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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