Abstract

Mountain sickness can affect people ascending to altitudes higher than 2500 m. In most cases it causes mild symptoms – headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath – which improve with rest and the time spent for reaching the altitude. However, in some cases mountain sickness can lead to serious life-threatening symptoms – cerebral oedema and pulmonary oedema.

If the symptoms are severe, not improving after 24 hours or getting worse, one must descend to a lower altitude. In cases of brain oedema or pulmonary oedema, descent to a lower altitude is urgently needed. Treatment with oxygen or acetazolamide or dexamethasone can relieve the symptoms and make descending easier. Use of a portable hyperbaric chamber can temporarily simulate descent in cases when immediate descent to lower altitudes is impossible.