Here at Kilimanjaro and Beyond, your safety is paramount to us. Climbing Kilimanjaro can be a dangerous activity, but we take every precaution to make your trip as safe as possible.
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Continuous Safety
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The guides will provide health check every morning & evening, and monitor you throughout the trek, to ensure you are able to continue climbing. In the event of an emergency, there will always be oxygen available.
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Altitude Sickness
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The following information was taken from Alitude.org. Please visit their page and consult with your doctor for any further questions or clarification. Information specific to Kilimanjaro and Beyond protocol can be found at the bottom of the page.
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What is altitude sickness?
Altitude sickness has three forms. Mild altitude sickness is called acute mountain sickness (AMS) and is quite similar to a hangover - it causes headache, nausea, and fatigue. This is very common: some people are only slightly affected, others feel awful. However, if you have AMS, you should take this as a warning sign that you are at risk of the serious forms of altitude sickness: HAPE and HACE. Both HAPE and HACE can be fatal within hours.
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HAPE
HAPE is excess fluid on the lungs, and causes breathlessness. It is never normal to feel breathless when you are resting - even on the summit of Everest. This should be taken as a sign that you have HAPE and may die soon. HAPE can also cause a fever (a high temperature) and coughing up frothy spit. HAPE and HACE often occur together.
If you think you may have had HAPE, please register with the International HAPE database
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HACE
HACE is fluid on the brain. It causes confusion, clumsiness, and stumbling. The first signs may be uncharacteristic behaviour such as laziness, excessive emotion or violence. Drowsiness and loss of consciousness occur shortly before death.
Treatment of HAPE and HACE
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Immediate descent is absolutely essential
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Dexamethasone and acetazolamide should both be given, if available
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Pressure bags and oxygen gas can buy time
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What causes altitude sickness?
Two things are certain to make altitude sickness very likely - ascending faster than 500m per day, and exercising vigourously. Physically fit individuals are not protected - even Olympic athletes get altitude sickness. Altitude sickness happens because there is less oxygen in the air that you breathe at high altitudes.
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Altitude sickness prevention
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Go up slowly, take it easy, and give your body time to get used to the altitude. The body has an amazing ability to acclimatise to altitude, but it needs time. For instance, it takes about a week to adapt to an altitude of 5000m.
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Can I take drugs to prevent altitude sickness?
As with everything, many 'quack' treatments and untested herbal remedies are claimed to prevent mountain sickness. These treatments can make AMS worse or have other dangerous side effects - many herbs are poisonous. Only one drug is currently known to prevent AMS and to be safe for this purpose: acetazolamide (diamox). It causes some minor side effects, such as tingling fingers and a funny taste in the mouth.
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Where does acute mountain sickness (AMS) happen?
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Most people remain well at altitudes of up to 2500m, the equivalent barometric pressure to which aeroplane cabins are pressurized. However, even at around 1500m above sea level you may notice more breathlessness than normal on exercise and night vision may be impaired. Above 2500m, the symptoms of altitude sickness become more noticeable.
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How are the symptoms of altitude sickness measured?
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The most prominent symptom is usually headache, and most people also experience nausea and even vomiting, lethargy, dizziness and poor sleep. Symptoms are very similar to a really bad hangover. Acute mountain sickness can be diagnosed using a self-assessment Lake Louise score sheet. If you have recently ascended to over 2500m, have a headache and your total score is 3 points or more on the score sheet, then you have acute mountain sickness.
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Who gets acute mountain sickness?
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Anyone who travels to altitudes of over 2500m is at risk of acute mountain sickness. Normally it does't become noticeable until you have been at that altitude for a few hours. Part of the mystery of acute mountain sickness is that it is difficult to predict who will be affected. There are many stories of fit and healthy people being badly limited by symptoms of acute mountain sickness, while their older companions have felt fine.
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There are a number of factors that are linked to a higher risk of developing the condition. The higher the altitude you reach and the faster your rate of ascent, the more likely you are to get acute mountain sickness. On the Apex high altitude research expeditions, flying from sea level to the Bolivian capital, La Paz (3600m), caused over half of the expedition members to have acute mountain sickness on the day after they arrived. If you have a previous history of suffering from acute mountain sickness, then you are probably more likely to get it again. Older people tend to get less acute mountain sickness – but this could be because they have more common sense and ascend less quickly.
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What causes altitude sickness?
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There is so much less oxygen in the high mountains that it is not surprising that travelling to high altitude causes people to feel unwell, but how this shortage of oxygen actually leads to altitude sickness is still not fully understood. Some scientists believe that it is due to swelling of the brain but the evidence for this hypothesis is not conclusive. The theory is that in susceptible individuals, swelling could cause a small increase in the pressure inside the skull and lead to symptoms of acute mountain sickness. The swelling may be due to increased blood flow to the brain or leakiness of blood vessels in the brain.
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Avoiding Altitude Sickness
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Go Slowly. The guides will constantly remind you to go "pole pole" (slowly). Climbers should be able to maintain a normal conversation. Overworking the heart and lungs substantially increases the chance of becoming ill. Climbers must slow down if they are panting or breathing hard.
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Drink. Hydration will help with acclimatization. Climbers must drink at least 3 liters of water a day. But you should drink as much water as you think is right for your body.
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Diamox. The general consensus is that Diamox is helpful in avoiding AMS, however It is a prescription drug. You should consult a doctor before taking it.
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our client descent protocol
If Kilimanjaro and Beyond guides believe a climber may be at risk if he/she continues to climb, the guide will require the climber to descend immediately. The decision to descend will be based on the following conditions:
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1) Evaluation on the Lake Louise Scale
If a climber is experiencing symptoms that place his/her Lake Louise Scale score between 6 and 8, it is at our guides discretion whether the climber can continue. The guide will consider the climbers score, oxygen saturation levels, pulse rate and overall well-being. If they decide it is safe to continue, the climber will be monitored closely for the duration of the ascent. If his/her condition worsens it is imperative the guide is notified immediately, and the climber must descend.
If the climbers Lake Louise Score is higher than 8, he/she will be accompanied by a guide on an immediate descent.
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2) Measuring oxygen saturation
If a climber's oxygen saturation is below 80%, he/she will be tested each half hour for two hours. The climber's oxygen saturation must rise above 75% to continue. If the climber's condition worsens, he/she must notify the guide immediately and descend.