The dangers of high-altitude sickness | Explained
How does high-altitude sickness occur? How will a mandatory registration system for tourists visiting the Himalayas improve measures to tackle the illness? How can the sickness be treated? What are some preventive measures one can take before embarking on scaling the Himalayas?
The story so far: In September, a trekker from Idukki, Kerala, died in Uttarakhand while attempting to scale Garur Peak due to respiratory failure. Every year, numerous tourists like this succumb to the effects of high-altitude sickness in the pristine but challenging inner Himalayas. These regions present hidden dangers due to their extreme altitudes, where thinner air and reduced oxygen can lead to potentially fatal conditions.

High-altitude sickness, or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), occurs when the body cannot acclimatise to high elevations, typically over 8,000 feet (2,400 metres). As altitude increases, the air pressure and oxygen levels decrease, leading to hypoxia — a shortage of oxygen in the body’s tissues. Early symptoms of AMS include headache, nausea, fatigue, and shortness of breath. If left untreated, it can escalate into high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), a life-threatening condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs, or high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE), where fluid collects in the brain. Both conditions require immediate medical intervention, and descent to lower altitudes is often the only way to prevent fatal outcomes.