Utah's mountains and the recreation they offer are glorious. But people who travel to our high altitudes from the low country had better be prepared for high-altitude sickness.
Dr. Sam Butler, a pulmonologist and medical director of the University of Utah Health Network, says it's not uncommon. And it's particularly noteworthy during the holidays, which many people use as an opportunity to come in from other areas to ski and snowmobile.The most common altitude sickness is acute mountain sickness, which affects people who live around sea level and then visit altitudes about 7,000 feet and above. The symptoms, Butler said, are "nagging, mild symptoms usually: headaches, mostly in the morning but they can last all day. Nausea and vomiting and fatigue. People have no trouble going to sleep, but they wake up about 3 a.m. It's not usually debilitating, but it's a pain on your vacation. Who wants it?"
People who have undiagnosed coronary artery disease face a particular risk when they come to altitudes to which they have not adjusted. The high altitude lowers the oxygen level in the blood, so it can't deliver its load to muscles, including the heart. And the exercise increases the need for that oxygen. The result can be a heart attack.
Folks who live in the area don't have problems. Going from Salt Lake City's approximately 4,000 feet to the mountains is no big deal. But going from zero to 7,000 is.
In serious cases, someone can experience pulmonary edema, where the lungs fill up with water. Doctors such as Butler have seen it in skiers, "but generally you have to get to 10,000 feet or higher -- the very highest mountains."
At that height and above, people can also get water leaking into the brain tissue. It's very uncommon in Utah.
The most complete cure for any high altitude sickness is to get down off the mountain.
But there are some tricks. Butler said people with edemas can be placed in special bags that are zipped and manually inflated. By creating greater pressure inside the bag, they simulate going down the mountain if actual immediate descent is not possible. But it takes good friends who are willing to pump and pump and pump. Without getting down, a person can die within 24 hours from brain or lung edemas. Fortunately, it very seldom happens.
And there are ways to improve adjustment to high altitudes. Drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated. That means water and drinks such as Gatorade. Dehydration is one of the early symptoms of altitude sickness. Tylenol-like remedies can help with the discomfort.
And there are medications that seem to help, as well, including diuretics and a form of steroid, depending on the symptoms. Obviously, anyone competing in sports would have to check on whether that steroid was acceptable, but it's a medication, not a body-building steroid, Butler said.