Being afraid of height (whether
during a plane trip or escalading a mountain) is a serious problem that affects
many persons and can have severe if not fatal repercussions on the respective
person. The sickness is provoked by the lack of oxygen.
The easiest manifestation of height
sickness can appear at altitudes of 2000 meters and it will manifest itself
through headaches, dizziness, and incapability of movement. These symptoms will
disappear in a few days if you continue staying at that height.
The most severe sensations of height
sickness appear at extremely high altitudes usually over 3000 meters in
altitude. Next to the symptoms already mentioned, others can appear like:
loosing appetite, sleep disorders and waking up frequently in the middle of the
night. The difficulty that can be encountered when breathing, stomach sickness,
temporary losses of memory, encountering difficulty when trying to concentrate
are amongst the most common and severe symptoms that solicit an immediate change
of altitude.
Who are the ones most
likely to be afraid of heights?
There is no way to predict who is
going to be height sick. Surprisingly, older people, people with low physical
activity and poor health are not more affected by the height sickness than
other persons. This also means that if you never encountered this problem until
now you can’t be sure that you won’t feel sick next time you take a trip by
plane or climb a mountain.
How can this be
avoided?
The best solution to avoid this
sensation in the mountains is to climb slowly until you get to the destination,
and to climb in such a way that the whole process is going to take at least a
few days. In case of a plane flight, ask the advice of the physician about the
medication you can take to stop the alternative of being plane sick.
It
is extremely important to drink as much water as you can possibly drink to
avoid deshidratation, a factor that can make the sensation of sick worse. A big
quantity of water is lost when you are at low temperatures, but also when you
are involved in activities that require a great effort, like winter sports.
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