Medical emergencies in a remote location like Everest can quickly escalate out of control if they are not dealt with quickly and efficiently.

The Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) was established in 1973 to provide advice and medical treatment to trekkers and climbers in the Himalayan region. The aide post at Everest Base Camp was set up six years ago – predominantly to diagnose and treat Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS).

Steve Altman is one of the two volunteer doctors working at the tented Everest Base Camp aide post. Steve said: “Acute Mountain Sickness is very common among trekkers. Research has shown that 25 to 50 percent of people arriving to Pheriche, which is at 4,200 metres, will get some sort of AMS.

“It is pretty easy to diagnose. Basically you have a headache that is associated with nausea or vomiting, weakness, dizziness and also poor appetite.”

More severe is Pulmonary Edema, fluid on the lungs, and Cerebral Edema, fluid on the brain. So far this year the team have organised three helicopter evacuations for patients with severe altitude illness.

Because of the restrictions imposed at Base Camp this year, only military helicopters and those involved in medical evacuations are authorised to land helicopters.

The tented clinic is a very basic version of the more sophisticated clinic in Pheriche. Steve Altman said: “Far and away the most common ailments we see at this clinic are respiratory infections and respiratory irritation, up at this altitude the air is so cold and dry that it just irritates the upper airway and people get something that we call Khumbu Cough, which sounds relatively benign but can become so severe that it ends peoples’ trips.

“We have already had several people that have had to end their expedition because their cough and their persistent respiratory ailments have become so severe.

“Of course being in a situation like this with limited water and water control problems we also see a lot of diarrhoeal illness. After that we see a lot of minor traumas. A lot of Sherpas get cut while cooking and doing normal work. The terrain out here is very treacherous and we also see a lot of minor trauma from falls and sprains.”

Several physicians at Base Camp have also expressed concern that as the window for acclimatisation becomes smaller climbers may progress up the mountain too quickly – increasing their chances of Acute Mountain Sickness.

by Marie Curie Cancer Care