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Watching your health
is very important while going trekking. It is always useful
and wise to bring along a first aid kit and also
to read about possible problems encountered by
other trekkers before starting your journey. One
thing to keep in mind is that is is very hard to
find shops selling medicines on trekking routes.
However, clinics
operated by the Himalayan Rescue Association
that specializes in treating trekker's health
problems can be found on the Everest Base Camp
route at Pheriche and on the Annapurna Circuit
route at Manang. These clinic are not open
throughout the year but mainly only during the
trekking season.
A guide to common
problems which may occurred to trekkers are stomach ache
which is a
common ailment since it is generally caused by a
change in diet or from eating contaminated food
and water. Paying special attention to hygiene
and eating clean and quality food and drinks
will minimized this ailment.
The dry mountain air
usually causes coughing, cold, sore throats
which then leads to chest infection. It is
advisable that all trekkers do not smoke and
sore throats can be avoided by trying not to
breathe the cold air directly using the mouth.
Other problems that
are felt by the trekkers are illness such as
joint muscle strains, foot problems and not
forgetting the painful blisters which can caused
both pain and uneasiness. One of the many ways
of overcoming these problems is by wearing the
correct and good footwear. Always apply cold
water for both sprains and strains as it will
reduce the swelling and try to support the joint
with crepe bandage.
The most dangerous
obstacle faced by trekkers is the fatal sickness
caused by random altitude ascension called the
Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). It is essential
for climbers ascending more than three thousand
meters to acquire sound knowledge of proper
acclimatization processes. Among the symptoms of
AMS are headache, loss of appetite, swelling of
limbs, dizziness, unable to sleep, irregular
breathing, nausea and getting tired easily. The
most recommended way to overcome altitude
sickness is to maintain a good fluid intake and
hurried descent or evacuation to lower altitude.
Should a trekker feels uneasy, he should come to
lower ground immediately.
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