Some time ago, a batch of news appeared on the Internet, saying that a 39-year-old blogger went to the plateau for half a month, and as a result, his height grew 2 centimeters.
Seeing such news, many netizens also expressed that they wanted to travel to plateau areas such as Tibet to make themselves grow longer. Can traveling to the plateau for a while really allow adults who have stopped growing to continue to grow taller?
Actually, this is not reliable.
There are no scientific studies that have confirmed that people in the highlands can grow taller. Not to mention that adults in their 30s have stopped growing taller, this growth rate is also quite outrageous.
According to the "Evaluation of the Height Development Level of Children and Adolescents aged 7~18" issued by the National Health Commission in 2018, under normal circumstances, children in adolescence and vigorous growth stage only increase their height by about 10 cm per year, and adults who grow 2 cm tall in half a month are not very reliable.
The reason for this result is either a problem with the tool to measure height, or because of the error caused by the different times of measuring height, it is normal for a person's height to fluctuate by 1~2 cm in 1 day. So adults don't want to gain height by traveling to highland areas.
Recently, the plateau areas such as Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai and western Sichuan with their majestic snow-capped mountains, golden meadows, blue seas, and simple folk customs have become the travel choices of many families, but the plateau's unique low oxygen, dryness, cold, high radiation, and climate change are a big challenge for tourists from low altitudes.
After entering the plateau area, the human body will adjust accordingly according to environmental changes. However, if the tourist's stay is short, the range of human body adjustment is limited, so altitude sickness may still occur.
1. Acute altitude sickness
It most often occurs on the first day or two of entering the plateau above 3300 meters above sea level, especially the first 6-9 hours of the first day.
Key points of recognition: headache, plus any of the following symptoms: general fatigue and weakness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and vomiting.
2. High-altitude pulmonary edema
The mortality rate of untreated HAPO is 40%.
Identification points: two or more of the following conditions occur: dyspnea at rest, cough, weakness and significantly reduced activity, chest blockage, pale and cyanosis of the skin, increased heart rate.
3. Alpine cerebral edema
The case fatality rate for untreated mountain cerebral edema is 14%.
Key points of identification: symptoms of acute mountain sickness, inability to walk in a straight line, mental abnormalities.
4. Chronic plateau disease
It refers to the fact that after adapting to the plateau environment for a period of time, there is no adaptation to the plateau environment again.
Identification points: fatigue, headache, dizziness, cyanosis, lack of endurance during exercise, etc.
5. Miscellaneous
At different altitudes, tourists may experience the following symptoms:
● 1500 meters: vision in dark places is reduced.
● 1500~1800 meters: weakened or lacking advanced thinking function.
● 3300 meters: Simple arithmetic becomes very difficult.
● 4600 meters: Writing and consideration problems affected.
● Above 5500 meters: 100% of visitors will suffer from laryngitis and tracheitis.
Remember, once you find out that you may have altitude sickness, the first thing to do is to rush to the hospital. Many altitude sickness diseases are very dangerous and must be treated promptly.
1. From the day you decide to travel to the highlands, you should increase the time for anaerobic exercise in your daily routine. Anaerobic exercise refers to vigorous exercise with a large amount of exercise, which can make the body develop a certain tolerance to hypoxia.
2. Prepare some commonly used medicines. In highland areas, the respiratory system is very susceptible to infections, and antibiotics such as amoxicillin, roxithromycin, ciprofloxacin or sulfonamides, preferably the diuretic acetazolamide, which is the main drug for the prevention and treatment of altitude sickness. In addition, the temperature difference between morning and evening in the plateau area is large, so you need to bring enough cold clothing. Have UV protection ready.
3. If you enter the plateau area directly by plane, the night before setting sail at low altitude, it is best to control the rising altitude at 400~600 meters every day. Every time you reach a new height, you should rest for a few days to gradually recover your physical strength and adapt to the hypoxic environment of the plateau. If you are hiking or cycling, you should ask an expert to develop a scientific climbing plan in advance according to your physical condition.
Reporter / Sun Chong
Literature / Popular Science China Tibetan Science Popularization
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