UNDERSTANDING ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS (AMS) & ITS CAUSES ON KILIMANJARO TREKS

It is important to know exactly what Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is, how it affects sufferers who climb the shinning Kilimanjaro mountain and how to avoid it. At sea level, we live beneath a thick blanket of air. Its weight increases pressure on the air we breathe, which decreases with increasing altitude. It is harder to inhale the same amount of oxygen at higher altitudes. It is still in the air at the same concentrations, but the air itself is less dense, since there is less weight of air above it and therefore less air pressure.

As you make your exciting Kilimanjaro ascent, you adapt to decreasing available oxygen in your lungs by breathing faster, urinating more to thicken the blood and increasing your red blood cells to soak up all the oxygen they can. This takes several days. If you climb too high, too fast, you will suffer from lack of oxygen in all your tissues. Your muscles will tire and ache, you will pant, and your heart will beat faster to try to get more oxygen. Your systems will close down to preserve core energy, so you will move more slowly, lose your appetite, experience nausea and vomiting, and become confused and uncoordinated.

You will develop a throbbing headache as your brain tissue gets less of your total 20% oxygen that it needs and begins to swell. You cough as your lung tissue becomes engorged. These are effects of cold and lack of air pressure as well as lack of oxygen. Eventually, you will die if not treated initially and immediately. Most people cope reasonably well at 3000 meters, but poor acclimatize Kili routes such as Marangu begin at 1800 meters height and rise by almost 1000 meters a day. When you start your Mount Kilimanjaro climbing tour in the foothills, you will not begin to feel these symptoms until the third or fourth day, when the steep haul up the Barranco Wall may outstrip your acclimatization at over 4,000 meters.

It is always advisable to spend extra days acclimatizing to that altitude so that when you get there, you are sure to feel at least the hangover symptoms of mild altitude sickness. These do not mean you need to give your African vacation trekking challenge. Just rest, take a mild painkiller, and possibly descend temporarily as the first step. If problems increase, you may need to settle for having made a hiking tour on Mt. Kilimanjaro without necessarily reaching Uhuru Peak, in common with more than half of those who attempt it every year; though Uhuru Trails by AfricanMecca success rates are much higher at 75% to 85% depending on the year.

Review Below The Complete Guide On High Altitude Sickness For Your Kilimanjaro Climb

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