Those who climb Kilimanjaro should be well informed about altitude sickness before their climb. Altitude sickness (or mountain sickness) is the name for the negative effects experienced by those at high altitude.
Anyone can get altitude sickness, irrelevant of age and fitness. Climbers should be on the lookout for symptoms anywhere above 4,000 meters. They can show up to 36 hours after ascent and include: Headache, Nausea, vomiting, Insomnia, Lack of appetite and energy.
Mild altitude sickness is called acute altitude sickness. Symptoms of the illness usually disappear after descending to around 2000m. People who show signs of altitude sickness should descend immediately. Further ascent may lead to High Altitude Pulmonary Edema or High Altitude Cerebral Edema, both of which may be fatal.
Symptoms of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema or High Altitude Cerebral Edema include: Difficulty breathing, Lethargy, Confusion and Unsteady gait.
The best way to avoid altitude sickness is to: drink lots of water, avoid alcohol, eat little and often and most importantly, take as much time as possible to allow yourself to acclimatize. The optimum way to do this is to make sure your sleeping elevation does not increase any more than 300 meters per night. For every 1000 meters, spend a second night at the same elevation for acclimatization. This is not always possible because of time and money constraints but you should try to be as close to it as possible.
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