High Altitude Medical Precautions

LADAKH is unlike any other part of India so need some precautions to be taken prior you start your tour. Leh is at 11500 feet (3500 meters) altitude with reduced amount of oxygen and dry. So get yourself acclimatized by taking complete rest for first 24hrs. day of arrival. Keep yourself hydrated by taking lot of liquid in any form. Dehydration can be reason of concern.. We strongly recommend to consult your doctor and take Diamox medicine, 3 days prior to your visit to help your body to acclimatize. Trekking in the Himalayas brings people to high altitude for longer periods of time than in most other situations, and the risk of high altitude sickness is consequently higher in this region. Trekking in Himalayas affords the opportunity to acclimatize gradually. Human bodies have built-in adjustment mechanisms that can optimize performance at altitudes. This process is known as acclimatization. The power of acclimatization can be demonstrated by the following examples. If a person were transported suddenly to the summit of Mt.Everest (29,128 feet; 8848 mts.), person would lose consciousness in a few minutes, and most likely die within an hour or two due to acute hypoxia. However, over 60 people have climbed to the summit of Mt.Everest without using supplemental oxygen after acclimatization for many weeks. This fact demonstrates how profound the process of acclimatization can be.

AMS - Acute Mountain Sickness

Commonly called altitude sickness, this has the potential to affect all individuals from 2500m and higher. Your body needs days to adjust to smaller quantities of oxygen in the air - at 5500m/18,044ft the air pressure is approximately half that of sea level, ie there is half the amount of oxygen (and nitrogen). AMS is caused by going up high too fast and can be fatal if all the warning signals are ignored. Note that it is not the actual altitude, but the speed at which you reach higher altitudes which causes the problems. Altitude sickness is preventable. Go up slowly, giving your body enough time to adjust. These are the 'safe' rates for the majority of trekkers: spend 2-3 nights between 2000m/6562ft and 3000m/10,000ft before going higher. From 3000m sleep an average of 300m/1000ft higher each night with a rest day every 900-1000m/3000ft. Ultimately it is up to you to recognize the symptoms, and only ascend if you are relatively symptom-free.

Normal symptoms at altitude

Don't expect to feel perfect at altitudes of more than 3000m. These are the normal altitude symptoms that you should expect BUT NOT to worry about. Every individual will experience some or all of these, no matter how slowly they ascend. Periods of sleeplessness
The need for more sleep than normal, often 10 hours or more
Occasional loss of appetite
Vivid, wild dreams at around 2500-3800m in altitude
Unexpected momentary shortness of breath, day and night
Periodic breathing that wakes you occasionally - consider taking Diamox
The need to rest/catch your breath frequently while trekking, especially above 4000m
Your nose turning into a full-time snot factory.

Mild Symptoms

You only need to get one of the symptoms to be getting altitude sickness, not all of them. Headache are common. Often a headache comes on during the evening and nearly always worsens during the night. Raising your head and shoulders while trying to sleep sometimes offers partial relief. If it is bad you may want to try taking a painkiller: aspirin (dispirin), paracetamol, Ibuprofen (Aduil) or acetamenophen (tylenol). Never take sleeping tablets. You could also take Diamox: see below. Headaches arise from many causes, for example, dehydration, but if you develop a headache assume it is from the altitude. Nausea (feeling sick) - can occur without other symptoms, but often nausea will develop with a bad headache. If you are better in the morning take a rest day, or if you still feel bad descend. Dizziness (mild) - if this occurs while walking, stop out of the sun and have a rest and drink. Stay at the closest teahouse. Lack of appetite or generally feeling bad - common at altitude due to too rapid an ascent. Painful cough or a dry raspy cough. In other words anything other than diarrhoea or a sore throat could be altitude sickness. Assume it is, because if you have a headache from dehydration, ascending further is not dangerous, but if its due to AMS, the consequences could be very serious. You cannot tell the difference, so caution is the safest course. Do not try to deceive yourself and accept that you body needs more time to adapt.