“In 2016, 22,108 international visitors and 8,392 domestic tourists walked the Annapurna circuit trails,” Babu Lal Tiruwa, UCO officer of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) Manang, stated holding a news conference at Kathmandu’s Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA). “In all categories, this was the highest figure ever recorded in the Annapurna region’s history,” he added. “The bulk of the domestic trekkers were discovered to be young guys and girls aged 16-30 years, and the most of them took a vehicle or motorbike from Besisahar to Manang or Khangsar,” stated one of the Manang lodge owners.
According to records from the Himalayan Rescue Association’s Manang aid station from the autumn of 2016, more than half of the altitude sickness patients traveled to Manang by motor vehicle. The study on the quick ascent to Manang by motor vehicle is still being analyzed, and further findings are expected soon. “In 2016 compared to prior years, the number of patients with serious altitude diseases, such as high altitude cerebral edema and high altitude pulmonary edema in Nepali trekkers, has drastically increased,” stated Mr. Thaneswor Bhandari of the HRA aid station in Manang.
The atmospheric pressure and partial pressure of oxygen decrease as altitude increases. However, regardless of height, the percentage composition of oxygen (21%) in the atmosphere stays constant. Hypobaric hypoxia is a condition in which the partial pressure of oxygen is decreased at a high altitude (2,500 meters). When exposed to hypobaric hypoxia, the human organ system begins to alter in order to cope with the lower oxygen pressure. This is referred to as acclimatization. The rate of respiration, pulse rate, and urine production all rise during acclimatization. These changes start as soon as we are exposed to high altitude, and it takes days for the human body to fully acclimatize. If we stay for a longer duration then the human body starts to make more red blood cells.
Because our bodies are unable to acclimate adequately at high altitudes, altitude sickness is a frequent pathological disease. Acute mountain sickness (AMS), high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), and high altitude pulmonary edema are all examples of altitude sickness (HAPE).
Acute mountain sickness is a frequent kind of altitude sickness that affects around 60% of trekkers who travel to high altitudes ( 2,500 m). Headache is the most common symptom, which is often accompanied by nausea, a loss of appetite, dizziness, tiredness, or poor sleep. AMS can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the severity of the symptoms. High altitude cerebral edema (HACE), or water in the brain, occurs at the end of the AMS spectrum. It is characterized by symptoms such as bewilderment, irritability, disorientation, lethargy, sleepiness, and ataxia when walking in a straight line, as well as acute mountain sickness symptoms. High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is characterized by non-exertional dyspnea, which is more noticeable while lying down and at night, a dry rather than frothy and bloody cough, a decrease in exercise performance, tiredness, chest tightness, and occasionally a low-grade fever. This generally happens after 3-4 days of rising to high elevations, although it can also happen while ascending quickly.
Mild acute mountain sickness is typically safe and may be managed with extra rest days, diamox, and plenty of water. Pain relievers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen may also be helpful. Patients with moderate to severe acute mountain sickness, on the other hand, must be transported down to a lower altitude and treated, or they risk developing high altitude cerebral edema. High altitude cerebral and pulmonary edema are potentially deadly diseases, and patients should be removed from the high altitude as soon as possible. The only therapy for very severe types of altitude disease is to descend, descend, descend. If a scheduled evacuation is not feasible owing to, for example, severe weather, medical treatment can be provided in the middle of the night if resources are available. Oxygen can be utilized to purchase time until the evacuation is planned by utilizing an oxygen cylinder or concentrator, as well as a Gamow bag, which is a portable altitude chamber.
Importantly, many altitude diseases are avoidable, and simple guidelines can help save lives from potentially deadly disorders like HACE and HAPE. The first criterion is to keep the ascension profile “slow and steady,” which means not climbing higher than 500 meters each day beyond the previous night’s sleeping altitude and taking a day off after climbing 1,000-1,200 meters over 2,500 meters. Other risk factors, such as overexertion, dehydration, and inappropriate clothing, must be reduced as well.
We can make our trip more memorable, enjoyable, and free of altitude illness by adhering to the rule of slow and gradual ascent (this does not mean walking slowly, but rather not excessively gaining sleeping altitude compared to the previous night as described above), avoiding sudden altitude gain by motor vehicle, and trekking through the trails.
For More: Annapurna Base Camp Trek Package
