What to do if you catch a cold on the plateau

If you catch a cold on the plateau, you must be careful. The plateau area is at a relatively high altitude, which can easily lead to hypoxia. This will cause an increase in oxygen consumption and cause a deterioration in physical fitness, and may even affect a person's overall immune function. So when you catch a cold on the plateau, the first thing to do is to breathe oxygen, which can relieve altitude sickness. In addition, certain drug treatments can also achieve certain results, especially to prevent the occurrence of pulmonary edema.

What to do if you catch a cold on the plateau

Altitude sickness and fever after a cold will increase the body's oxygen consumption, which will aggravate plateau hypoxia. The cold virus can damage the respiratory epithelium and easily cause high altitude pulmonary edema. The plateau environment may also affect the body's immune function and its ability to resist altitude sickness. Therefore, symptomatic medication should be used to prevent throat inflammation. If the reaction is mild, you can take a rest, drink more water and exercise less, and it will generally improve or disappear after a period of time; if the reaction is severe and affects your sleep, you can take some medicine to help treat it; if the reaction is too severe, you have to go to the hospital for treatment, such as infusion, medication, oxygen inhalation, etc.; if you really can't stand the torture of altitude sickness, you have to take the earliest flight back to the mainland, and the situation can generally be relieved immediately.

Don't go to Tibet if you have a cold as it can easily cause pulmonary edema

If you go to Tibet when you have a cold, your body's resistance will be weaker than usual. At this time, your body will have to adapt to the hypoxic climate of the plateau through subtle changes over time and as the altitude gradually increases. Your breathing will become more rapid and your lungs will quickly expand. This is when you are most likely to develop high altitude pulmonary edema, which is common on the snowy plateau. If pulmonary edema occurs, you must go to the hospital for treatment immediately. If not treated in time, it may be life-threatening.

Therefore, if you have a serious cold, it is recommended that you wait until the cold is completely recovered before choosing a day to go to Tibet. If you have already booked a trip to Tibet, you should pay special attention to keeping your body warm before departure. Add or remove clothes according to seasonal climate changes to prevent colds. If you catch a cold, seek treatment immediately and try to cure the cold before departure.