Pharmacological Prophylaxis of Acute Mountain Sickness

Acute mountain sickness(AMS) is defined as the presence of a combination of nonspecific symptoms that appear within a few hours after ascent to altitude,eg,headache,loss of appetite,nausea,vomiting,weakness,lassitude,dizziness,and difficulty sleeping.Increases in severity of symptoms or signs of neurological dysfunction(ataxia or altered consciousness) indicate transition to a life-threatening form of altitude illness.High-altitude cerebral edema(HACE) and high-altitude pulmonary edema(HAPE),2 forms of high altitude illness that are potentially lethal.As increasing numbers of people choose to sojourn or work to the mountains,high-altitude illness is becoming a pathological phenomenon about which healthcare providers should have greater awareness.In order to help people find the most efficient and fastest way to prevent the AMS,we introduced several drugs which have already worked out during the clini-cal use.There are also some medicine which have potential effect have been showed in this view.