If you suffer from low blood pressure and are planning a holiday in the mountains, some preparation before you leave can save you from unnecessary health problems. Generally, traveling at higher altitudes tends to raise the blood pressure of a person, causing hypertension, hypoxia, systolic pressure, breathlessness, and can even lead to heart failure. This is more serious a problem for people with high blood pressure, but several health complications also arise in people with low blood pressure while traveling to higher altitudes.
To prevent unnecessary health problems, discussed below are nine precautionary measures for safe holidays in the mountains. Instead of relying on medicated measures, following certain non-medicated preventive measures can help in controlling your blood pressure at higher altitudes. It is important to follow these measures right from the very beginning of your travel, and even after it.
Hydration
Stay hydrated thoroughly throughout your travel to the mountains, and particularly when you are traveling at a higher altitude above 7,000 feet. This is not true only while you are traveling, but always. Drink plenty of water even before you get thirsty, and this will help in preventing your pressure from falling further. Generally, dehydration causes the pressure to fall tremendously, especially on higher elevations. As such, it is important that you carry water with you always, and drink at least 6-8 ounces, even if you don’t feel thirsty. At higher altitudes over 10,000 elevations, carry an insulating tube to protect the water from freezing. Drink plenty of fluids from the very beginning of your travel. Staying hydrated can prevent your pressure from falling due to dehydration, nausea, and altitude sickness. Consult a doctor immediately if you experience a tremendous fall in your pressure. It is important here that you carry your blood glucose meter while traveling.
Pressure breathing
Learning pressure breathing is considered one of the best preventive measures at higher elevations, and helps significantly in controlling your blood pressure to fall due to nausea, dehydration and lack of oxygen at higher altitudes. As you go higher in altitude, atmospheric pressure also changes, and it becomes extremely difficult to breathe. While this stimulates your blood pressure, nausea and dehydration are other common factors that cause a remarkable drop in blood pressure. Hence, at the very first sign of dehydration or nausea, drink some water, and then change to pressure breathing immediately. A few paces of pressure breathing and resting for a while can make you feel much better. Start practicing pressure breathing before you travel, and this technique will help you all throughout the holiday. Irrespective of pressure breathing, if you will nauseate dand breathless, consult a doctor immediately and get your blood pressure medications right away.
Thermoregulation
As you travel to higher altitudes, the atmospheric pressure changes, and so does your body temperature. Extreme perspiration can eat up your energy significantly, even before you realize. You might be traveling to a snowy mountain with cold weather, but it is your body’s extra effort to breathe that causes significant perspiration. Lack of energy can cause tremendous fall in body temperature and blood pressure. To prevent this, thermoregulation is important by applying some ice pack on the forehead to keep you cool and hydrated. Drink plenty of water and a little on the forehead will make you feel refreshed immediately. If you are traveling in the summer months, wear light colored clothes; if you are holidaying in winter, wear dark colored clothes that will regulate the body temperature, preventing your pressure to fall due to lack of energy and moisture in body. Thermoregulation in low blood pressure is vital at all stages of your travel.
Take your medicines regularly
When you are traveling to mountains with a low blood pressure, this is the most important preventive measure that can protect you from unnecessary health implications while you are holidaying. If you have been prescribed any medication for your low blood pressure, make sure that it is the first thing that you put in your bag before while packing your luggage. Higher altitude means significant changes in body pressure and temperature, and it is important that you take your medicines regularly from the very moment you sit on your flight. In addition to blood pressure medication, carry few other important medicines that you might need on the go to cope with headache, nausea, altitude sickness and other minor health complications. If you are not under any medication, consult your doctor before traveling. He might help you with some necessary medicines and tips to control your blood pressure from falling.
Eat healthy
When you are holidaying at some beautiful snowy mountain resort, do not forget to have your meals regularly. Often people forget to eat timely while on a holiday, and this can accentuate the scenario of low blood pressure. Empty stomach for long hours, especially on higher altitudes, can lower your blood pressure significantly and causes several other health implications as well. This is because if you don’t eat healthy and on time, your body will fail to produce the necessary energy to cope with temperature changes and breathlessness at higher elevations. Hence, no matter how much you are engrossed in having fun on your holiday, eat nutritious food and on time. Discard hard-to-chew and spicy foods at higher altitudes; rather harp on carbohydrate solutions and light diet. Carry light food with you whenever you are traveling. Consult doctor immediately if preliminary precautions cannot help in controlling your falling blood pressure.
Learn to acclimatize
Acclimatization is significantly important when you are traveling to mountains with low blood pressure. With significant changes in body pressure and temperature at higher elevations, it actually takes several months to acclimatize to such weather conditions. It is recommended to spend a longer period of time, holidaying at mountains, and this will help your body to adjust to the altitude changes positively. In addition to this, follow simple steps for acclimatization from the very beginning of your journey. This includes drinking plenty of water, eating nutritious food regularly, resting well, taking your medicines on a regular basis, mild exercises, thermoregulation, and keeping your skin moisturized all day long. These will help in controlling body temperature and breathlessness at higher altitudes, thereby keeping a tab on your blood pressure from dropping significantly. If the problems persist, consult a doctor immediately who might help you with necessary medication or minor treatment programs.
Enjoy slow pace
Do not forget that you are on a holiday. Hence, get rid of all stress and slow down your pace of activities. It is important to understand that at higher altitudes, your body struggles to breathe due to lack of oxygen in air. This leads to using up a lot of energy from the body, causing your pressure to fall significantly. As such, brisk activities at higher altitudes can cause significant drop in your energy level, making it difficult for your body to breathe and function properly. Your low blood pressure condition can worsen further. Hence, enjoy a slow pace while you are holidaying in the mountains. If you are going on a mountain hike, start off slowly, giving time to your body to breathe and energize. Only mild exercises are recommended at higher altitudes for people traveling from a lower altitude. Exercises use up a lot of energy from your body, causing a fall in blood pressure.
Gradually increase body endurance
Do not put too much stress on your body from the very beginning of your travel. It is rather recommended to increase body endurance gradually. Discard all physical exercises during the first 24 hours of your journey, switching to only mild exercises like walking, jogging, or hiking on level ground. Make sure to keep your pace slow. Do not push your body to the severe point of breathlessness. It is better that you start conditioning your body by slowing down, and then continue with regular activities and exercises, slowly increasing the intensity. Take frequent breaks in between and keep yourself hydrated. Gradually increase the speed and distance of walking, jogging or hiking, including certain inclinations to regain accustomed speed. Follow this technique, especially when you are mountain hiking. Do not continue if you feel breathless with mild exercises and consult a doctor immediately. Take enough rest.
Rest
All your efforts to stay healthy and controlling your pressure from dropping will go in vain if you do not rest properly. No matter how much fun you intend to have on your holiday, eight hours of deep sleep is a must during the night. In addition to this, whenever you feel nauseated or lack of breath, rest for a while. This is especially true when you are going mountain hiking, and helps in maintaining the body temperature, preventing your blood pressure from falling. Resting will also refresh you, feeding you with the necessary energy to go all day long. Frequent resting and proper sleep during night ensure enough energy for the body, thereby preventing occurrence of low blood pressure. Make it a rule from the very beginning of your journey.
These are some of the preventive measures for a safe holiday at the mountains with a low blood pressure. Consult your doctor before leaving for any change of medicine or other precautions to take while traveling at higher elevations. And do not forget to carry your blood glucose meter.