High Altitude Causing Illness in Peru

By the end of last semester (Fall 2013) I had decided to do my practice in Huancayo, Peru with an NGO called FIMRC (Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children). My role as a volunteer with this program would consist of helping doctors and nurses weigh and measure children’s height and weight, be part of health campaigns, etc. Unfortunately, this practice would have been too much for me to pay and would have left me with debt in the end. When realizing that I had to change my practice experience, I was still inclined to stay with Peru because it is a country that has over 50% of its citizens living below the poverty line only receiving less than $2 a day at work and many of the children there are severely malnourished. The government in this country only provides health insurance to those who are already working (which is only a few) compared to those who have no work at all living in rural communities outside the main cities of Peru.

I could have chosen to change my practice experience entirely, however Peru is in dire need of help from volunteers to help doctors and health-care professionals working on improving the health of children in order to reduce the children mortality rate. With that being said, I am still in the process of finding another organization in Peru that focuses on children’s health but while I am in the process of doing that, I researched more on Peru such as its history, its government, and on a tourist website I found called “Altitude Sickness in Peru,” by Tony Dunnell goes into detail on how many tourists that visit Peru experience nausea, headaches, vomiting, dizziness etc.

I always knew that Peru had high altitudes but I never imagined that it caused sickness to this level. In order to combat this problem before I begin my practice experience, which I am now leaning towards Cusco, Peru (which is about 11, 152 ft compared to that of Berkeley, which is only about 308 ft.) The difference in altitude in Berkeley compared to Peru is extremely different but by there are various ways of preventing sickness from happening. It is important to allow one’s body to adjust to the altitude change especially during the first 24 hours if one is arriving by plane. Drinking plenty of fluids, avoiding sleeping pills and eating foods high in carbs such as potatoes, rice and pasta. What I found to be the most interesting from this article is that although not scientifically proven, the locals of Peru swear that by drinking coca tea or chewing on coca leaves once arriving to Peru will prevent such illnesses. By drinking this tea or chewing coca leaves in the United States a person will be positive for cocaine on a drug test. There will always be risks involved when visiting another country and although Peru has a very high altitude compared to Berkeley, I am still willing to go and give a helping hand to those in need. http://goperu.about.com/od/healthandsafety/a/Altitude-Sickness-In-Peru.htm