Altitude Sickness and Hypothermia
If you've flown to Quito from sea level, you may feel a bit woozy, sleepless and lethargic - mild symptoms of altitude sickness ( soroche ), a debilitating and potentially dangerous condition caused by the reduced oxygen levels that occur at high elevations. At altitudes such as Quito's, symptoms will abate naturally if you rest and avoid alcohol for a couple of days, but if you're going to go much above 3000m you should be aware of the full risks of altitude sickness. This debilitating and sometimes dangerous condition is caused by the reduced atmospheric pressure and corresponding reduction in oxygen that occurs at these elevations. Basic symptoms include breathlessness, headaches, nausea and extreme tiredness, rather like a bad hangover. There's no way of predicting whether or not you'll be susceptible: the condition seems to strike quite randomly, affecting people differently from one place to another. The best way to avoid it is by ascending slowly and allowing yourself to acclimatize - don't be tempted to whizz straight up the nearest volcano without spending a night or two at altitude first. You should also avoid alcohol and salt, and drink lots of water. If you want to be really sure, a course of acetazolamide (note that this is a prescription-only drug in most countries, as it can be dangerous for people with heart conditions) effectively speeds up acclimatization, but also makes you urinate a lot and produces a tingling sensation in your fingers and toes - you might prefer to carry it only as a precaution, as it also relieves symptoms once developed. Alternatively, try the local remedy, coca-leaf tea ( mate de coca ). In its more serious forms, altitude sickness can be dangerous and even life-threatening. One to two percent of people travelling to 4000m develop HAPO (high altitude pulmonary oedema), caused by a build-up of liquid in the lungs. Symptoms include fever, an increased pulse rate, and coughing up white fluid; sufferers should descend immediately, whereupon recovery is usually quick and complete. Rarer, but more serious, is HACO (high altitude cerebral oedema), which occurs when the brain gets waterlogged with fluid. Symptoms include loss of balance, severe lassitude, weakness or numbness on one side of the body and a confused mental state. If you or a fellow traveller displays any of these symptoms, descend immediately, and get to a doctor; HACO can be fatal within 24 hours. Another concern for people at altitude in Ecuador is hypothermia , an underestimated enemy that's responsible for more deaths among trekkers and climbers than anything else. Brought on by exposure to cold, and when the body loses heat faster than it can generate it, hypothermia is greatly accelerated when you're wet, tired and in the wind. Wet clothes lose most of their insulating value - cotton and down are particularly bad; wool and synthetic materials generally retain more heat. Because early symptoms can include an almost euphoric sense of sleepiness and disorientation, your body's core temperature can plummet to danger level before you know what has happened. Symptoms include violent shivering, erratic behaviour, slurred speech, loss of co-ordination, and drowsiness, and are much easier to spot in other people than yourself. Victims should be given dry clothes, warm drinks (slowly) and wrapped in a dry sleeping bag. Make a fire to warm rocks or canteens - these can be wrapped up and placed where major blood vessels are near the skin (such as under arms and in the crotch) and will help to raise the body's core temperature. In more serious cases, concentrate on keeping the victim awake (falling asleep will reduce body temperature even further). Take off their clothes and yours and jump into a sleeping bag together, or better still with a third stripped person, so the victim can be warmed from both sides - this is one of the best ways of restoring body temperature.
Your Tip for Ecuador
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Ecuador - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Ecuador - visit the main Ecuador forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Ecuador webguide section below! Thanks.
|
