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    Acute Mountain Sickness

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    haironieharis
    Acute mountain sickness is an illness that affects people at high altitudes above 8,000 feet and is caused by reduced air pressure and oxygen concentration. Symptoms range from mild to life-threatening and can impact the nervous system, lungs, muscles and heart. In most cases symptoms are mild, but in severe cases fluid can collect in the lungs or brain swelling can occur. The risk increases the faster one ascends and how hard one exerts themselves. Treatment depends on severity but may include descending, supplemental oxygen, medications to stimulate breathing or reduce swelling. Calling for emergency help is advised if severe symptoms like difficulty breathing or loss of consciousness occur.

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    Acute Mountain Sickness

    Uploaded by

    haironieharis
    21 views11 pages
    Acute mountain sickness is an illness that affects people at high altitudes above 8,000 feet and is caused by reduced air pressure and oxygen concentration. Symptoms range from mild to life-threatening and can impact the nervous system, lungs, muscles and heart. In most cases symptoms are mild, but in severe cases fluid can collect in the lungs or brain swelling can occur. The risk increases the faster one ascends and how hard one exerts themselves. Treatment depends on severity but may include descending, supplemental oxygen, medications to stimulate breathing or reduce swelling. Calling for emergency help is advised if severe symptoms like difficulty breathing or loss of consciousness occur.

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    Acute mountain sickness is an illness that affects people at high altitudes above 8,000 feet and is caused by reduced air pressure and oxygen concentration. Symptoms range from mild to life-threatening and can impact the nervous system, lungs, muscles and heart. In most cases symptoms are mild, but in severe cases fluid can collect in the lungs or brain swelling can occur. The risk increases the faster one ascends and how hard one exerts themselves. Treatment depends on severity but may include descending, supplemental oxygen, medications to stimulate breathing or reduce swelling. Calling for emergency help is advised if severe symptoms like difficulty breathing or loss of consciousness occur.

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    21 views11 pages

    Acute Mountain Sickness

    Uploaded by

    haironieharis
    Acute mountain sickness is an illness that affects people at high altitudes above 8,000 feet and is caused by reduced air pressure and oxygen concentration. Symptoms range from mild to life-threatening and can impact the nervous system, lungs, muscles and heart. In most cases symptoms are mild, but in severe cases fluid can collect in the lungs or brain swelling can occur. The risk increases the faster one ascends and how hard one exerts themselves. Treatment depends on severity but may include descending, supplemental oxygen, medications to stimulate breathing or reduce swelling. Calling for emergency help is advised if severe symptoms like difficulty breathing or loss of consciousness occur.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
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    Acute

    mountai
    n
    sickness an illness that can
    affect mountain
    climbers, hikers,
    skiers, or travelers at
    high altitude (typically
    above 8,000 feet or
    2,400 meters).
    Acute
    mountain
    sickness

    High altitude
    pulmonary
    edema

    High altitude
    cerebral
    Altitude
    edema anoxia

    Altitude
    sickness
    Causes & risk factors
    • brought on by the combination of reduced air
    pressure and lower oxygen concentration that
    occur at high altitudes.

    • Symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening,


    and can affect the nervous system, lungs, muscles,
    and heart.

    • In most cases the symptoms are mild.


    Causes & risk factors
    • In severe cases fluid collects in the lungs (pulmonary
    edema) causing extreme shortness of breath.

    • This further reduces how much oxygen enters the


    bloodstream and reaches vital organs and tissue. Brain
    swelling may also occur (cerebral edema)

    • The chance of getting acute mountain sickness increases the


    faster a person climbs to a high altitude. How severe the
    symptoms are also depends on this factor, as well as how hard
    the person pushes (exerts) himself or herself.
    symptoms

    Mild to
    moderate
    symptoms

    severe
    Portable hyperbaric chambers
    ~ Developed to a ll ow hik ers/climbers to
    sim ula te their co nditio ns a t lo wer
    a lti tudes wi tho ut m oving from the a ctual
    loca tio ns.
    ~ I mpo rta nt if ba d wea ther occurred tha t

    ~Sildenafil
    ma k e cl imbing do wn the m o unta in

    SEVERE CASES
    im possible.

    -treated with oxygen


    fluid in the lungs).
    ~Breathing machine(respirator)- for

    Pulmon ary edema( build up of


    TREATMENT

    swelling in the brain (cerebral edema)


    -a steroid drug that may help reduce
    Dexamethasone (decadron)

    reduce the mild symptoms.


    possible

    -a drug used to stimulate breathing &


    Acetazolamide (diamox)
    and safely as
    altitude as rapidly
    Descend to a lower
    Complication
    Coma
    HACE (brain swelling)
    HAPE(fluids in the lungs)

    Call 999/ seek emergency medical assistant if severe difficult


    breathing develops / notice lower level of consciousness/ other
    severe symptom.

    If unable to contact emergency, descend


    immediately, as rapid & safely as possible.
    prevention
    prevention

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