The altitude sickness | The causes of spinning dizziness

The altitude sickness

Altitude sickness is a series of symptoms that can occur due to a lack of oxygen at high altitudes. With increasing altitude, the partial pressure of oxygen in the air decreases, resulting in a significantly lower oxygen uptake for the same breathing volume. This effect can be further enhanced by various mechanisms of the body.

Increased breathing with a reduction of the carbon dioxide content in the blood also provokes the symptoms. Typically, neurological symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, tiredness and drowsiness occur first, followed by shortness of breath, palpitations and increased blood pressure.In particularly severe cases, water retention in the brain and lungs can develop, which is life-threatening. After a few days the body adapts to the changed oxygen conditions by itself. It is important to increase performance and effort only slowly at altitude.

All articles in this series:

  1. The causes of spinning dizziness
  2. Diseases of the circulatory system
  3. Thyroid gland disease
  4. Psychological diseases
  5. The altitude sickness