Altitude sickness tablets

Altitude illness can affect anyone travelling to 2,500 metres or higher. The risk depends on how high you go, how fast you climb and the height you sleep at. Symptoms of acute mountain sickness include headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea and poor sleep.

Who it’s for

• Travellers flying or driving straight to high altitude, for example Cusco in Peru or Leh in India.
• Trekkers on routes such as Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya or the Inca Trail.

Schedule

Medicine

Acetazolamide can help the body acclimatise. It does not replace a gradual ascent.

Acclimatising

Spend a few days below 3,000 metres first. Above 3,000 metres, raise your sleeping height by no more than 500 metres a day and take a rest day every three or four days.

Good to know

• If symptoms appear, do not go higher. If they do not improve or get worse, go down.
• Confusion, loss of balance or breathlessness at rest are an emergency: descend immediately and get medical help.

Common questions