From: russ@pmafire.inel.gov (Russ Brown)
Subject: Re: Altitude adjustment
Organization: WINCO
Lines: 22

In article <4159@mdavcr.mda.ca> vida@mdavcr.mda.ca (Vida Morkunas) writes:
>I live at sea-level, and am called-upon to travel to high-altitude cities
>quite frequently, on business.  The cities in question are at 7000 to 9000
>feet of altitude.  One of them especially is very polluted...

Mexico City, Bogota, La Paz?
>
>Often I feel faint the first two or three days.  I feel lightheaded, and
>my heart seems to pound a lot more than at sea-level.  Also, it is very
>dry in these cities, so I will tend to drink a lot of water, and keep
>away from dehydrating drinks, such as those containing caffeine or alcohol.
>

>Thing is, I still have symptoms.  How can I ensure that my short trips there
>(no, I don't usually have a week to acclimatize) are as comfortable as possible?
>Is there something else that I could do?

Go three days early.  Preliminary acclimatization takes 3-4 days.  It
takes weeks or months for full acclimatization.  Could you be
experiencing some jet lag, too?


