A report says doctors need to make sure they are giving mountain climbers enough information about acute mountain sickness.
The study, published in the Journal of Travel Medicine, found that AMS affects almost half of climbers ascending to heights over 10,000 feet, and can lead to pulmonary or cerebral edema, the journal said Friday in a release.
The report said almost 90 percent of the Himalayan travelers studied in 2004 were found to have "basic knowledge" of AMS and could recognize its symptoms, and 72 percent knew that descent was the primary mode of treatment. Only 10 percent, however, knew that oxygen was a fundamental mode of treatment.
The study said there is there is room for improvement and suggested that healthcare professionals should provide pre-travel consultation on AMS.
