Men’s Health has a piece on high-altitude cerebral edema. While the article is a novice’s account of climbing the Mexican volcano Pico de Orizaba, it provides great insight into how even the most physically trained people can fall victim.
High-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) can occur unpredictably at altitudes above 14,000 feet. Fluid fills the cavity between the brain and skull. The resulting pressure on gray matter induces headache, nausea, dizziness, emotionalism, seizures, disorientation, and, if left untreated (at higher altitudes, mostly), death. We all knew this. The best treatment is to head down the mountain. Immediately.
More information on climbing Mexican volcanoes can be found here and here.
2 Comments
Which issue can this article be found in? Add this info to articles in order to avoid having to tell each person who comes accross it.
Cheers,
C-
Christian, I have no idea what actual issue it was in. At the time I wrote this post (over a year ago) the link to the article was active. That’s about the best I can do as I don’t subscribe to the magazine and online they don’t mention the actual issue. In the future, if an issue is mentioned by a magazine for an article i reference, I’ll definitely post it.