Acclimatization to high altitude: truths and misconceptions

Author:

West, John B.

Title:

Acclimatization to high altitude: truths and misconceptions

Periodical:

High Altitude Medicine & Biology

Year:

2003

Volume:

4

Pages:

401-402

Subject:

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) Oxygen Acclimatization

Summary:

One of the ways in which one may reduce the effects of ascending to altitude such as lightheadedness, impaired sleep, reduced appetite, and headache, is through acclimatization. However, there are some misconceptions about acclimatization -- one of which is the belief that the body will return to its sea-level condition and that the effects of high altitude are nullified by acclimatization as studies have shown that the oxygen levels in the body are still far below the normal sea-level values even after several days of acclimatization. This report discusses why the astronomers who work at the 4200m level of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii, prefer to acclimatize to high altitude in a natural way, and why the author believes that adopting an oxygen enrichment program in the observatories would reduce fatigue, improve productivity, and improve the quality of life for those who work on the summit especially after studying the values of alveolar hypoxia by those who are acutely exposed to altitude, those who are well acclimatized by several continuous days of residence at altitude, and in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Label:

Altitude Mountain Sickness (AMS)

Collection:

Periodicals