but even ibuprofen, “there are many people who do not have symptoms,” said Dr. Robert Roach, director of the research center of the altitude of the Faculty of medicine of the University of Colorado, in Denver. “ we will also have some (people) to those which ibuprofen will not serve them too”, said Roach, who did not participate in the study.
Team doctor Jeffrey Gertsch, of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, asked a group of volunteers that they lead a few kilometres to climb of about 1,200 to about 3,650 meters in the White Mountains of California.
Half of the participants took 360 milligrams (mg) of ibuprofen three times per day, from six hours before the rise.
The other half took placebo (control group). Participants stayed overnight in the height. 43 Percent of the group treated with ibuprofen poorly developed high acute, with a headache, severe and at least another symptom, compared with 69 percent of the control group.
Eight volunteers had symptoms severe enough to require treatment, six with ibuprofen and two placebo, according to published Annals of Emergency Medicine. The authors estimated that four people would need to take ibuprofen before and during a trip to the height to avoid is one sick.
Gertsch said that a question that the study cannot answer is whether ibuprofen reduces the symptoms of altitude to relieve pain or if he actually attacks the origin of those symptoms, including inflammation and vascular changes.
If only relieves pain, the specialist considered that that might be disturbing for those who travel to altitude areas.
“could create a false sense of security (…) and generate many problems” in high areas with little oxygen. The researchers, as it believed Gertsch, will require measures objective to determine altitude sickness before they can answer that question.
The authors agreed that ibuprofen is an option for people who don’t want to take prescription drugs. Acetazolamide can produce nausea and fatigue, which are symptoms of altitude sickness, while dexamethasone raises the level of sugar in blood and alters sleep.
Each ibuprofen pill costs cents. “people could try it… and see if it gives them result”, said Roach, who recalled that ibuprofen may also cause adverse effects such as stomach problems.
, However, when it comes to travel to areas of high, considered “that there is nothing to replace careful planning, including Ascend by stages and slowly”.
