----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 11:33
PM
Subject: Re: ALTITUDE-INDUCED ILLNESSES
in the Korean War
Hi Jerry,
Thanks for the reply. Now I can understand sudden
sickness in even healthy people at Leadville altitudes, but I'm not sure what
caused the cough (croup). Mountain air is notoriously dry and will, all
on its own, start someone's nose to bleed and mouth and throat to feel as if
cotton has been accidentally swallowed. The coughing would follow
but not with many guys as their primary symptom of some form of altitude
sickness.
Because atmospheric pressure decreases the higher we go, the
oxygen available in air also decreases, and when there's less of this
essential stuff we don't function normally. Here's what Dr Charles
Houston told me about going higher. "About a
quarter of all those who go to areas higher than 9000 feet will have mountain
sickness, and a few will die. If the "oxygen transport system," which
includes the heart, lungs and blood, is compromised, even a much lower
altitude may be dangerous."
He was saying, Jerry, that as we go up in altitude on some
high mountains, the oxygen saturation in our whole body drops while the carbon
dioxide builds up. Carbon dioxide is often used in the very sick
patient as a breathing stimulant. But it also acts to dull the oxygen
sensing centers of our body and "tell" us that we are falling into a deeper
sleep. If we have some undiagnosed disease that's immediately affected
by hypoxia--lack of oxygen--serious events may start to force our
compromised bodies into a much greater weakened state. This can happen
to a young person as well as an older person. Imagine that by
just going to eighteen thousand feet altitude you have left behind one-half of
all the oxygen on earth!
So thanks very much about the Leadville info, and if you
know of other symptoms encountered by those new mountain troops when first
going higher for their training please let me know. Symptoms like:
shortness of breath, palpitations, high BP, inability to sleep, agitation,
headache, are the typical plain mountain sickness symptoms, but if you start
to cough for any length of time, while all these other symptoms are active,
you should descend.
If you know of a site for the 10th Mountain Div at Pando CO? please let me
know!
Thanks,
Blake
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 29,
2003 4:30 PM
Subject: Re: ALTITUDE-INDUCED
ILLNESSES in the Korean War
In a message dated 10/29/2003 3:15:41 PM Central
Standard Time, rbmooney@bellsouth.net
writes:
If
any veteran, or relative or friend of any Korean War veteran has
experienced ALTITUDE-RELATED ILLNESSES, while serving in the mountains of
Korea, especially in the cold weather, I would appreciate hearing about
their experiences. I wrote a book on ALTITUDE [American Medical
Association endorsed] and it’s effect on MAJOR CHRONIC MEDICAL ILLNESSES.
However, I have never seen a reference to ALTITUDE-INDUCED ILLNESSES or
even death caused by the thin cold air in the high mountains of Korea
which our troops fought on and around. Also, does anyone know if there
were special ACCLIMATION exercises provided by the American Army or Marine
Corps for its troops before they went into action in the Korean mountains?
Professional mountain climbers remind every climber that it takes a
healthy person one day to acclimate to every 1000-foot increase in
altitude. [Of course the old mountaineer's adage, "Work High, Sleep Low"
won't apply in wartime] Inexperienced troops coming from the low lands of
America would, therefore, seem to be the first ones hit by HYPOXIA. This
lack of oxygen could quickly disable men from sea-level homes who had to
carry heavy backpacks in freezing weather going up, crossing over, and
coming down the many high crests and slopes. I have read that
Hannibal lost almost one division of troops to cold weather and high
altitude when crossing the Alps. Also, there's the great example of
the Finnish Forest &Mountain troops during the Winter War of
1939--1940 with the Soviet Union. I've taken the liberty to address
our heroic allies of the 2nd WW during their terrible
ordeal--1939/1940--with the SU by including the
following:
I was born and raised in the Colo mountains
and remember very well the training of the 10th Mountain Div at Pando
Colo just outside of Leadville , Colo . in the early years of WW2
.
The altitude there is
10,152 ft above sea level .
There were many stories about how sick a lot of the 10th Mountain boys got
due to the altitude . I recall they called it the Pando
croup
.
Jerry KW 51-52