[pct-l] Asthma and Altitude

[Kevin]

I have lived with asthma my whole life. It shouldn't affect your hike. I love to hike, especially climbing to the high spots. I've been over 14k, and felt OK. Sure, I was breathing hard, but so is everyone else at those altitudes. Your focused on the right thing. Avoid YOUR triggers. Exercise is a real common trigger, so hiking could do it. Altitude itself isn't a trigger I know of, but it will definitely exacerbate the situation. My plan, and advice to you, is to train with a focus on cardio fitness. I'm lucky to live at 7000 ft, so I benefit some from that. Unfortunately, I suspect I will loose a lot of those red blood cells long before reaching the Sierras. :(

Fill up your pack, and carry it up a mountain. See how you do. If you're struggling, but feel it's manageable, plan to sleep as low as possible each day. That a good guideline most of the tine anyway. You get better rest with more oxygen. Sometimes this is undesirable, like setting up so you can climb a pass early in the AM. 

Talk to your doctor. They may recommend a different treatment or dosage. 

Short answer... I've not found altitude to be anymore a problem then my going partners. 

Misspellings and typos brought to you by iPhone.

On Jan 18, 2011, at 11:20 PM, Alphabetsoup <alphabetsoupmmm at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have a question regarding altitude and Asthma-
> 
> Are there ANY concerns I should be aware of?
> 
> So far, I have no troubles with asthma attacks when hiking, usually the air
> is clean up in the mountains. Asthma is only a year or so new to me, so I
> have no idea what to expect beyond avoiding triggers.
> 
> Anyone have any insight into this arena?
> 
> 
> Paul A.
> 
> -- 
> *Alphabetsoup*
> *~Soon to be PCT Thru-Hiker April 2011~*
> * www.postholer.com/alphabetsoup*
> *
> *
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