What Is High Altitude Sickness

The high altitude sickness refers to a series of natural physical reaction due to adapt to the air pressure difference, oxygen deficiency, and dry air which caused by the altitude difference after reaching a certain altitude. The high altitude sickness includes acute high altitude sickness and chronic high altitude sickness.

What Is High Altitude Sickness – Acute High Altitude Sickness

After coming into high plateau or higher altitude places from plain, the organism will appear a series of oxygen deficiency symptoms in a short time, which is acute high altitude sickness.

The symptoms of acute high altitude sickness include dizzy, headache, palpitation, short of breath, inappetence, languor, asthenia, nausea, abdominal distension, diarrhea, chest pain, insomnia, giddiness, hypersomnia, numbness, tic and so on. The physical sign performance as that the heart beating rate increase, breath becomes deeper, blood pressure slightly uncommon, face and four limbs appear edema, lips become purple and so on.

What Is High Altitude Sickness – Chronic High Altitude Sickness

Chronic high altitude sickness is also named body dysfunction. It refers to the organism can not adapt to the high plateau condition after a long and continuous adjustment, form a kind of high plateau dysfunction phenomenon, and appear a series of clinical symptoms. It is generally acknowledged that it can be regarded as chronic high altitude sickness if one still has part or all high altitude sickness symptoms after coming into high plateau for three months.

The clinical manifestation of chronic high altitude sickness is various. The symptoms of chronic high altitude sickness can be part, or all of the acute high altitude sickness. The symptoms of high altitude sickness will appear for one time and then disappear. It has many similar parts with the clinical manifestation of acute high altitude sickness.

At different altitude, tourists will appear different symptoms:

At 1500 meters: the sight will decrease at dark place.

At 1500 – 1800 meters: Advanced function of thinking will decrease or lack.

At 3300 meters: Simple arithmetic will become very hard.

At 4600 meters: Writing and thinking will be affected.

Over 5500 meters: Most visitors will get faucitis and tracheitis.