What to expect from travel health consultation for altitude sickness

The clinician will ask where you are going, the highest place you will sleep, how quickly you will travel upward, and whether the route includes remote areas. They may review lung, heart, kidney, and pregnancy considerations, along with prescribed medicines. Altitude sickness can occur when the body has not adjusted to thinner air; headache, nausea, dizziness, tiredness, and poor sleep can be early features.

You should leave knowing how to ascend gradually, when to rest at the same height, and when descending is safer than continuing. The clinician may discuss preventive medicine when appropriate, but suitability depends on your history and destination.

Bring a clear itinerary, travel dates, accommodation heights, and a list of medicines or allergies. During the trip, pace activity after arrival, drink normally, avoid using alcohol to help sleep, and do not ignore worsening symptoms. Travelling with someone who knows the plan is useful, especially on treks where medical help may be distant.

Stop ascending and seek urgent help for worsening headache, repeated vomiting, confusion, difficulty walking, unusual drowsiness, breathlessness while resting, or a cough producing frothy sputum. These signs can indicate severe altitude illness. Descent and emergency assessment may be needed; do not rely on a tablet to allow further ascent.

Ask what symptoms should trigger rest or descent, whether your medicines need adjustment, how to reach help on the route, and whether your planned pace allows enough acclimatisation.