Mountain Sickness

     WAIS is a family, and I worry about its members, such as Margaret Mackenzie and others, who are going to the roof of the world, perhaps without knowing how awful mountain sickness can be. Linda Nyquist forwards this helpful information:
     "Many of the moutaineering books (i.e., Medicine for Mountaineering) are suggesting the prophylactic use of diuretic medication prior to climbing (i.e., Lasix). This apparently reduces the liquid in your system and also reduces the brain edema which results in the horrible headaches that so many experience in the high altitudes. I took a group to Cuzco a few years ago, and a couple of the people were so sick that I had to return them to sea level. A physician I met on the trip was telling me about this approach, and I subsequently read about it in a couple of well-respected journals. Obviously, it shouldn't be self-prescribed. But it's worth investigating."

Ronald Hilton - 5/11/00