Mountain sickness

Regularly indicated under initials MAM, it is called soroche in Peru... the altitude sickness is not to take lightly.

 

There is neither age nor particular physical condition to suffer or not from this sickness, as well a young sportsman as an old person can feel some disorders, or just as easily nothing feel at all... However most of the visitors who arrive at the Andes feel the first days the light symptoms of the soroche. 

 

We consider high altitude the places which are with more 3000m above sea level. We can thus say that a considerable part of the Peruvian territory is in high altitude, and especially, a large part of the tourist places (Cusco, Puno...).

 

What is the mountain sickness?

The mountain sickness is declared when a body goes up above the 3000m and a good adaptation to the new living conditions is not present. By natural laws of physics, the atmospheric pressure goes down as one rises in altitude…

 

As the atmospheric pressure falls, the percentage of oxygen in the air goes down too. To be more precise, on sea level, there are 1015 millibars of atmospheric pressure. To 3300 m of altitude, we have nothing any more but 692 millibars, which is equivalent to a fall of 32%. It is the same with the oxygen.

 

There are no symptoms of the soroche in lower part of 2500m but when one goes up quickly higher up 2500m, the lack of oxygen starts to be felt. The altitude sickness is the simple result of a bad oxygenation.

The first symptoms appear then:

• Headache
• Nauseas
• Loss of stability
• Breathlessness with the least effort.

These symptoms are not alarming and the majority of the people who remain with more of 2500m of altitude test them. In general, faintnesses attenuate into two or three days and are quickly forgotten.

 

Gestures to be made

Which are the gestures to make once arrived in altitude to minimize the symptoms?
The best is to go up in several levels, of two or three days for example and to sleep at altitudes lower than 3000m. 

But very often for questions of time, a travel includes air connections, with the result that one arrives directly in altitude. In this case, once arrived at the hotel, the best is to rest, not to move too much, not to make jerk and useless efforts (don’t carry bags for example), not to run under no pretext, even if one feels able to do it, at least four or five days after having remained in altitude.

 

It is not either recommended to eat too much the first three days and if one projects to make a trek, it is necessary to remain at least a few days in altitude, quietly, before starting.

It is not recommended neither to drink alcohol the first days.

 

When necessary, the good hotels always have at disposal of the customers an oxygen balloon. If faintnesses persists, a doctor should be consulted.

 

The climbers who follow rising up in spite of the appearance of these symptoms are exposed to cerebral or pulmonary complications, potentially mortal.

• Cerebral oedema: It expresses by severe and persistent headaches (beyond the first three days which belong to the normal cycle of the first symptoms), disorders of stability, vomiting, increasing apathy, inconsistencies, going sometimes until death and loss of consciousness.
• Pulmonary oedema of high altitude: The first demonstrations are dry cough and reduction in the physical performances. It is essential to make the diagnosis of it without delay.

Paradoxically, the Acute Mountain sickness (MAM) affects with more frequency the climbing young people or hikers… the older people are undoubtedly more aware of their limits, exposing themselves less to unwise physical efforts.

 

At present, there is not prior examination to detect the propensity of somebody to make a MAM. However, somebody who has already developed a MAM or a pulmonary oedema has more risks to repeat it. We have to add that these extreme cases are relatively rare.

It is not a question of alarming but of only preventing.

If you travel with the services of a travel agency, the qualified people who manage you are able to anticipate a possible case of MAM and to proceed to the elementary gestures in order to avoid an aggravation of the symptoms.

If you travel alone, it is advised to supervise and in case of doubt to consult a doctor.

With regard to the treks and climbings, it is strongly advised to take the services of specialists to avoid any problem at the time of the stay.

 

NOTA: It is not advised to take sleeping pills during a stay in altitude. There are treatments of Diamox kind (which is a diuretic and which gives good results as a treatment of the MAM). It is however necessary in all the cases to consult a doctor because of the unpleasant side effects of this medicine.