Researchers from Stanford University have found that an easily accessible over the counter medication may aid with AMS – acute mountain sickness or altitude sickness. The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Grant Lipman says that a sufferer of mountain sickness feels like they have a bad hangover combined with fatigue, a headache, nausea, dizziness, vomiting and a poor appetite.
The recent study was aimed at finding how to improve the problems that sufferers go through. Ibuprofen is a very common over the country medication that helps with inflammation and pain. Many athletes use is for anti-inflammatory reasons.
The recent study examined 86 women and men and used placebos and double-blind to examine the effects of Ibuprofen on AMS. This is an important issue people living in the mountains deal with. The discomfort or lack of productivity is not the only problems. If the condition goes untreated, it could lead to a cerebral edema, the swelling of the brain and could be fatal.
The 86 people traveled to California’s White Mountains. They remained there for one night at an altitude of 4,100 and ingested 400mg of ibuprofen. Following that, they went to an altitude of 11,700 feet and took more ibuprofen at midday. Then they went to an altitude of 12,700 feet and took another dose of the medication and stayed the night.
Forty-three percent of the participants suffered from altitude sickness symptoms. Sixty-nine percent who took placebos suffered the same symptoms, showing that ibuprofen may help reduce the symptoms.
