altitude sickness

Definition of altitude sickness

: the effects (such as headache, nausea, or swelling of the brain) of oxygen deficiency in the blood and tissues developed at high altitudes having reduced atmospheric pressure — see mountain sickness

Examples of altitude sickness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Headache, vertigo, unrelenting fatigue: the symptoms reminded me of altitude sickness. — Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, "My Year of Concussions," 4 Nov. 2019 According to Kulish’s brother, an initial assessment indicates Kulish died of cardiac arrest, not altitude sickness. — National Geographic, "Traffic jams are just one of the problems facing climbers on Everest," 29 May 2019 Nepal's top tourism body maintains this year's deaths were due to extreme physical weakness, weather adversity, high altitude sickness and accident -- and not the overcrowding. — Sugam Pokharel And Julia Hollingsworth, CNN, "Nepal is banning single-use plastic in the Everest region," 22 Aug. 2019 Eleven people died this year on Mount Everest -- including 9 in Nepal -- likely due to altitude sickness, which is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can lead to headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath and mental confusion. — Fox News, "Mount Everest climbers to face new rules after deadly season," 15 Aug. 2019 Last year, veteran climbers, insurance companies and news outlets exposed a conspiracy by some guides, helicopter companies and hospitals to bilk millions of dollars from insurers by evacuating trekkers with minor signs of altitude sickness. — Bhadra Sharma, New York Times, "New Everest Rules Could Significantly Limit Who Gets to Climb," 14 Aug. 2019 Starting at 18,000 ft, bodies need extra time to acclimate to the altitude; if hikers ignore this, altitude sickness becomes a serious, and sometimes life-threatening, risk. — Meghan Mcdonough, Quartz, "Female soccer players are breaking world records to show they’re just as good as the guys," 7 July 2019 The biggest difference is Nepal is obviously much higher in elevation, which causes more altitude sickness. — Mary Anne Potts, National Geographic, "Here’s how one elite Everest guide would improve safety on the mountain," 14 June 2019 The guide who died, Mohammad Imtiaz, spoke to the group about the dangers of altitude sickness, telling the story of a client who had recently died on a trek. — Salman Masood, New York Times, "Pakistani Military Rescues 6 Mountain Climbers Trapped by Avalanche," 18 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'altitude sickness.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Learn More about altitude sickness

Dictionary Entries near altitude sickness

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altius non tollendi

Statistics for altitude sickness

Last Updated

26 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Altitude sickness.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altitude%20sickness. Accessed 8 December 2019.

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