Travel Clinic · Oxford

Altitude Sickness Tablets

in Oxford.

Prescription tablets to help prevent altitude sickness on high treks. A pharmacist checks your route and your health first. Available at all four of our branches.

Popular for:

▲ Kilimanjaro

▲ Everest Base Camp

▲ Inca Trail

▲ Andes

+ anywhere above 2,500 m

Quick online booking · No GP needed · Pay at your appointment

Price

£25

Consultation and tablets for one trip

✓ Up to 20 tablets

✓ Pharmacist check first

How you take them

Trial

1 to 2 days at home first

Start

The day before you go above 2,500 m

Stop

2 days after your highest point

Opens in a new tab · Pay at your appointment

Bring your day-by-day itinerary. Tablets supplied on the day where stock permits.

Quick check

Do I need altitude tablets?

Tap your trip to see what to expect.

Clinical brief · Altitude

What the tablets do, and what they don’t.

They help your body adjust to thinner air more quickly. They don’t replace going up slowly.

Who they’re for

Anyone sleeping above 2,500 m who is going up quickly, flying straight to a high city such as La Paz or Cusco, or has had altitude sickness before. Slower, lower trips usually don’t need them.

How you take them

Half a tablet twice a day. Try them at home for 1 to 2 days first, start the day before you go up, and stop 2 days after your highest point.

Go up slowly anyway

Above 3,000 m, sleep no more than 500 m higher each night and rest every 3 to 4 days. If symptoms start, stop going up.

Symptoms to watch for

Symptoms of altitude sickness.

Usually start 6 to 12 hours after arriving above 2,500 m. Stop going up and rest if you get them. Breathlessness at rest, confusion or clumsiness means go down straight away and get medical help.

Headache

Usually the first sign.

Headache

Rest, drink water and take paracetamol or ibuprofen. Don’t go higher until it clears.

Nausea & vomiting

Often with loss of appetite.

Nausea & vomiting

Stop climbing and rest at the same height until you feel better.

Dizziness

Feeling light-headed.

Dizziness

Sit down and rest. Don’t go any higher until it passes.

Tiredness

More than the walking explains.

Tiredness

Take a rest day at the same height before going on.

Poor sleep

Waking often in the night.

Poor sleep

Common at height. Tell your guide if it gets worse night after night.

Breathless at rest

Can mean fluid on the lungs.

Go down now

This is an emergency. Go down straight away and get medical help.

Confusion or clumsiness

Can mean swelling of the brain.

Go down now

This is an emergency. Go down straight away and get medical help.

Before you book

Is it right for you?

Suitable if…

Not suitable if…

You’ll sleep above 2,500 m

You’re pregnant or breastfeeding

You’re going up quickly

You’re allergic to sulfa medicines

You’ve had altitude sickness before

You have kidney stones, or kidney or liver problems

You leave in 2 days or more

You have glaucoma, sickle cell disease or depression

You’re 16 or over

You have diabetes, or a heart or lung condition

For ages 16 and over. Aged 12 to 15 and 50 kg or more? You can be seen at Headington or Deddington with a parent. Your pharmacist checks everything else on the day.

Altitude sickness FAQ