[pct-l] Asthma at altitude

[Edward Anderson]

Ellen,
I have asthma since I was a baby. I can remember, as a young child gasping for 
breath and my parents bringing me to the hospital - several times. My 
grandmother on my mothers side, had died of asthma. Sometime during my childhood 
the inhaler was invented. That would have been during the 1940's, after the war. 
What a relief that was! I could breath, almost normal, again just after using 
the inhaler. 


I remember that my mother was very protective of me thinking that exercise - 
running and playing as kids do would bring on an asthma attack. That turned out 
to be untrue. I have never had an asthma attack that was caused by running, 
hiking or climbing - and doing it at high altitude has not caused me any 
problem. In High School and College I ran track and cross country and even held  
three course records, including Griffith Park in Los Angeles. I believe that 
having asthma (all the deep breathing) might have developed better lungs. 

During my worst years with asthma and even during my 20's I was allergic to just 
certain things. I had outgrown several and was left with only three: Apples or 
anything related to apples - apple sauce, juice, cider. Another was CAT hair. If 
I walked into a room where there had been a cat I would react within a couple of 
minutes. The third was laughing. I have now outgrown both the apple and the cat 
hair allergies but still have to very careful not to laugh very much. Coughing 
can also cause a shortness of breath. 


In spite of having asthma, I am fortunate in that I have never had altitude 
sickness. I recall once challenging myself one August day (this was during the 
time while I was running track and cross country) to see if I could jog from 
Trail Crest (13,600') to the summit of Whitney. That is 3 miles with a 900' 
gain. I had camped above Whitney Portal at about 10,800' the night before. I 
succeeded in reaching the summit without stopping or experiencing altitude 
sickness.

MendoRider
The lower oxygen levels in the lungs triggers vasoconstriction.  This
constriction can result in pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary edema.  In
this setting, some bronchoconstriction could occur.
Most likely you will adapt without problems.  I'm sure you plan to bring an
inhaler.  You may want to discuss it with your pulmonologist, see if he/she
would want to add a rescue inhaler.
Diamox wouldn't help with this.  You may try sleeping with a bit of a prop
to elevate your head, particularly if cold is a trigger for you.
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________________________________

From: Ellen Shopes <igellenig at gmail.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Fri, January 21, 2011 9:28:39 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Asthma at altitude