Struggle in high elevation?

[Beefull8]

Hi. I just went camping up a mountain and it was beautiful. Since having asthma I’m more sensitive to change in altitude and noticed it was harder to walk in the higher elevation. My husband who has no lung issues and in fact has very strong lungs noticed it too. It’s interesting because this is how I feel on the plane and now that I’m back from camping I feel like how I normally do the next day I went on a plane-achy, tired and slight chest tightness every once in a while and wondered if anyone experienced this. I’m not sure if this is a normal thing everyone experiences and I’m just super aware now since I was diagnosed with asthma. Thank you!

[Maryhart Partner Asthma Educator]

Hi Beeful8

I’ve had similar reactions but not every time I travel to higher altitude. I‘ve had friends with healthy lungs having to use oxygen due to altitude change. Some people with severe lung disease get tested prior to flying or traveling to higher altitudes.

Asthma may make you more sensitive. Maybe talk to your doctor about it to learn more.

[Tree20862]

When we traveled to Flagstaff, AZ, my husband and I had asthma issues the first couple of days due to the new elevation but we used our rescue inhaler a few times per day for those few days and were better the rest of our stay. We had never traveled to that kind of elevation before. We found out it was a common complaint but easily remidied.

[Beefull8 in reply to Tree20862]

Good to know! I’ve been to Arizona before I had asthma and had never had any problems. I guess I’ll always need it just in case. Maybe if I took it I wouldn’t feel so horrible the next day.

[Tree20862 in reply to Beefull8]

Flagstaff is a much higher elevation than Phoenix, where we flew in to. My sister in law warned us that we may notice some differences due to the elevation like needing to drink more water, etc. We planned well and had a good trip.

[Beefull8 in reply to Tree20862]

That’s good to know! I went to Sedona and to Grand Canyon and at Grand Canyon I sort of felt uncomfortable and maybe that was asthma but didn’t know it at the time. I also got super dehydrated and was in bed with Gatorade 😜