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Travel Forum / Destinations / Latin America / July 2008Altitude sickness at Machu Picchu -
Greetings! I may travel to Machu Picchu sometime next year with my family. Will there be any problems with altitude sickness? Has any member of the newsgroup with high blood pressure traveled to Machu Picchu? > Greetings! > > I may travel to Machu Picchu sometime next year with my family. Will > there be any problems with altitude sickness? Has any member of the > newsgroup with high blood pressure traveled to Machu Picchu? The problem is not going to be MP, but Cuzco. MP is only about 8800' elevation where as Cuzco where most tours depart from is at 11,500'. All the hotels have oxygen if needed. Do not move fast and take if easy. > Greetings! > > I may travel to Machu Picchu sometime next year with my family. Will > there be any problems with altitude sickness? Has any member of the > newsgroup with high blood pressure traveled to Machu Picchu? If you're the one with high blood pressure, controlled or not, you should be asking your physician this question. Having said that.... If you and your family are fairly sedentary like most Americans, I'd suggest that you begin a moderate exercise program, brisk walking is good enough. Build up to 6 days a week for 30 minutes to a hour each session, 15 minute or better pace per mile. By next year, you should have little problem handling the altitude. Plus, if you're a heavy smoker, quit until after you return. Give your lungs a chance to heal. Stef > If you and your family are fairly sedentary like most Americans, I'd > suggest that you begin a moderate exercise program, brisk walking is good > enough. Build up to 6 days a week for 30 minutes to a hour each session, > 15 minute or better pace per mile. By next year, you should have little > problem handling the altitude. Plus, if you're a heavy smoker, quit > until after you return. Give your lungs a chance to heal. Calif Bill stated correctly that Cusco is at a higher altitude than Machu Pichu. Some people will experience mild altitude sickness in Cusco, but it is unlikely in Machu Pichu. Most people will be unaffected in Cusco, except maybe they will have a headache, and of course short breath. Exercise is good for your health, of course, but it has strictly no effect on altitude sickness, which is related to the red cell count in your blood. To adapt to altitude, there is only one way : go up slowly, rest a lot, drink a lot, and wait until your marrow has manufactured more red cells. It may take a few days. And don't expect to be immune to altitude once you have adapted : your cell count will go back down within a few days, if you go down. >> On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:44:15 -0700, zxcvar wrote: If you and your >> family are fairly sedentary like most Americans, I'd suggest that you [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > altitude once you have adapted : your cell count will go back down > within a few days, if you go down. A fit person is less prone to altitude sickness than one who is not. Yes, altitude sickness is related to red cell count, since it is those cells that deliver oxygen to the brain, and altitude sickness is due to reduced oxygen in the brain, but a fit person will have a higher red cell count and a greater oxygen uptake due to a more efficient cardio- pulmonary system than an unfit person, all other things being equal. That's one of the reasons the fit tire less easily, can exert themselves harder for longer, and recover more quickly than the unfit. Now, I'm not saying that fit people are immune to altitude sickness, just less prone to it. Also, another advantage of being fit is that a well trained body will adapt more quickly to the higher altitude. The best advice for anyone, fit or not, is to take it easy and not let your enthusiasm to "see everything" push you beyond safe, reasonable limits. Plus, by "...drink a lot..." I'm sure you mean water. ;-) Alcohol impairs the brain's ability to absorb oxygen. And at high altitude that can be a very dangerous drunk. Stef > I may travel to Machu Picchu sometime next year with my family. Will > there be any problems with altitude sickness? Has any member of the > newsgroup with high blood pressure traveled to Machu Picchu? If you are worried about altitude sickness in the heights, then you should search for diamox. These pills are very affective when we are dealing with altitudes.But one good advice is, walk very slow uphill, the faster you go up, the faster you get altitude sickness:)  Signaturewww.honny.dk - Traveling around the world Diving in Thailand, Mursi tribe from Ethiopia, Rafting in the Andes, trekking in Simien Mountains and Kilimanjaro, trekking on active volcanos in Guatemala, sounds interesting? Then visit our travel webpage. |
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