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Heat And Altitude Problems |
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Two other common causes of health problems are altitude and the sun. The solution in both cases is to take it easy. Especially if you arrive in Mexico City, you may find any activity strenuous, and the thin air is made worse by the number of pollutants it contains.
Allow yourself time to acclimatize. If going to higher altitudes (climbing Popocatépetl, for example), you may develop symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), such as breathlessness, headaches, dizziness, nausea and appetite loss. More extreme cases may cause vomiting, disorientation, loss of balance and coughing up of pink frothy phlegm. The simple cure - a slow descent - almost always brings immediate recovery.
Tolerance to the sun, too, takes a while to build up: use a strong sun screen and, if you're walking during the day, wear a hat or keep to the shade. Be sure to avoid dehydration by drinking enough (water or fruit juice rather than beer or coffee and you should aim to drink at least three litres a day), and don't exert yourself for long periods in the hot sun.
Be aware that overheating can cause heatstroke, which is potentially fatal. Signs are a very high body temperature without a feeling of fever, accompanied by headaches, disorientation and even irrational behaviour. Lowering body temperature (a tepid shower, for example) is the first step in treatment.
Less serious is prickly heat, an itchy rash that is in fact an infection of the sweat ducts caused by excessive perspiration that doesn't dry off. A cool shower, zinc oxide powder and loose cotton clothes should help.
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