After participating in heavy workouts like mountain climbing, reverse altitude may also occur. In such situations, you can experience altitude sickness. It can also happen in exceptional conditions. When people descend from a higher to a lower altitude after spending prolonged time there, they suffer from reverse altitude sickness. Traveling to a lower elevation before the body adjusts might produce physical pain.
Reverse altitude sickness causes and symptoms
You are more prone to reverse altitude sickness if you have lived at a higher level for longer than six months. Immediately descending to a lower altitude might result in reverse altitude sickness. When people travel from a higher level to a lower one, many of them experience heaviness and mild nausea.
You may suffer a mild headache, shortness of breath, and a quick heartbeat when you experience it. The most frequent cause of reverse altitude sickness is hypobaric hypoxia. A condition known as hypobaric hypoxia occurs when your body does not get enough oxygen from the air. The tissue function that kept you alive at the higher heights is incompatible with a rapid descent, which results in reverse altitude sickness.
It begins with minor headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Here are some symptoms:
Reverse Altitude Sickness Prevention
You can prevent the sickness by following the tips listed below:
Get plenty of water
Your body loses water and salt while adapting to altitude fluctuations, which leads to dehydration. Drink as much water as possible since exercise causes you to lose fluids more quickly. Your blood cells receive the additional oxygen they require from water to adapt to low-altitude changes.
Moderate your physical activity
Exercise in moderation since excessive exertion and fatigue might make it harder to recover from altitude sickness. If you have altitude sickness, you should lessen your regular physical activity to better adjust to higher elevations, especially when hiking. While trekking, moderate physical activity reduces your body’s stress and helps prevent altitude sickness.
Get a good night’s sleep
A good night’s sleep is the most natural way to adjust
Your body experiences various modifications when you sleep. Your body makes adjustments when you are sleeping. Allow your body enough time to adjust to changes in altitude to adapt as much as you should. Therefore, obtain a good night’s sleep to prevent more reverse altitude issues.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol
Regular consumers of coffee and alcohol are more likely to experience reverse altitude sickness. Alcohol and coffee reduce the passage of oxygen from your tissues to your heart, increasing your chances of altitude sickness. Drink 4 to 6 hours of water each day on average to restore the water lost by the body through sweat and heat. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and smoking while traveling.
