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Hiking in high altitude with pneumothorax

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peter52609
peter52609

In January 2017 I had a spontanious pneumothorax.  On July 4th 2018 I will be going to Colorado and was planning on doing some hiking.  With this coming up I have a few questions in mind:  

At what elevations would I be at an increased risk of having another pneumothorax?

I plan on hiking three days with each days hike reaching a higher elevation than the last.  The highest elevation being the 3rd day of hiking I plan on reaching is 10,900 feet above sea level.   I will be sleeping in Lyons Colorado which is above 5,000 feet.  The hikes will begin around 9,000 feet and ascend anywhere from 600 to 2,000 feet.  A few months ago I went to Colorado and completed a hike that ascended 1,500 feet and reached an altitude of 7,000 feet and had no problem.  I am from Chicago that has an elevation of 950 feet.

Are there any additional precausions I should take? Maybe I should bring oxygen in case I need it?

Should I try and learn how to "Needle a Tension pneumothorax" just in case something happens while being hours away from help?

What should I do if I am above 10,000 feet and have a pneumothorax with about a 3-5 hour hike back to parking?

Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated!

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • peter52609
    peter52609

    Posted

    I had a chest tube in for 6 days and after the 6 days they determined that I would not need the VATs surgery.  They said if I have another one they would want to have the surgery.
  • jiffybaglungs
    jiffybaglungs peter52609

    Posted

    First hell no do not learn how to and do not 3 hr hike if it collapsed. Emergency rescue.

    Taking the lack of oxygen into account basically like all height acclimatise is key for you this will be painful and slow. I do not recommend hiking intact your banned from it until 2 years after surgery. Same as flying and driving. If no surgical intervention 1 year ban. It's all to do with how much pain you can take and trust me it's gonna hurt alot. I dive I climb I swim I walk run n hike to fish. I have a pain threshold though that I had 4 heart attacks and never knew lol.

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