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Frostbite is frequently seen in high altitude climbers. Many Sherpas, members of an ethnic community living high in the Himalayas in Nepal, help the climbers as a guide or an assistant. They often seem to undertake few precautionary measures thus suffer more from frostbite. A young Sherpa, who had reached the top of Mt Kanchenjunga in March 2009, suffered from deep frostbite in his fingers. Fortunately, he recovered well with generous treatment. Though there is no evidence whether Sherpas are more or less prone to frostbite, simple techniques for adequate prevention of hypoxia, hypothermia and dehydration will benefit any climber to the high altitudes.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.wem.2009.12.031

Type

Journal article

Journal

Wilderness Environ Med

Publication Date

06/2010

Volume

21

Pages

127 - 129

Keywords

Frostbite, Humans, Male, Mountaineering, Nepal, Treatment Outcome, Young Adult