THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TRANSFER TO ALTITUDE. ADVICE TO TRAVELLERS Essay

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TRANSFER TO ALTITUDE. ADVICE TO TRAVELLERS - Essay Example Remote mountainous areas generally lack the medical facilities which we take for granted at lower altitudes of normal habitation, and at sea level. Trekkers and climbers from the plains have therefore to be equipped with knowledge, aids, and medicines to prevent and to treat illnesses which tend to arise at unusually high altitudes (Peacock, 1998). Even medical practitioners with primary health experiences and specialist skills in unrelated areas, require orientation in the nature and ways of high altitude health care, to say nothing of the lay public which is so attracted to make sudden and quick visits to mountainous destinations. This report dwells on the prevention and treatment of common ailments at high altitudes, after defining the situation and enumerating the effects on physiology when a body is transported to a significant height where extreme atmospheric conditions prevail. It is intended for a general audience, rather than for health care professionals, and is not a substitute for personal medical consultation in specific cases. All people who travel in aircraft or visit high altitudes should consult with their primary care physicians for individual prescriptions, which this article does not seek to provide. The 5 thousand and 9 thousand meter marks of height above sea level are significant for people in normal states of health. This is because oxygen availability, air pressure, temperature, and wind conditions are so different at these altitudes compared to those which normally prevail at sea level. Though changes in these parameters are proportional to height gained in a climb, people in normal health who climb to less than 5 thousand meters need take no special precautions, other than to dress appropriately to combat the cold and icy and strong breeze. Conditions at the 9 thousand meter height mark deteriorate sharply from those at lower altitudes, making illnesses and medical emergencies more likely for even those who have been