altitude sickness - JASE Medical

Medication Spotlight: Dexamethasone

2.5 Million adults in the U.S. take corticosteroids (such as Dexamethasone)

Antibiotic Intervention Secondary Image

What is Dexamethasone?

Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid medication widely used for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant properties. It helps reduce inflammation and modify the body’s immune response, making it effective in treating a variety of conditions in both adults and children.

It’s wide array of applications make it a valuable medication to have on hand in your emergency kit at home, should the need arise.

 

USES:

  • Inflammation
  • Acute altitude sickness
  • High-altitude cerebral edema
  • Certain eye conditions (uveitis, conjunctivitis, keratitis)
  • Severe allergies (by suppressing the immune system’s response to allergens)
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Asthma

| 1.5 million people in the United States suffer from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to Yale Medicine

 

Antibiotic Intervention Secondary Image

 

Also, this medication is used in children to treat asthma, allergic reactions, some auto-immune disorders, croup, and pneumonia.

 

Dexamethasone is available as an add-on (only $27) to any Jase Case order, AND is also now included in every KidCase at no extra cost, just to make the KidCase more robust for our little ones.

 

Things to consider:

  1. Dexamethasone was on the list of drug shortages from 2019 into 2023
  2. In its injectable form is is still in short supply as of June 2024

Safeguard against potential shortages by having your own personal supply on hand in your Jase Case.

Lifesaving Medications

Everyone should be empowered to care for themselves and their loved ones during the unexpected.

Recent Posts

Keeping you informed and safe.

Low-Cost and No-Cost Emergency Preparedness Measures

Low-Cost and No-Cost Emergency Preparedness Measures

Small steps today, mean a safer tomorrow for you and your loved ones. Low-Cost and No-Cost Emergency Preparedness So far in our series for National Preparedness Month this September, we've already covered How to Make an Emergency Plan for Your Household and How to...

read more
How to Build A Home Emergency Kit

How to Build A Home Emergency Kit

A thoughtfully crafted emergency kit can become a lifeline for your family after a disaster. How to Build a Home Emergency Kit In an unpredictable world, being prepared for emergencies is not just a precaution—it's a necessity. A well-stocked home emergency kit can be...

read more
How to Make an Emergency Plan for Your Household

How to Make an Emergency Plan for Your Household

Planning is the difference between panic, and preparedness.  How to Make an Emergency Plan for Your Household When disaster strikes, the difference between panic and composure often comes down to one thing: preparation. While we can't predict emergencies, we can...

read more
What to Do if Your Medication is Out of Stock?

What to Do if Your Medication is Out of Stock?

You depend on your medications, but what if you can't get them?   Navigating Prescription Stockouts Being prepared could save your life. In recent years, prescription drug shortages have become an increasingly common and distressing problem for patients across...

read more

Join Our Newsletter

Our mission is to help you be more medically prepared. Join our newsletter and follow us on social media for health and safety tips each week!

Heading to the Slopes? Take these Steps to Avoid Altitude Sickness

After a warmer than usual December, many ski resorts across the nation are finally able to open.

The beginning of January threatened to be the start of a disappointing ski season. Many resorts had reported little to no snow. The situation rapidly changed when the country was gripped with record snowfall and record low temperatures, yielding enough snow to allow resorts to open. The website, onthesnow.com, lists resorts that are open and projected dates for others across the nation.

The anticipation and exhilaration of skiing or snowboarding in fresh powder is unmet in any other winter sport. However, heading to a mountain at a higher altitude than you are used to can result in altitude illness.

Altitude Illness

According to the The CDC Yellow Book (health information for international travelers):

Altitude illness occurs at altitudes of 8,000–10,000 ft (≈2,440–3,050 m). (Sometimes lower altitudes, as low as 6,000 fee or 1829 meters), that can cause hypoxic stress.

Hypoxic stress results from decreased partial pressure of oxygen in the air at high altitudes. The decreased partial pressure of oxygen results in lower arterial levels of oxygen. The tissues that the arteries serve become oxygen starved, leading to serious health complications.

There are three types of altitude illness syndromes

Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)

This is the most common form of altitude illness. It affects 22–53% of travelers in altitudes between 6070 feet and about 14,000 ft ( between 1,850 and 4,240 meters), with higher incidences being described at the higher elevations. Onset of symptoms usually occurs rather quickly- within 2-12 hours after arriving at a high elevation or ascending to a higher elevation.  

Symptoms of AMS include:

  • headache,
  • nausea,
  • vomiting,
  • fatigue,
  • dizziness,
  • and insomnia.

Very young children with AMS can develop loss of appetite, irritability, and pallor.

AMS can resolve within 12–48 hours if you do not continue to ascend.

Acetazolamide, taken before ascent can help prevent altitude illness in those predisposed, (history of altitude illness, rapid ascent to destination) and can shorten duration of altitude illness from 3-5 days to 1 day. (Acetazolamide is one of the Jase Case add-ons.)

If not appropriately treated, AMS can lead to HACE and/or HAPE:

High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE)

(HACE is rare form of high-altitude illness, causing cerebral edema and is fatal if not treated) Although HACE presents with similar symptoms as AMS, cerebral edema can lead to:

  • Altered mental status
  • Confusion
  • Drowsiness similar to alcohol
  • Coma and death if not promptly diagnosed and treated (within 24 hours)

In populated areas with access to medical care, HACE can be treated with supplemental oxygen and dexamethasone. In remote areas, initiate descent for anyone suspected of having HACE, in conjunction with dexamethasone and oxygen, if available. If descent is not feasible, supplemental oxygen or a portable hyperbaric device, in addition to dexamethasone, can be lifesaving. Coma is likely to ensue within 12–24 hours of the onset of ataxia in the absence of treatment or descent.

High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE)

HAPE is characterized by progression of symptoms over 1-2 days

  • Reduced exercise tolerance
  • Exertional dyspnea, and cough, followed by dyspnea at rest
  • Cyanosis
  • Productive cough with pink frothy sputum
  • Oxygen saturation values of 50%–70% are common.

Can rapidly progress to

  • Bronchospasm
  • Myocardial infarction
  • Pneumonia
  • Pulmonary embolism

Immediate descent from high altitude is almost always necessary. If immediate descent is not an option, use of supplemental oxygen or a portable hyperbaric chamber is critical.

Patients with mild HAPE who have access to oxygen (e.g., at a hospital or high-elevation medical clinic) might not need to descend to a lower elevation and can be treated with oxygen over 2–4 days at the current elevation. In field settings, where resources are limited and there is a lower margin for error, nifedipine can be used as an adjunct to descent, oxygen, or portable hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Descent and oxygen are much more effective treatments than medication.

Risk factors for altitude sickness include:

  • Traveling to the area too fast, not allowing the body to acclimate (allow 3-5 days gradual ascending to destination). This puts you at a lower risk for altitude illness than those who arrive at the higher altitude without allowing the body to acclimate.
  • Genetics may play a role; this is still unclear how or if it does.
  • Age, sex, physical fitness or training does not preclude one from altitude illness.

Be prepared- don’t let high altitude illness ruin your trip

Start slow- Slow ascent- over a period of 3-5 days can help the body acclimate to the altitude. The Wilderness Medical Society recommends avoiding ascent to a sleeping elevation of ≥9,000 ft (≈2,750 m) in a single day; ascending at a rate of no greater than 1,650 ft (≈500 m) per night in sleeping elevation once above 9,800 ft (≈3,000 m); and allowing an extra night to acclimatize for every 3,300 ft (≈1,000 m) of sleeping elevation gain.

Prevention through medication- With rates of altitude illness reach as high as 53 percent of travelers, medication such as acetazolamide can prevent or curb altitude sickness and should be in every high-altitude travelers medical preps.

According to the CDC, side effects to acetazolamide are rare, however, seek medical attention if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

With the add-on acetazolamide to your Jase Case, you can prevent or lessen the time away from the slopes. Be sure to have this valuable medication with you when you travel to high altitudes.

Acetazolamide can also treat glaucoma (acute angle-closure).

- Brooke Lounsbury, RN

Medical Content Writer

Lifesaving Medications

Everyone should be empowered to care for themselves and their loved ones during the unexpected.

Recent Posts

Keeping you informed and safe.

Low-Cost and No-Cost Emergency Preparedness Measures

Low-Cost and No-Cost Emergency Preparedness Measures

Small steps today, mean a safer tomorrow for you and your loved ones. Low-Cost and No-Cost Emergency Preparedness So far in our series for National Preparedness Month this September, we've already covered How to Make an Emergency Plan for Your Household and How to...

read more
How to Build A Home Emergency Kit

How to Build A Home Emergency Kit

A thoughtfully crafted emergency kit can become a lifeline for your family after a disaster. How to Build a Home Emergency Kit In an unpredictable world, being prepared for emergencies is not just a precaution—it's a necessity. A well-stocked home emergency kit can be...

read more
How to Make an Emergency Plan for Your Household

How to Make an Emergency Plan for Your Household

Planning is the difference between panic, and preparedness.  How to Make an Emergency Plan for Your Household When disaster strikes, the difference between panic and composure often comes down to one thing: preparation. While we can't predict emergencies, we can...

read more
What to Do if Your Medication is Out of Stock?

What to Do if Your Medication is Out of Stock?

You depend on your medications, but what if you can't get them?   Navigating Prescription Stockouts Being prepared could save your life. In recent years, prescription drug shortages have become an increasingly common and distressing problem for patients across...

read more

Join Our Newsletter

Our mission is to help you be more medically prepared. Join our newsletter and follow us on social media for health and safety tips each week!

New Jase Case Add-on | Ivermectin Compounded for $30 | US Only

X