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AMS, HACE, HAPE SYMPTOMS - KILIMANJARO

What Are The Symptoms Of AMS, HACE, HAPE On Kilimanjaro? Scroll Down

SYMPTOMS OF ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS - AMS, HACE, HAPE ON KILIMANJARO

At around 3000 meters, (almost 10,000 feet.) above sea level, some people trekking Kilimanjaro will experience mild AMS: headaches, nausea and a feeling of malaise, similar to the onset of a cold. Appetite is diminished and sleep is restless. If you continue to ascend without acclimatization, the headache may become far worse: a bright, migraine-intense pain that crashes on your senses in relentless thuds. It is not something you want to provoke. It can turn your entire Mt. Kilimanjaro trek into sheer miserable endurance, like a continuous thumping hangover.

Moderate AMS headache is not helped by medication. Nausea may progress to actual vomiting. You will feel increasingly weak and tired, out of breath and unsteady on your feet. If you cannot walk a straight line and the problem is not simply extreme fatigue or hypothermia, you must not continue to climb. To push on at this stage is to invite severe AMS and inevitable summit failure. You need to retreat at least between 600 to 1200 meters depending on your severity to a lower altitude to enable your body to adjust to the changes that accompany acclimatization. This is when a rest day is most useful.

An Uhuru Trails by AfricanMecca itinerary allows rest time as a standard acclimatization strategy. You can still reach the summit once your symptoms recede. If your Kilimanjaro challenge tour timetable is too tight, tough luck: you are not going to make it. Mild cerebral swelling due to oxygen starvation diminishes coordination and ends in ataxia or lack of muscular coordination, balance and speech. This is a neural condition of severe AMS: progressive shutdown of the central nervous system with inability to walk at all, necessitating stretcher evacuation.

Less often, severe AMS leads to High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, (HAPE), swelling and leaking of the tiny sacs that exchange used carbon dioxide for fresh oxygen in the lungs. This is a result of low air pressure, depleted oxygen, cold and overexertion. It is life-threatening. You may have blue lips, pulse rate over 130, a cough, rattling chest and pink phlegm. You need to descend immediately.

A similar phenomenon in the brain causes High Altitude Cerebral Edema, (HACE) due to fluid leakage from capillaries in the brain causing swelling of brain tissue with confusion, slurred speech, hallucinations, psychosis, collapse and coma. They both follow from climbing too high, too fast, or staying there: as when trekkers on precarious adventures to Kilimanjaro ascend to Crater Camp for the overnight. Symptoms of many different forms of AMS may occur simultaneously, ruining your once for all Mount Kilimanjaro hiking trip. But many of them are preventable.

Review Below The Complete Guide On High Altitude Sickness For Your Kilimanjaro Climb

It is important to know exactly what AMS is, how it affects sufferers who climb the shinning Kilimanjaro mountain, and how to avoid it. At sea level, we live beneath a thick blanket of air. Its weight increases pressure on the air we breathe, which decreases with increasing altitude. It is harder to inhale the same amount of oxygen at higher altitudes. Read More On Altitude Sickness & Its Causes

At around 3000 meters, (almost 10,000 feet.) above sea level, some people climbing Kilimanjaro will experience mild AMS: headaches, nausea and a feeling of malaise, similar to the onset of a cold. Appetite is diminished and sleep is restless. If you continue to ascend without acclimatization, the headache may become far worse. Read More On AMS, HACE, HAPE Symptoms

To prevent altitude sickness on Kilimanjaro, acclimatize yourself a few days in advance by a leisurely trip to nearby Mount Meru, where your body can adjust in delightful surroundings. Failing that, be as fit as possible and choose an operator offering extended itineraries with slow ascent and acclimatization days with a private, experienced head guide with 250+ climbs over a 25-year period. Read More On Avoiding Altitude Sickness

There are only two effective treatments for AMS during a climbing expedition on Kilimanjaro. The first is to ensure adequate time and rest periods for acclimatization. The second is to descend back to lower altitudes. Anything else only covers up the symptoms leaving you at risk of considerable discomfort, lasting after-effects or even death. Read More On Responding & Treating Altitude Sickness

Simple precautions avoid common health problems associated with African climbing expeditions on Kilimanjaro mountain. Rapid changes in humidity and temperature cause coughs and colds, with flu-like symptoms from breathing cold air at high altitude. Aspirin, warm salt water gargles and anesthetic or menthol throat lozenges ease discomfort. Read More On Kilimanjaro Health Issues

KILIMANJARO TREK GUIDE- HOME
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KILIMANJARO TREK GUIDE- HOME

Uhuru Trails by AfricanMecca is a fresh team name for a long-established partnership between AfricanMecca Safaris and one of our most experienced, dependable and registered team outfitters on Kilimanjaro to provide discerning climbing experiences.

KILIMANJARO CLIMB INTRODUCTION
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KILIMANJARO CLIMB INTRODUCTION

AfricanMecca believes Kilimanjaro is a mountain with attitude. Towering enigmatically like an ethereal island in the sky wreathed in mists, at 5895 meters, it is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest stand-alone mountain in the world.

KILIMANJARO CLIMB PRICES
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KILIMANJARO CLIMB PRICES

Here you will find prices for various recommended and acclimitized routes for Kilimanjaro including Lemosho, Machame, Rongai, Shira, Umbwe and Marangu. We recommend you customize your private climb based on your preference and group size.

TOP 10 REASONS TO CLIMB WITH US
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TOP 10 REASONS TO CLIMB WITH US

We have 10 great reasons why you should climb with us. The first is a pioneering approach to guiding standards on Mount Kilimanjaro. Uniquely, we offer every trekker his or her own personal support guide (1 GUIDE : 1 CLIMBER RATIO).

WHICH KILI ROUTE TO CHOOSE?
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WHICH KILI ROUTE TO CHOOSE?

There are six approved routes for a Kilimanjaro climb with Uhuru Trails By AfricanMecca, each offering different advantages and drawbacks. Regardless of which route you choose, you need not be a rock climber, superlatively fit or supremely well-equipped.

OUR MOUNTAIN FAMILY TEAM
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OUR MOUNTAIN FAMILY TEAM

We trust our clients to the care of some of the best experienced mountain guides in the Tanzanian travel industry. Our guide leaders have 100 hundreds of climb experiences in between 10 to 20 years' of the best way to succeed in climbing Kilimanjaro.

BEST TIME TO CLIMB KILIMANJARO
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BEST TIME TO CLIMB KILIMANJARO

One of the best times for a Tanzanian trek vacation on Mount Kilimanjaro is in the warm months of January and February when clear skies afford excellent views of superb scenery, especially from the upper slopes; though, expect some snowfall during this period.

UHURU SUMIMIT SUCCESS GUIDE
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UHURU SUMIMIT SUCCESS GUIDE

Trekking to the roof of Africa can be a glorious, triumphant achievement that can color the rest of your life with self-confidence and pride. Or it can be an ordeal or even an abject failure. You need to know exactly what you are letting yourself in for.

KILIMANJARO SAFETY CLIMB GUIDE
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KILIMANJARO SAFETY CLIMB GUIDE

It must be clearly understood that Mount Kilimanjaro is a dangerous environment where climbers are risking their lives. One person in every thousand (0.1%) will die on the mountain and more than half of these deaths could be preventable.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT GUIDE
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SAFETY EQUIPMENT GUIDE

Kilimanjaro kills those climbers who go beyond their sensible limits. We have an enviable safety record because its leaders do not waste time on technological fixes on high altitude, but get sick and injured trekkers off the mountain without delay.

KILIMANJARO HIGH ALTITUDE GUIDE
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KILIMANJARO HIGH ALTITUDE GUIDE

The general impression is that a climbing tour of Kilimanjaro is an easy mountaineering option, since the 5895 meter mountain has been successfully climbed by hardy children and by octogenarians. It is not. It is a perilous undertaking.

FAQ ON KILIMANJARO
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FAQ ON KILIMANJARO

Review Frequently Asked Questions for our Kilimanjaro treks. Questions range from custom private climb options, charity climbs, Crater Camp add experience, costs, tipping, a day on a climb, packing list, reducing ecological footprint to combining safari.

FIVE ZONES OF KILIMANJARO
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FIVE ZONES OF KILIMANJARO

Review the 5 geographical, flora and fauna zones of Mount Kilimanjaro. The zones include the lower countryside slopes, montane forests, heathlands and moorlands, the towering alpine deserts and the arctic ice cap summit of the shinning mountain.

KILI GEOLOGY, HISTORY & TRIBES
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KILI GEOLOGY, HISTORY & TRIBES

Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, is a unique Tanzanian highland vacation destination: a stand-alone pinnacle which creates its own climate in zones of distinct character, from fluted glacial columns and cathedrals of ice on the summit.

GUIDE ON KILIMANJARO PARK
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GUIDE ON KILIMANJARO PARK

Kilimanjaro, the shining mountain, floats in a wreath of cloud above the vast South Amboseli plains (a.ka the Western Kilimanjaro wilderness), offering an amazingly diverse series of fauna and habitats. It is a superlative destination for trekking.

AFRICANMECCA REVIEWS

What are our Customers saying about us? READ MORE REVIEWSfive star africanmecca safaris reviews

  • Loretta and I had a great time on our honeymoon. Simiton, your safari guide in Tanzania was awesome! He was very professional, very accommodating and very knowledgeable. We are already talking about our next trip to Africa!
    Loretta and Danny Haag - California, United States
  • First off, we had the most amazing time ever and wanted to thank you very much. Tanzania proved without a doubt to meet all of our expectations. Every detail was thought of on our trip by AfricanMecca and were are all flawless.
    Marcy Burton & Ryan Kerr - Ontario, Canada
  • We have returned from our African adventure and would like to thank you very much for your part in making this such a wonderful experience. We were lucky enough to time the Great Migration from the Serengeti, which was amazing.
    Denise Paterson - Belmont, Australia
  • Jambo Raza, It was a wonderful experience in Tanzania. Rogers, our guide was superb; knowledgeable, helpful and very friendly. We were treated very well by all your ground team and everything ran smoothly. I enjoyed it all.
    Alan Winner, Minnesota, United States
  • AfricanMecca's professionalism and care understands that what distinguishes Africa is its authenticity, the land, people and wildlife who do not share our world of fashion and fanfare that distinguish so many travel companies today.
    Cyril Christo & Marie Wilkinson, Conservation Photographers, Authors & Wildlife Documentary Producers - USA
  • AfricanMecca Safaris created a remarkable honeymoon tailored to our interests and desires. The quality of service and delivery of experience was unsurpassed. I highly recommend AfricanMecca Safaris to honeymooners, families, or any traveler.
    Noorin & Jason Nelson - Maryland, United States
  • I booked my safari holiday through AfricanMecca. They were the most helpful company I have ever dealt with and I work within the travel industry. I had the most amazing time. The holiday went as clockwork with no hitches anywhere.
    Shelley Roberts - Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom

EAST AFRICA SAFARI BOOKING TRIP IDEA FOR MOUNT KILIMANJARO IN NORTHERN TANZANIA

When visiting Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, we recommend combining it with your Northern Tanzania safari to Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti (wildebeest migration). End your trip with a Swahili cultural tour and beach holiday in Zanzibar.

You may optionally extend out to offbeat parks in Southern and Western Tanzania such as Nyerere (Selous), Ruaha or Katavi ending with a chimpanzee trekking safari at Gombe or Mahale by the relaxing Lake Tanganyika.

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