Zagrożenia dla zdrowia człowieka w warunkach wysokogórskich - fizjologiczne mechanizmy przystosowawcze
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Date
2009
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Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM
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The risks of human health in high mountain condition - physiological machanism od adaptation
Abstract
According to the World Health Organization about 140 million people live permanently at altitude higher than 2500 metres above sea level. Man who was born and have been growing up on lowlands was able to adapt to height 5400 metres above sea level for a short time. The main reason of bad functioning of man at high altitude is low pressure of oxygen. Additional factors which are risk for health are: cold, dehydration and intense solar radiation. The consequence of these disturbances are symptoms described like as high-altitude illness (sickness), frostbite appeare very often too. The people which move quickly to high altitudes such as mountaineers and trekkers are exposed to the risk of high-altitude illness. There are two main forms of this sickness: acute mountain sickness and chronic mountain sickness so-called Monga’e disease.
The symptoms of acute mountain sickness are headache, nausea, anorexia, insomnia, fatigue, lassitude, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, rapidly increase tiredness and neurological disturbances of physical coordination, impairment of memory and disorientation. The changeable mood and excitement are observed. The symptoms of acute mountain sickness are largely like Chronic mountain sickness is related with increase of erythrocyte number, hypertension of pulmonary circulation and hypertrophy of right ventricle of the heart. This sickness concern the people which are not able adapt to hypoxia in spite of spending the long time in high mountain. Characteristic features of this sickness are cardiac insufficiency, blueness of lips and nails and club-shaped fingers. This form of high-altitude illness finished death often leads to death.
When the mechanisms of adaptation to high mountain conditions are insufficient, the pathophysiological processes will lead to high altitude pulmonary edema and high altitude cerebral edema. Apart from symptoms of mountain sickness in case of high altitude pulmonary edema appeared dyspnoea, cough, cyanosis, fever, a rise of pulse and a rise of breathing rating. The symptoms of high altitude cerebral edema are ataxy, nausea, vomiting, changes of behavior, disorientation, mental retardness, visual and/or auditory hallucinations, impairment of vision, convulsions and coma.
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mountain sickness, high altitude pulmonary edema, high altitude cerebral edema, hypotermia, choroba wysokogórska, hipoksja, hipotermia, wysokościowy obrzęk płuc, wysokościowy obrzęk mózgu, adaptacja, warunki wysokogórskie, mechanizmy przystosowawcze, reakcje fizjologiczne, zagrożenia dla zdrowia
Citation
Czapla Zbigniew, Zagrożenia dla zdrowia człowiek w warunkach wysokogórskich - fizjologiczne mechanizmy przystosowawcze, W: Miedzy antropologią a medycyną: koncepcje teoretyczne i implikacje praktyczne, (red.) Maria Kaczmarek i Anita Szwed. Poznań: Wydawnictow Naukowe UAM, 2009, s. 49-77.