Canned "Recreational Oxygen" for elevation sickness?

[bbckfh]

I'm a physician who specializes in both wilderness medicine and emergency medicine.
The above advice is correct; this won't work.
Advice: see your doc and get meds. And acclimate yourself. More than you think. Some people are predisposed to altitude sickness, you may be one of them.

 

[TROY GRGURICH]

I agree with

brcfo_outdoors

I would talk to your primary care physician and get the altitude sickness meds ( Prednisone ). I used them on a hunt at 10k plus and it worked great for me.

 

[wolffo]

go early, go slow, hydrate …..hunt smart
not a bad idea to have a mini O2 bottle on hand

 

[DJ Morrison]

Hydrate, hydrate and hydrate. Your kidneys response to altitude is to double the volume of urine. After 3 days it balances out and your good to go...Alcohol will cause even more dehydration. I have friends that come out to wyoming and i have to remind them to drink water for every volume of beer. 16 oz beer, 16 oz of water.

 

[azarcher10x]

May be an old wives tale, but I heard a lot of high altitudes runners take antacids w/calcium prior to their runs. The calcium supposedly helps oxygenate the blood better. At our elk camp in CO, (6500- 8500) I've never known anyone in our camp to have altitude sickness, and many came from sea level. However, there were a lot of hangovers, so maybe they did and we couldn't tell! LOL

 

[blvette75]

Has anyone used one of the canned oxygen bottles that claim to have 90%+ pure oxygen inside as a way to help with elevation sickness? In my mind it might be useful after the sickness kicks in almost as a treatment, not prior to as a preventative measure.

I ask because i have an elk hunt this year around 7k, 7.5k' and I currently live at about 500'. The last time I was at 9k I had a pretty bad case and I had to be driven to a lower elevation cause I couldn't do it myself. I've never had problems at 6k, though. I'm thinking $20 or $30 is pretty cheap insurance if they are only slightly helpful.

Cause someone will probably mention it, I'm certainly not trying to find an easy replacement for being in shape. I've already started physical training and will be ready to go when the time comes!

I have used the Boost Oxygen in the Green Can monitored my Oxygen levels with a pulsimeter O2 blood oxygen monitor and it definitely raised my blood oxygen level, back into the normal range. I have asthma and live in Colorado at about 5,000ft, but once I hit 10,000 ft on some heavy hikes this definitely helps. I also now take the Acetalzolamide with me as well. But best advice I can give is to plan to acclimate for a few days at altitude before your hunt. First day at 10,000 ft plus for me is rough, after that I am fine.

 

[WeekendWarrior]

Has anyone used one of the canned oxygen bottles that claim to have 90%+ pure oxygen inside as a way to help with elevation sickness? In my mind it might be useful after the sickness kicks in almost as a treatment, not prior to as a preventative measure.

I ask because i have an elk hunt this year around 7k, 7.5k' and I currently live at about 500'. The last time I was at 9k I had a pretty bad case and I had to be driven to a lower elevation cause I couldn't do it myself. I've never had problems at 6k, though. I'm thinking $20 or $30 is pretty cheap insurance if they are only slightly helpful.

Cause someone will probably mention it, I'm certainly not trying to find an easy replacement for being in shape. I've already started physical training and will be ready to go when the time comes!

It will not prevent, help, or do anything for altitude sickness.

If you want to try something, talk to your PCP and get a script for acetazolamide, which you can take prophylactically to prevent pulmonary and cerebral edema and altitude sickness. Dexamethasone can help once you are sick, and to a lesser extent some people are trying meds like viagra to send blood to other places to limit the effects of pulmonary edema and there is a little research to support this... but remember, you are coming to CO to hunt the rut, not partake in it. heeheehee

Meds aside, get to 5-6k a few days early (ie Denver). Drink a lot of water with a high potassium electrolyte replacement powder and do some light hiking. Give your body a chance to acclimatize.

edited to add a couple typos.

 

[CoachChris]

AMS can hit anyone at anytime.
One of my athletes is one of the best ski mountaineers and mountaineers in history.
She was born and raised above 9,000' in Colorado.
She had a severe case of AMS in Peru and had to be heli-lifted to a lower altitude to recover.
The only things that you can do to help avoid AMS is be specifically physically fit, stay well hydrated, don't consume alcohol, gain altitude slowly and sleep as much as possible.
Aspirin may be helpful?

Aspirin for prophylaxis against headache at high altitudes: randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial - PMC

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[xsn10s]

Understand but please be fully aware of the symptoms and the seriousness of it. It can kill very fast if unchecked to lower altitude. I had to get a buddy off mountain at 9,800 ft and he just made it down. Got treatment at local clinic and was told one more day and it could have been tragic.

That was my thinking. Altitude sickness is not something to mess around with.

 

[Clark54]

Wife, son and I went from sea level to elk camp at 11,400' same day, and even managed an evening stalk. Stayed in a sweet little cabin with propane heat. About midnight my wife woke up feeling sick, we walked outside and she blacked out. Son and I got her back inside but for the next couple of hours she was incoherent. She finally got lucid and I watched her all night to make sure she kept breathing. Pretty scary. Still not sure if this was altitude related or maybe monoxide from the propane heat?
By morning she seemed fine. Outfitter said we should have woken him up, he had oxygen on site! I got her down to 6,000 feet before the next night to avoid a repeat.

 

[del2les]

Acclimation - If you can't, then eat more foods that are high in Potassium, drink more water and eat less salt.
Diamox is a prescription drug, which prevents the unpleasant symptoms for many people, so ask your doctor about its use.

Once you arrive, take it easy for the first day or two, and reduce alcohol, caffeine, and salty foods. Drink more water than usual, around 3-4 quarts a day. Salt causes your body to retain fluid, which increases the severity of altitude illness. Some people use Ibuprofen and antacids to help relieve mild symptoms, and this will help many. Some time back, we kept absorptive antacids in our E-kit for lowlanders, and these helped to reduce the acidosis caused by decreased O2 levels in the blood.

There are a lot of medical pubs available concerning AS, so read a few and be very aware of the early symptoms. YMMV

 

[HARPERC]

However, there were a lot of hangovers, so maybe they did and we couldn't tell! LOL

Sleeping drops nighttime O2 levels, quality of sleep, and ability to function next day.

If you take nothing else from the thread learn to recognize it in yourself, and companions..

Be extra aware of hyperthermia, hypothermia, dehydration, calorie intake, sleep deprivation......anything that further may affect brain function, decision making.

 

[ndking1126]

You guys are cracking me up. I don't drink alcohol but maybe twice a decade, so non-issue for me. Caffeine on the other hand I drink a lot of. I already planned to cut it out the week before I left and replace it with plenty of water. Looks like I'll add in a Gatorade or whichever one it was that is caffiene free.

blvette75, very interesting having hard data from the monitor. Looks like at least a little short term benefit may be possible when using it prior to having issues.

 

[HARPERC]

You guys are cracking me up.

Once a thread goes beyond a certain point it's not about the OP any more.
Hopefully some useful info from those shadowing at this point.
If you want to really crack up 10 years from now somebody will revive it.

A bunch of us old timers here, and like the commercial says "We know a thing or two, because we've seen a thing or two". LMAO!