Acute mountain sickness (AMS), is an illness that can affect mountain climbers, hikers, skiers, or travelers at high altitudes. Breathing becomes hard because you aren’t able to take in as much oxygen. The degree of AMS may vary from mild to very severe.
Higher heights have lower levels of oxygen as well as decreased air pressure. When you travel on a plane or climb up a mountain, or go skiing, your body might not have sufficient time to adjust. Thus, this can result in acute mountain sickness. Your level of effort also plays a role. Driving yourself to rapidly climb up a mountain, for instance, may cause AMS.
You are at higher risk for acute mountain sickness if:
Depending on the degree of AMS one may experience, the following symptoms.
If the condition of a person with AMS becomes severe due to a lack of treatment, they can lead to life-threatening conditions affecting the brain or lungs.
Various medical complications may arise if not reach hospitals on time. So, taking this into consideration, Vayodha Hospital has an emergency evacuation service with the use of a helicopter. It is the AMS treatment hospital. Also, Vayodha hospital is the first hospital in Nepal to have a modification in the mode of rescue from “wheels to wings” with a rooftop helipad.
Due to the emergency evacuation service provided by Vayodha hospital, a lot of AMS patients who cannot reach the hospital are able to get treatment on time.
