Some people should not climb mountains

I have a friend whom some of you know who recently had to come swiftly down a mountain, because she was suffering from a High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE).

Now, I don't know about you, but I proceeded to go look up what this meant. And I found a very interesting article about it, but I was surprised by one list and chart of primary symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (the precursor to HACE).

"the most classic initial symptoms include headache, insomnia, anorexia, nausea, and dizziness."

The article from which the author took the information and chart is currently online. So, I went to look at it.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/980415ap/harris.html

About 1/3rd of the way down the page is a table labeled "TABLE 2 Consensus on the Definition of High-Altitude Illnesses*"

Sure enough,
"Acute mountain sickness (AMS)
Headache, plus at least one of the following:
Fatigue or weakness
Gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting or anorexia)
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Difficulty sleeping"

I don't believe I ever knew that Acute Mountain Sickness causes anorexia.

Note: I see that there is a definition of anorexia that means merely loss of appetite. Still and again, I am not sure I would list it that way these days. The more common meaning is more troubling than that one.