Altitude sickness affects even the fittest travellers. Protect your journey with expert advice and medication.
(Acetazolamide)
Your itinerary, altitude profile, and personal health history will be covered during your appointment.
Book online in minutes. No waiting times, no referrals.
The pharmacist reviews your itinerary, altitude goals, and medical history.
Acetazolamide with dosing, trials, and symptom advice.
Leave with a clear plan for medication and acclimatisation prevention
Rapid sleeping elevation gain makes this an extreme altitude risk.
Sub-7-day commercial ascents are high-risk and frequently underestimated by travellers.
Flights to Leh compress acclimatisation; passes regularly exceed 5,000 metres.
Altitude sickness risk varies. Your pharmacist will review your personal travel plan.
High altitudes have less oxygen. Your body needs time to adapt. When you climb too fast, your body cannot adjust, which causes altitude sickness and its complications.
Watch for headaches, fatigue, nausea, or poor sleep. If you experience confusion, difficulty walking, or severe breathlessness, these are signs of a medical emergency, descend immediately.
Common effects include tingling in fingers, toes, or face, increased urination, and changes in how carbonated drinks taste. Seek medical help immediately for sudden eye pain or vision changes.
Acetazolamide is suitable for most healthy adults, but suitability depends on your individual health history.
NOTE ON GLAUCOMA: If you have glaucoma or another eye disorder, please inform the pharmacist. Ocular side effects of acetazolamide. Each case will be assessed for suitability.
Severity: Yellow.
Moderate Typical altitude: Above 2,500 metres
Symptoms: Headache, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, dizziness, poor sleep. Symptoms usually develop within 6 to 12 hours of reaching a new altitude.
Suggested action: Stop climbing. Get lots of rest and fluids. Avoid alcohol and sedatives. Don’t come back until you’re symptom-free.
Severity: Orange
Serious Typical altitude: Above 2,500 metres, most commonly above 3,500 metres
Symptoms: severe shortness of breath, even at rest or with minimal effort; persistent cough (often with pink or frothy sputum); extreme tiredness; chest tightness.
Suggested action: Drop immediately. If possible, use oxygen or a hyperbaric chamber. Get emergency medical help right away.
Severity: Red
Life-Threatening Typical altitude: Above 3,500 metres, though it can occur at lower altitudes in susceptible individuals
Symptoms: Severe headache that does not respond to pain relief, confusion, loss of coordination, staggering gait, altered consciousness, and, in severe cases, coma.
Recommended action: Descend immediately; every metre matters. Emergency evacuation is required. Do not wait for improvement.
Those on fixed rapid-ascent itineraries
Commercial schedules prioritise summits over safe acclimatisation windows.
Travellers who fly directly to high altitude
The acclimatisation window compresses from days to hours.
Anyone with a previous history of AMS
Prior AMS strongly predicts future susceptibility regardless of fitness.
Travellers ascending above 2,800 metres in a single day
Rapid sleeping-altitude gain is the primary driver of AMS.
Those who overexert themselves on arrival
Early exertion increases oxygen demand before the body adapts.
Travellers who ignore early symptoms
Untreated mild AMS is the most common route to HAPE or HACE.
Every appointment is led by a pharmacist who has spent a career doing this.
Mandeep Sandhu has been a pharmacist since 2006, qualifying at Aberdeen. Travel health has been the real focus of his career. He has an independent prescriber qualification with yellow fever accreditation and NaTHNaC training and has spent over a decade helping people travel safely.
He is a keen traveller himself and understands that no two trips are the same. Every patient receives the time and advice that their trip actually needs.
Qualified pharmacist registered with the GPhC
Authorised to prescribe and supply travel medications independently
Certified to administer the yellow fever vaccine and issue the ICVP certificate
Travel health training aligned with UK national guidance
Colchester Travel Clinic is easy to reach with free on-site parking and appointments available six days a week.
We’re an independent, pharmacist-led clinic where you’re seen by the same team from first appointment to final vaccine no transfers, no chase.
Acetazolamide is available for adults 18 years of age and older that meet certain clinical criteria to be determined at the appointment. Eligibility criteria: planned rapid ascent, history of AMS, or ascent of >500 metres/day above 3,000 metres
Start a day before you head up and continue for at least two days after you reach your highest elevation. A home trial dose is also required 1-2 days before travel and should be planned at consultation.
Nope. It is used off-label outside its standard UK licence in accordance with NaTHNaC and TRAVAX national guidance. Your pharmacist will give you full information before any medicine is given to you.
No. It helps acclimatisation but not in place of rest days, hydration, or sensible ascent planning. Medication and good behaviour on the mountain are mutually inclusive.
No. Acetazolamide is a sulfonamide and is contraindicated in sulfa drug allergies. Always mention any drug allergies at the time of your consultation.
Booking your appointment is quick and easy. We guide you through each step so you know exactly what to expect.
