Altitude sickness
Overview
Altitude sickness can happen when you're at a high altitude. It usually gets better in a few days with rest, but it can sometimes be life-threatening and need treatment.
Symptoms
Symptoms of altitude sickness usually start 6 to 10 hours after being at a high altitude. The main symptoms include: a headacheloss of appetitefeeling or being sickfeeling tired or exhausteddizzinessdifficulty sleeping Sometimes, the symptoms can develop into more serious symptoms that can be life-threatening. If your symptoms get worse or do not improve after 1 day, go to a lower altitude if you can. Try to go around 300 to 1,000 metres lower.
Treatment
Altitude sickness usually gets better without treatment if you rest. You may be given medicine to help ease symptoms. If your symptoms are more serious, you may be given: steroid medicinemedicine to lower your blood pressureoxygen through a mask Rarely, you may need to be treated with oxygen in a special air-tight chamber (hyperbaric chamber) to increase the level of oxygen in your blood.