So I'm planning to purchase some stuff from the Pharmacy and thought I'd see what the name of some of the "medications" are.
1 for High altitude
1 for sea sickness
Do you know the names of these medicines
I'm assuming these can be provided from a normal pharmacy
Thanks
For motion sickness I’ve taken dramamine ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimenhydrinate ). With medicines it’s funny how things are legal in some place and not in another. So, check the legality in the place you’re traveling to.
For high altitude never taken anything beyond an aspirin before going to sleeping at ~4000m. I think aspirins are safer to carry around the world, or is there any country where you can get high on them? Also, hopefully you’ve tried an aspirin before in your life. There’s a few people out there whose headaches are accentuated by aspirin, instead of finding relief. Don’t wait to be in the mountains to find about this.
I am intrigued, have you joined the Himalayan navy?
There's a one (or two) a day tablet that lasts 24hrs called meclizine that works well for me. As it lasts 24 hrs it's a good prophylactic. This might be "Dramamine Non-Drowsy". It's not in the Swiss book of meds without added caffeine so I had to import it. It was the only one that worked when I was on a particular chemo.
Trimethobenzamide was the best for me. I get sick in a revolving restaurant and with this I was able to stand and move around on the back of a speedboat in choppy waters conversing with the other passengers. I also had to import this (as Emedur).
Switzerland Is more restrictive for meds than other places so it might be worth trying/asking in France or Germany. I could very much imagine them suggesting an alpine herb tea here.
As for altitude sickness then I think there is only one thing for that which you can google. Probably only available with prescription, if at all.
If this is an organised tour then ask your tour leader.
For motion sickness I prefer Itinerol B6 from the pharmacy. I take it on airplanes and if we're going to be driving curvy mountain roads.
For motion sickness, the only really effective drug is scopolamine.
The important question is, how fast are you a ascending and how long are you staying at altitude? Some really ugly things can happen if you are one of the unlucky ones who cannot tolerate high altitude. If you develop a headache, GET DOWN ASAP.
You can take diamox (Acetazolamide) starting 24 hours before (for a total of 3 days), to help acclimatize... but acclimatization is the only real solution.
Be cautious, diamox has some pretty serious side effect on some people, so testing it before you travel is important. No doctor in Switzerland will prescribe diamox without a "test run" where you take it safely at home, and if there are any side effects you have the Swiss medical system to support rather than some remote mountain hut.
Oh yes, and (in Switzerland) diamox is prescription only.
Also - we need to put "high altitude" into context. Anything up to 2000 isn't high altitude. 3000 is moderate. 4000+ is ok. 5000+ is high altitude. For me. For everyone, it's different.
Some background:
At 5500m atmospheric pressure is about 50% of sea level pressure. The result is less oxygen getting into your blood, which will deprive the body of adequate oxygen supply (Hypoxia).
With time your body has a variety of ways it can acclimate to lower air pressure to avoid hypoxia - ranging from increased respiratory rate (2-3 days) to increased oxygen-carrying haemoglobin in the blood (weeks) to increased capillary density (weeks to months).
If your body experiences a sustained period of hypoxia the veins in your brain begin to dilate causing fluid to leak into your brain (Cerebral Edema). The increased intracranial pressure will initially cause headaches, nausea and blurred eyesight. Eventually, it will cause the brain to herniate most likely killing you.
Conversely, the veins in your lungs constrict, causing them to leak fluid which accumulates in the lungs (pulmonary oedema). Initially, this could exhibit as a cough or wheezing. Eventually, it will cause respiratory failure and very quickly after that death.
Diamox can speed up part of the acclimatisation process but are limited in how much they can do. Respect the altitude and listen to your body. Understand the symptoms and then be prepared to seek lower altitude if things are going tits up.
It would be wise to have an evacuation plan, and make sure everyone on your trip knows the signs. If you are on a tour, make sure they have a plan to get you out of there.
For sea-sickness, the natural remedy is to eat.
Keep your belly full and warm from the food and you will not feel sick.
People usually think the contrary and this is how they get sick.
I remember an episode of "Human Guinea Pigs" where six people were put on a sea dinghy under wind and rain, three had fastened and three had lunch... the former three developed nausea almost immediately, the other three resisted a lot.
It's possible that it does not work for all symptoms, just for physical stomach-related ones.
Is that what pirates called the "High seas?"
I'm intrigued as to where this is. I thought of Baffin Island but the highest peak on that isn't tall enough to get AMS.
As for the sea-faring, normally you get your sea legs a day or so into a trip so eat well and take medicine if needed for a day or so and you should be fine.
I used to get fed ginger biscuits as a kid and ginger is supposed to alleviate nausea but if the boat is small enough, and the sea state rough enough then nothing is really going to work if you are a sufferer.
The biggest danger is going overboard when you are heaving over the side so if conditions warrant it - clip in or use a bucket.
(and make sure you throw up downwind !)
Guessing one of these?