[A Fun Anatomist] Save this article and never be afraid of altitude sickness again

Hey friends! Are you interested in traveling to the plateau? If the answer is yes, then you must have heard of the biggest villain in plateau tourism - altitude sickness, which makes many tourists stay away from the plateau. Today, we will take you to learn more about altitude sickness and find the correct prevention and relief methods.

First, let's unveil the mystery of altitude sickness. Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness, refers to the symptoms caused by low pressure and lack of oxygen in the high mountains. Usually, the symptoms of altitude sickness appear at altitudes above 3,000 meters.

1. Causes of altitude sickness

There are three main reasons for altitude sickness: hypoxia, low air pressure, and cold. Because the air in high altitude areas becomes thinner and lacks sufficient oxygen to supply the body, hypoxia symptoms will appear; and cold weather will increase the heat production of human muscles, further increasing oxygen consumption and aggravating the hypoxia reaction.

At the same time, the plateau area has a high altitude and low air pressure, which can easily cause human blood vessels to dilate, resulting in symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and drowsiness.

2. The fun of anatomy

From the perspective of anatomy, we can better understand the changes that occur in the human body during altitude sickness. The following are the main anatomical changes in the human body during altitude sickness

Lung changes:

The lungs are one of the key organs in altitude sickness. At high altitudes, the oxygen concentration in the air is lower, causing the lungs to work harder to get enough oxygen.

The alveolar walls become thinner to increase the surface area for oxygen to pass through the lungs to the blood.

The lung blood vessels dilate to increase blood flow to the lungs so that more oxygen can enter the blood.

Heart changes:

As the oxygen supply decreases, the heart needs to increase its cardiac output to ensure adequate oxygen is delivered to all parts of the body.

The heart typically grows larger at altitude to accommodate the greater workload.

Blood changes:

Due to the low oxygen environment in the plateau, the human body produces more red blood cells to carry oxygen.

The blood becomes thicker to cope with the lack of oxygen.

Brain changes:

The brain is the main site of altitude sickness symptoms. Due to the low oxygen environment, brain cells may be affected by insufficient oxygen supply, leading to symptoms such as headaches and dizziness.

Blood flow to the brain may increase to deliver more oxygen, but this may also cause symptoms of altitude sickness.

Circulatory changes:

Blood pressure may rise to ensure adequate blood flow to various organs and tissues.

The number of red blood cells and blood volume in the blood may increase in response to the low oxygen environment.

Muscle and tissue changes:

Muscles and tissues may fatigue more quickly at altitude because they require more oxygen to support activity.

The number of mitochondria in muscle cells may increase to improve oxygen utilization efficiency.

3. Methods to relieve altitude sickness

If you're already experiencing altitude sickness, the next three steps can help you properly relieve it and gradually adapt to the thin air and other challenges of the high altitude environment.

If you're already experiencing altitude sickness, the next three steps can help you properly relieve it and gradually adapt to the thin air and other challenges of the high altitude environment.

Rest: Let the patient stop activities and help him/her adjust to a comfortable position or rest in bed. For mild cases, glucose supplementation can be used to relieve symptoms.

Oxygen inhalation: Use a simple oxygen inhalation device to inhale oxygen through a nasal tube or mask, and adjust the oxygen flow rate to 1-2L/min.

Oral medication: If the patient has a headache, he or she can take aspirin, acetaminophen or ibuprofen. For more severe reactions, dexamethasone can be taken orally or dexamethasone and acetaminophen can be taken together.

After the above treatment, if the patient's symptoms do not improve or even worsen, he or she should be transferred to an area with a lower altitude as soon as possible.

In summary, altitude sickness causes a series of adaptive changes in the human body's anatomy to cope with low oxygen environments. These changes are designed to ensure adequate oxygen supply to vital organs and tissues, but sometimes they can also cause some discomfort and symptoms. These anatomical changes can help the human body survive at high altitudes, but it is also important to be aware of the health problems that altitude sickness may cause.