Altitude Illness: High-Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE)

HACE is the third malady associated with hypoxia. It is the least common of the three and probably the most deadly. The initial symptoms may be similar to AMS and HAPE and include:

• nausea,
• sleeplessness,
• headache, and
• confusion.

 

More specific symptoms include problems with fine motor functions such as fingers and hands. Climbers with HACE become ataxic, meaning they may stumble and walk only with great difficulty. Symptoms can include hallucinations. In any event, in the case of suspected HACE, rapid descent is crucial. The symptoms of HACE may be quick, and death may be imminent after only a few hours. Supervisors must be in constant contact with climbers to continually assess changes in behavior or physical coordination associated with illness that normal fatigue may mask (Houston 1993)

 

SOURCE:

-Dougherty, Neil J. IV. Mountaineering Safety. Outdoor Recreation Safety. United States: The School and Community Safety Society of America, 1998.

-Houston, C.S. 1987. Going higher, The story of man and altitude, 3^rd ed., rev. Boston: Little, Brown.