What are the physical effects of altitude? / Where do I go to learn about altitude-related illnesses?
[back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ] Good Places to Start An Altitude Tutorial from the International Socieity for Mountain Medicine, 9/8/2001 Acclimatization and Illnesses from the Outdoor Action Guide to High Altitude, 7/7/1999 Going Higher : Oxygen Man and Mountains by Charles Houston From: Brutus of Wyde, 3/9/2001 Initial adaptive responses to altitude include: Hyperventilation (breathing fast) Shortness of breath during exertion Increased urination (altitude diuresis) Changed breathing pattern at night Awakening frequently at night Weird dreams Hyperventilation is a normal response to decreased partial pressure of Oxygen, and increases the Oxygen saturation of the blood. Shortness of breath during exertion is a normal response as well, and in a non-AMS situation resolves quickly after exertion ceases. It results from the triggering of the physiological O2 “setpoint” due to increased oxygen demand during exertion. Increased urination also occurs relatively quickly in re
