What if one member of the group gets sick while trying to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro?

Because you will have many guides and assistant guides, an assistant will take the ill person down while the rest of the group goes on. If the person is very sick then we call for a dispatch for stretcher – the rescue fee is included in your quote. But before reaching that point, our guides are very careful and they will monitor the health of everyone every day on the mountain to make sure that the sickness does not get to that point.

Are the guides trained to give first aid and deal with altitude sickness?

Kilimanjaro guides are trained in acute mountain sickness (AMS) and basic mountain first aid. Â However, they are not doctors or paramedics. Climbers are responsible for bringing their own first aid kit and medical supplies. Under any unlikely event guides or assistants guides are responsible to assist you to trek down at least 3000 m to see if the illness gets better. If the situation is serious they have to quickly call the office for the arrangement of evacuation by helicopter which is an Air Ambulance or car depending on the nature of the insurance the climber had acquired.

Climbers are affected by some Mountain sicknesses such as Altitude Mountain Sickness, High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, High Altitude Cerebral Edema and other diseases. When you arranging your trip to the mountains you should make sure to watch yourself and your companions for signs of altitude sickness as you travel to higher elevations. You should make sure that everyone has own personal first aid kit.

What guides should do if one seem to have sign of altitude mountain sickness?

The guides have big responsibility to ensure their clients are safe all the time when climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. They should ensure that they have the first aid kit for their clients which carry all important equipments. This will help when one among in a group has all sign of altitude sickness.

Take a break and wait until the symptoms subside
Give them oxygen which will help them portable oxygen cylinder
Avoid using alcohol and cigarettes
Give them the recommended doses of the drug dexamethasone
Give them diuretic drugs to reduce the risk of fluid accumulation
Give them medicine like aspirin or paracetamol in order to reduce fever pain
Encourage them to breathe deeply every few minutes

What are the ways of avoiding mountain sickness?

Training
Before you deciding to climb Kilimanjaro first you should have the training or experience of climbing some other simple mountains like mount meru. It is recommended that anyone who wants to climb Kilimanjaro he/she must have enough training on how to climb. Frequently not practical to prepare by actually spending time up high, but you can train your heart and lungs for altitude.

Rest
Just take your time to rest when you climbing Kilimanjaro. On mountain there are huts on some routes or either there is chance of making camp in order to rest. The practical of resting enable you to increase the ability of acclimatization. And also when you are resting you should drink plenty water because dehydration worsens altitude problems.

Keep eating
Another way is eating enough time for tree times as timetable arranged by your operator. Don’t say that you maintain just eat the food which will give you energy of enable to climb Kilimanjaro. just don’t forget to drink water after every meal and eat energable fruits. Even if you lose your appetite but it is very important to keep eating.

You should determine the danger signs
These danger sign including symptoms of some mountain diseases like altitude mountain sickness, high altitude pulmonary edema and high altitude cerebral edema. These symptoms including dry cough, pink frothy phlegm or sputum, crackling sound in lungs, Severe headache, altered vision, disorientation, Hallucinations, seizures, Coma, Fatigue, Headache, Loss of appetite, Nausea, Sleep problems, Swelling of arms and legs, Vomiting, Weakness, Shortness of breath at rest, fast heart beat. When you see all of these symptoms then you should rest, drink and medicate as you can.

Have a plan
You should arrange your plan to solve any problem if may occur AMS is dangerous disease which mostly occurs on high altitude with a descent of 300 to 600m and it may cause death. So when you are climbing or trekking you should listen to your guides and to have a plan of making sure that walking party has a plan of action for descent.

Descend to Lower Altitude
High altitude for mild acute mountain sickness, the person may be able to stay at current altitude to see if their body adjusts. If symptoms don’t get better in 24 to 48 hours or if they get worse, the person should go down to a lower altitude and seek immediate medical care. Keep going down until symptoms go away. Get medical help right away as waiting could cause serious problems or even death.

Provide first aid service
Give oxygen to a patient, Give the patient time to rest and Keep the person, Give plenty of liquids, Give pain killer medicine for headache, Avoid alcohol and using cigarette

Health Care center
If the disease is still persisting you should go to see the doctor soon as possible in any health center near you. The most important treatment for any level of altitude sickness is to go down to a lower elevation as soon as possible while remaining safe.

Health professionals advise the following for anyone who want to climb Kilimanjaro or any other mountain:-
 Drink Lots of Water
 Reduce Your Exercise
 Get Enough Sleep
 Limit Your Alcohol Intake
 Increase Your Potassium Levels
 Protect Yourself From the Sun

How do I prevent Altitude Sickness?

To prevent altitude sickness you must properly acclimatized and this takes time. The main way to prevent it is to not ascend too quickly. If you show signs of altitude sickness, then you must descend otherwise it could be fatal. The guides will know about the symptoms of altitude sickness and they will know how to look after you and how to avoid it. But we also recommend that you learn about the symptoms too because it is better to be safe than sorry.

Some measures to take to prevent are:-
I. Climbing slowly up the mountain it will help you to decrease your chances of suffering to altitude sickness. Your body will generate energy when your climbing slowly and it will gives your body more time to rest and relax to the higher altitudes.

II. Try book on best tour company with experienced guides who they will soon understand the symptoms of mountain diseases like acute mountain sickness (AMS) and other mountain diseases when anyone get.

III. Doing hikes up mountain practical which will help your body to get ability of climbing mount Kilimanjaro .Going on practice hikes up high altitude mountains will also help your body for example you can climb short mount before decide to climb the highest mountain like Kilimanjaro for example mount Meru in Arusha Tanzania.

IV. But also over exerting yourself can increase the possibility of HAPE. So climb at a moderate, steady pace, and take slow breaths.

V. Inform your guides if you’re feeling any symptoms as they’ll know how to give you the first aid and what actions to take next and if your guide tells you that you need to descend you need to listen them