Mountain vacations can be hazardous to your health if you aren't prepared for problems associated with altitude changes. At least 40 percent of mountain visitors suffer some ill effects from the change. Some experience nothing more than mild shortness of breath. Others develop flu-like symptoms connected to acute mountain sickness. My husband and I once became victims of this illness.

Pictured above are The Maroon Bells, a range of snowcapped peaks near Aspen, Colo. Photo courtesy of Denver CAB.

We could hardly wait to catch that first trout.

We'd driven to Colorado for previous vacations, but this time we opted for air travel, spending those extra days in a cabin high in the Rocky Mountains. But one thing we hadn't counted on; it takes time to adjust to higher elevations, and the days we spent driving there in the past had given us time to become acclimated.

After getting on the road in our rental car I noticed the discomfort I'd felt upon arrival getting worse. My mouth and skin felt dry, my head ached, and I felt nauseous. The fishing fantasy faded into the background; I began to fear that we'd picked up flu germs somewhere along the way.

By nightfall, neither of us felt very hungry, so we ate a light meal and turned in for the night, hoping to sleep it off. But sleep wouldn't come, in spite of the allergy and sinus medications we took every four hours.

Three miserable days later we found our way to a local medical clinic. The doctor there diagnosed high altitude sickness, administered oxygen therapy and gave us a supply of Diamox. We discovered we'd been wrong to take the allergy and sinus medication, and should have been taking fluids from the time we left the plane.

"Take it easy for the next few days, and then ease into your activities," advised the doctor. "Leave off aspirin, sleeping and sinus medications."

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