Altitude Mountain Sickness

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BrushBunny91

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Have any of you experienced or attended to patients suffering from AMS, HAPE, or HACE?
Descent and oxygen are about the only two interventions Ive read about. could Aspirin have a positive effect?
 
BrushBunny91 said:
Have any of you experienced or attended to patients suffering from AMS, HAPE, or HACE?
Descent and oxygen are about the only two interventions Ive read about. could Aspirin have a positive effect?
Click to expand...

Its acute mountain sickness BTW. You haven't done much reading if you aren't aware of dexamethasone and acetazolamide.
 
Acute mountain sickness also known as altitude sickness, simple mistake.
I am aware of those two now because you just answered thanks for the courtesy.
 
AMS yes, in the mountains of southern California it is quite common. people go from sea level to 8,000 feet in two hours. they will present as "drunk" or "diabetic" from my experiences, little O2 and a car ride down to the bottom of the hill and they will be just fine. HACE and HAPE are rare here, I haven't seen either yet.
 
I have experienced both AMS and a mild case of HAPE. Neither of which are very fun.
 
usafmedic45 said:
Its acute mountain sickness BTW. You haven't done much reading if you aren't aware of dexamethasone and acetazolamide.
Click to expand...

He asked about treatment. Acetazolamide is really only useful before the fact.

Descent or a chamber are the only the treatments I know.

I dealt with friends while in the Himalayas . One of them was helicoptered away.
I took diamox myself
 
Used to see AMS all the time working at the ski resort. In all honesty I wasn't huge on giving these patients o2 for the simple fact that once I took it off them they would go right back to the way they were before. Descent is pretty much one of your only options. Fluids never hurt either as many of them are dehydrated. That is based on the assumption that it truly is just AMS and not HAPE. Check lung sounds.

3 hour car ride from sea level to 7000 ft + bad eating habits + alcohol/not enough water intake + physical exertion = a bad day.
 
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I've heard it happens often here. We have a tram that takes you from 2,000 ft to over 8,000 feet in 10 mins.
 
AMS makes you feel like crap. Fortunately for me, that's all I've personally experienced. HAPE and HACE can kill you. Definitive treatment for all is go down to a lower elevation. A Gamow Bag is a short term option for HAPE or HACE.
 
AK_SAR said:
AMS makes you feel like crap. Fortunately for me, that's all I've personally experienced. HAPE and HACE can kill you. Definitive treatment for all is go down to a lower elevation. A Gamow Bag is a short term option for HAPE or HACE.
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Those things remind me of brightly colored body bags...but hey if it works, it works.
 
Yeah, sea level to 7,000 in an hour and a half.

Didn't see altitude sickness at Green Valley Lake, but one beer and people were drunk. Cabin owners with cardiopulmonary concerns didn't stay much if at all.
 
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