Mountain disease

Mountain disease – disease state which arises at ascension to mountain areas. A mountain disease – the kind of a hypobaropathy arising because of air hunger (hypoxia) at rise on considerable heights. The similar state is familiar to climbers, geologists at ascension on height or rise on motor transport. Deterioration in health at rise for the first time was described by Akoste. In more detail influence of height on a human body began to be studied only in the nineteenth century.

Reasons of a mountain disease

The mountain disease usually begins to be shown at the height about two and a half thousand meters above sea level. It is considered that the main reason of a mountain disease – low concentration of oxygen in the inhaled air. However, concentration of oxygen remains invariable at different heights. With increase in height atmospheric pressure changes, and because of it the ratio of hydrogen and oxygen in air begins to vary. The organism at height receives less oxygen, than it is required for normal functioning of a brain and a body of the person.

Symptoms and pathogeny of a mountain disease

The mountain disease is seldom shown suddenly, most often it develops gradually. Its first symptoms are muscular weakness, apathy, dizziness, drowsiness, an indisposition. Symptoms of a disease accrue if the person remains at height. There is vomiting, nausea, fever, a fever and frustration of a respiratory rhythm.

The mountain disease quite often arises at people with cardiovascular diseases, chronic pulmonary diseases.

In a pathogeny of a mountain disease allocate a stage of adaptation and a stage of compensation, and also a stage of a decompensation and, actually, a disease.

The stage of compensation is shown at the height from one thousand to four thousand meters above sea level. At this stage of a mountain disease there is tachycardia, short wind, arterial pressure as a result of reflex stimulation of the cardiovascular and respiratory centers (increases at irritation of chemoceptors hypoxemic blood).

At the height from four to five thousand meters excitement of cells of bark of big hemispheres amplifies and internal inhibition is weakened. Against the background of a lack of oxygen there is a considerable emission of blood from depot, in marrow the erythrogenesis becomes more active, and in peripheral blood the quantity of erythrocytes increases. Very often at this stage of development of a mountain disease there is a loss of writing skills, there is an irritability, handwriting changes.

The stage of a decompensation develops at the height from five thousand meters and more. The hyperventilation of lungs leads to decrease in fabrics of concentration of carbonic acid. As a result of development of acidosis and a gas alkalosis excitability, especially cardiovascular and respiratory centers decreases. Excitement and euphoria of an organism are replaced by a depression of the central nervous system and oppression. At this stage of a disease develop drowsiness, fatigue, the majority of reflexes many functions of a digestive tract are braked, oppressed, because of the expressed myocardium hypoxia arterial pressure considerably goes down. Microcirculation is broken, breath becomes uneven. At the height from six to eight thousand meters paralysis of a respiratory center can lead to an apnoea.

On changes from external respiration and blood allocate two main forms of a mountain disease – emphysematous and eritremichesky. In separate a case serious complications (wet brain and/or lungs) can develop also at smaller height.

Prevention of a mountain disease

Before departure on heights from five to eight kilometers it is previously necessary to adapt respiratory, muscular, cardiovascular and hemopoietic systems. For prevention of a mountain disease it is the best of all to rise by rather small heights at first. At long stay at small height in an organism there occur the changes allowing to keep normal life activity.

Observations showed that climbers who very often rise to mountains almost do not suffer from a mountain disease.

For each person adaptation to shortage of oxygen demands various time. At young age (from 24 to 35 years) acclimatization happens rather quickly. Already approximately in a week of stay at the height from two to three thousand meters compensatory mechanisms of an organism therefore the volume of lung ventilation increases become more active, the quantity of erythrocytes and concentration of hemoglobin in blood increases, forms of dissociation and the oxygen capacity of blood change, alkalinity of blood increases, the heart muscle hypertrophy develops. As a result of activation of compensatory mechanisms of an organism resistance of fabrics to air hunger increases.

The complex of actions for acclimatization increases endurance of an organism. For prevention of a mountain disease it is very important to organize correctly food and the water-salt mode at stay at considerable height. During adaptation of an organism it is very important to drink a large amount of liquid (about three liters a day). Liquid accelerates removal of nedookislenny products of metabolism by kidneys. For acclimatization acceleration reception of citrate sodium, chloride ammonium, hypochloric potassium, and also introduction of intravenously methylene blue and inhalation of carbonic acid is also recommended.

Before ascension for acceleration of adaptation it is also very useful to train systematically in a pressure chamber by a special technique.

Very important method of prevention of a mountain disease is ultra-violet radiation and inhalation of the gas mixes which are grown poor by oxygen.