Traveling to a high altitude destination and prone to getting sick? A recent study found that ibuprofen may help prevent symptoms of altitude sickness, which can include headaches, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and vomiting.
Published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, the study followed 86 hikers up into the White Mountains of California. Researchers gave half of the group a placebo, while the other half took a total of 1800 mg of ibuprofen in three doses before, during, and after they reached an altitude of over 12,000 feet. Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine found that 26 percent fewer people on ibuprofen got sick compared to those given a placebo, who were also three times more likely to suffer acute altitude sickness.
Other medications found to ease the symptoms associated with high altitudes include Diamox, a prescription drug normally used to treat glaucoma, and the steroid dexamethasone. But unlike ibuprofen, which is available over the counter, these treatments require a doctor s prescription, and thus may be more difficult to obtain. Furthermore, unlike ibuprofen, the other treatments are not pain-killers, and since headache pain is one of the most unpleasant symptoms of altitude sickness, it seems that ibuprofen has the advantage.
Nevertheless, ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross notes that this is a very small study, and thus any clinical recommendations for using ibuprofen to protect against altitude sickness should await further research.
