Drugs for Altitude Sickness

For the best snow and most interesting terrain, snowboarders need to get high–that is, high in elevation. But traveling from sea level or the flatlands to the mountains can give a person altitude sickness.

Last March I took a trip to Crested Butte, which has a base elevation of over 9,300 feet. Before going there, I did some research into altitude sickness. I’d like to say that it helped me, but I don’t think so.

One thing I did is get a prescription for Acetazolamide, which WebMD says is used to “prevent and reduce the symptoms of altitude sickness.” The National Institutes for Health has more.

The information sheet that came with my prescription had this to say, in part:

“This medicine is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor used to treat glaucoma or to remove excess body water.”

I was a bit startled when I read this. Nothing about altitude sickness. So I kept reading:

“It may also be used to treat other conditions as determined by your doctor.”

So there’s the altitude sickness, I guess.

The information sheet had the typical warnings about alcohol use and operating heavy machinery. I was struck by another line, though:

“This medicine may cause increased sensitivity to the sun.”

Crested Butte, we have a problem. At least I had a problem: I burn rather easily, and here my new helper would make that even more likely. After all, I would be (I hoped!) spending a lot of time in the sun, and at a high elevation. A word with the pharmacist gave me some relief though: use plenty of sunscreen and you’ll be fine. Same old, same old.

By the way, did it help? It’s hard to say. You’re supposed to take it a day or two before you head to higher ground, but once there, I forgot to take it on the first or second day. I didn’t get the same intensity of a headache that I had during a trip to Summit County (the elevation in Breckenridge: 9,600 feet), but on the last day I was so wiped out that I came inside for a quick nap.