude-sickness.7639/

 

[SkiNurse]

https://unofficialnetworks.com/2018...m-perfect-storm-of-flu-and-altitude-sickness/

 

[Tricia]

Wow

 

[LiquidFeet]

Damn.

 

[martyg]

This subject makes me nauseous and gives me a headache.

 

[chilehed]

I work at a high elevation ski area where the parking lot is 10,350 feet and the peaks are over 12K. My home is around 7K and while that feels perfectly normal I don’t think you ever really aclimate to the higher elevations.

This reminds me, a while back I read an study about adaptations among indigenous high-altitude populations in the high Andes and Tibet. As I recall, it found that those populations had developed differences in lung capacity and respiration rate (and maybe something about their red blood cells too) that gave them a distinct advantage.

 

[tball]

One suggestion: consider getting a portable pulse oximeter if you go to altitude.

We just spent spring break at 9700 feet and had a kid get sick on the second day with nausea, vomiting, and lethargy. No fever so we were worried it could be altitude in spite of spending considerable recent time up there.

We take a small pulse oximeter with us on the advice of a doc for other reasons and were reassured by pulse oxygen that was consistently around 95%. Without that knowledge, we would have seriously considered heading home.

The pulse oximeter we recently bought for $17:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019EKP19Q

That one is FDA approved. We also have an older model I like better because you can switch the display to face toward or away from you. That way it's easier to see your oxygen reading. It's not FDA approved but always seems to have the same readings.

Edit: Of course, talk with your doctor and all the standard disclaimers about medical advice on the Intenet.

 

[Crudmaster]

Has anyone mentioned "pressure breathing" in this thread? For a long time it's been used by climbers to reduce the chances of having altitude problems. The method increases the air pressure in your lungs by exhaling with force through the restriction of pursed lips.

Its biggest limitation is that it's hard to sustain effort that it requires.

With regard to chewing coca leaves, we were advised to do so in LaPaz Bolivia and we think it really helped. I was climbing the hills and stairs more easily.

I also have had a serious bout with both HAPE and HACE, however. It was after climbing 10,000 feet over two days, hauling nearly half my body weight, followed by two days of lesser climbing up to the summit of Mt. Rainier while on a photo assignment for The News Tribune.

So far in this thread heavy exertion has been mentioned at least once, but I want to emphasize that it can be a big cause of the deadly edemas.

The reporter that I was working with wrote a searing account of my misadventure:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Peter's Climb
A photojournalist's fair-weather ascent of Rainier in the company of experts turns quickly into a desperate fight for life at 14,000 feet

By Sandi Doughton
The News Tribune

Two a.m. on the summit of Mount Rainier is a bone-cold hour. For the five of us packed into a four-person tent, fear sharpened the cold to a cutting edge.

We were waiting for daylight. We were wondering whether one of us would be dead before it came.

Swathed in two mummy bags in the middle of the tent, our companion Peter Haley moaned and twisted. The rapid fire rasp of his breathing held us transfixed. All too often, the sound would choke off for several heartbeats, jerking us upright in alarm. Then, with a snort, the strangled rhythm would resume.

We all knew Peter's body was struggling vainly to suck oxygen from the thin air. His mind had switched off hours before...

Peter Haley is dragged in a litter to a Chinook helicopter inside the crater of Mt. Rainier.



Well, the story is too long to post here, but it's a moving read. Here's a link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/se6tzjnieilp0h1/ 980723 Peters Climb by Sandi D.pdf?dl=0

 

[LiquidFeet]

That was a great read. Congratulations on surviving to post it!

 

[karlo]

luckily, we have never suffered anything as harrowing as that. My wife suffers from altitude sickness. In the most recent trip to CO, she took diamox before leaving for Denver, for a few days of acclimitization. Upon arrival at Telluride, only 8600 feet, she was initially ok. But, a day later, splitting headache, despite drinking water diligently. Amazingly, eating a banana helped, and pretty quickly. Each time she had a headache, a banana did the trick. Must be the electrolytes.

 

[Fuller]

Wow, that was a gnarly story @Crudmaster, have you had any other altitude problems since then? Also do you still stroll around naked in shared hotel rooms? You could be great entertainment at the next Gathering.