Altitude Sickness
Today we wanted to shed some light on altitude sickness, also called AMS (Accute Mountain Sickness).
This is the sickness which is one of the most threats during your trek in Nepal. However, still it can be well managed and avoided if few precaution activities are undertaken. So don’t worry 🙂
First of all, a few words how this can happen. When you go to high mountains you are exposed to much lower atmospheric pressure and less oxygen, than you are used. By living in our countrysides, on lowlands we are used to high level of oxygen and regular pressure. Due to this circumstances level of our blood cells is on specific (quite low) level, that is sufficient to transport oxygen within your body. But when your body is exposed to high altitude, this number of blood cells is to low. As a result too less of oxygen is transported to your limbs, lungs and brain. If you push further and higher at some point in time your body can strike and start to be sick.
So the main way of prevention AMS is to gain height slowly. Thanks to slow pace, your organism has time to produce and increase number of blood cells and get used to new environment.
Remember: our itineraries are constructed in a safe manner, that eliminates threat of AMS. We use rule 500 m max per day which is the best compromise of pace and safety. Never book trips with agencies that are doing treks in ultra quick time! This can be very dangerous. Always pick up treks which ensures proper pace and adaptation to height. Great Panorama Treks is one of them.
Travel Insurance:Â Don’t leave home without it. Here is what we recommend:
- World Nomads – Digital Nomads or Frequent Travelers.
- Allianz – Occasional Travelers.
- Medjet – Global air medical transport and travel security.
Need more help planning your trip? Make sure to check out our Great Panorama Treks where we highlight all the great companies that we trust when we are traveling.
Happy and wonderful treks!
Great Panorama Treks team