Symptoms of Altitude Sickness
Disease description:
I was planning to travel to Tibet this year, but I heard that people with poor health are more prone to altitude sickness. I would like to ask the doctor, what are the symptoms of altitude sickness?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Li Jingli
The symptoms of altitude sickness are diverse, mainly including the following aspects:
1. Neurological symptoms: Headache is the most common symptom of altitude sickness, often presenting as a throbbing pain in the forehead and bilateral temporal regions. The pain may worsen at night or upon waking in the morning.
2. Respiratory and circulatory system symptoms: These include chest tightness, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, chest pain, and palpitations. These symptoms may result from decreased partial pressure of oxygen in the blood, causing the respiratory and circulatory systems to work excessively.
3. Digestive system symptoms: Altitude sickness can also cause nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal distension, and abdominal pain. These symptoms occur due to reduced oxygen supply to the gastrointestinal tract, leading to impaired function.
4. Other symptoms: Some patients may also experience coughing, edema (including facial or limb edema with pitting upon pressing the skin), cyanosis of the lips and/or fingers, and eyelid or facial swelling.
