New center established to help people adjust to Tibet's altitude

Newcomers to region often experience headaches and breathing difficulties.

The Lhasa People's Hospital in the Tibet autonomous region has established a rehabilitation center for altitude sickness, providing training and treatment for people who have trouble with the thin air.

Many outsiders fear traveling or working in Tibet because of the effects of altitude, which can include headaches, vomiting, breathing difficulties, ringing in the ears and fainting.

Tibet has an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters and is sometimes called the globe's third pole.

The rehabilitation center is the first of its kind in the region, aiming to provide better medical services to people who come from other provinces to aid the region in various fields.

"It is vital for dealing with the so-called Tibet phobia among first-time visitors," said Gao Daiquan, director of the hospital's neurology department. "The center can help relieve many high-altitude symptoms, and help improve sleep quality."

With funding of more than 1.5 million yuan ($218,000) from the governments of Beijing and Tibet, the center has acquired some of the world's most advanced equipment that can help adjust blood oxygen levels, high blood pressure and heart rate, Gao said.

The center currently has four doctors and three medical assistants.

"Differing in its treatment of other medical conditions on the high plateau, the center aims to provide training for people who come to work in Tibet. The training will help them feel comfortable, confident and safe in high-altitude places," said Gao, an Aid Tibet doctor dispatched from the Beijing-based Xuanwu Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University.

The center is headquartered in Beijing, but it has branches in Beijing, Tibet and Qinghai province, the hospital said.

The center has a telemedicine center, a teleconference room, a health management office, a primary training room and a functional evaluation area.

"Without such a center in the past, tourists and others who visited Tibet were worried before coming," Gao said.

There was a need to provide scientific instruction for first-time visitors and those with fears, Gao said. After receiving checkups and training at the center, people would know better how to acclimatize to the plateau environment, Gao said.

Previously, people had to take more oxygen, move less or take medicine to deal with the issue, he said. However, he added, without scientific monitoring and training, it's hard to help people adjust to high altitude.

The center is now in its trial operation period. People have to make an appointment one day ahead of the training, which takes place in the afternoons.

Anyone wanting acclimatization training has to receive a medical examination first to check blood pressure, blood oxygen level and heart rate.

After the preliminary checkup, the patient will be taken to the primary training room and then the intensive training room for high-altitude acclimatization, Gao said.

It will take several weeks or several months to benefit from treatment, and patients are required to have training two to three times a week.

Patients have included staff of the Aid Tibet program, as well as outsiders who work or live in Tibet, Gao said.

"In the future, the center hopes to have a preliminary medical checkup for people who plan to visit Tibet, and it will help them to evaluate their health more accurately."