Tips for traveling to high altitude with kids

Do not plan and avoid any kind of travel in high altitude if your baby is less than 4+ months old. Kids more than4+ months old (excluding premature babies) have similar tolerance as an adult. It is very difficult to identify signs of AMS in babies. It can be identified by kid’s behaviors only.

The ancient land of Ladakh, “The broken moon” is set in a fantastic environment. Tourists can enjoy adventurers trek through the mountains and relax near the beautiful TSO Pangong Lake and TSO Moriri. Trekking in Ladakh is a heavenly feeling for the trekkers.

In this article, some tips for traveling to high altitude with kids are given below:-

• You must ascend altitude slowly to allow proper acclimatization. For first few days the night stays must be between the 8000-9000 feet mark, then a couple of days at 10000 feet and then gradually increasing the night stays about 1000 feet each alternate day.
• You must keep baby properly hydrated (not over hydrated in any case) by taking care of proper liquid intake and feeding including water. Hydrated body is the key of acclimatization for both adult and kid’s body. Do not over hydrate.
• You must keep baby protected from cold by sufficient amount of warm clothes. The kids have a tendency to catch cold easily because of their lower capacity of resisting power. Do not take cold of your baby lightly at high altitudes.
• You must cover him well enough to protect kid’s soft skin from the sun rays which may cause skin burns. Eyes too must be protected from the reflection of sunrays which may cause some irritation in kid’s eyes. In any case, you need to protect the kid from the sun rays which are strong at high altitudes.
• Keep the visit or stay at very high altitude as short as possible. The idea is to keep the stay as short as possible to minimize any chances of altitude sickness.
• If the weather seems bad on a particular day, when you plan to visit high altitude (above 10000 feet) then please avoid the travel on that day and stay at the current altitude only. Take extra care to keep the baby or kid warm with woolen clothes.
• If you notice baby or kid is crying too much or having breathing distress or vomiting or his/her color is changing then immediately descend or get medical help as soon as it is available.

Follow these guidelines to minimize the chances of altitude sickness  of your baby and always keep baby in touch of consultant physician. Get ready to explore the memories of the ancient mountain kingdom that can be seen in the old palaces, monasteries and forts of Ladakh.

Plan your vacation now, call us on 1800-103-2228 (toll free in India) or visit our website http://www.destination-doorstep.com/leh/