Table 2.

Acute high altitude illness summary^a

Condition	Symptoms and Signs	Treatment	Prophylaxis
Acute mountain sickness	Headache, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, insomnia	Descent, acetazolamide, dexamethasone, supplemental oxygen	Slow ascent, acetazolamide, dexamethasone
High altitude pulmonary edema	Dyspnea at rest, cough, decreased exercise performance, chest pain/tightness, low pulse oximetry, central cyanosis, tachypnea, tachycardia, rales, wheezing	Descent, supplemental oxygen, nifedipine, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, salmeterol, portable hyperbaric chambers	Slow ascent, nifedipine, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, salmeterol
High altitude cerebral edema	Change in mental status or ataxia in a person with AMS or HAPE	Descent, dexamethasone, acetazolamide, supplemental oxygen, portable hyperbaric chambers	Slow ascent, dexamethasone, acetazolamide

AMS, acute mountain sickness; HAPE, high altitude pulmonary edema.

^aAdapted from Hoffman et al.²⁸