Altitude sickness ams · AMS in Altitude sickness
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AMS in Altitude sickness
AMS in Altitude sickness
Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the most common unhealthy response to altitude: it's a collection of signs that your body is becoming ill and has not adapted successfully to a higher altitude.
For your own safety, assume any illness at altitude is AMS. The most common reasons that people fail to descend as soon as they should are bad assumptions. They assume that having AMS is a sign of weakness; that their level of fitness means they can't have AMS; or mistake their symptoms for the flu or another illness. Assume AMS first: it happens to healthy strong people, and if it turns out you are indeed sick with something else, descending to a lower altitude will make it easier for your body to heal anyway.
In particular, if you've recently ascended, and you have a headache and any other symptom, you have AMS. The other signs of AMS vary for different people, but include:
fatigue
dizziness
loss of appetite
nausea or vomiting
confusion
difficulty walking (called gait ataxia)
rattling breath
feeling generally extremely ill
The last three signs in particular are signs that you are becoming quite ill, but you should not wait for the onset of these symptoms before acknowledging you have AMS: they're fairly reliable indicators of the onset of HACE or HAPE.
You and your party should keep an eye on each other for signs of AMS, and if you have AMS, for signs of it worsening. Very sick people can become confused and not realise how ill they are. Loss of appetite is a particularly good sign: anyone who has been walking or climbing at altitude for a day should be hungry for a good meal in the evening.
If you have symptoms of AMS, do not ascend further. Consider descending.
If you have signs of HACE or HAPE, descend immediately. Your life may depend on it.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Altitude sickness
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Altitude sickness - updated Apr 2024
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Altitude sickness Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.