Fix Altitude Sickness by Henry’s Law


The rest of this article will describe why you get altitude sickness — and better yet how to get rid of it in about 15 minutes without going home or ending your vacation…

Henry’s Law describes how much oxygen dissolves into water – and this determines when, how and why you get altitude sickness.

Vulnerability comes from

  • Altitude – reduces oxygen partial pressure so less oxygen dissolves in your body’s water;
  • Dehydration – concentrates salts & waste body fluids which limits how much oxygen your body’s water holds;
  • Aerobic Capacity – determines the respiratory turbulence to waste ratio for hypoxic triggered inflammation – which determines how good your body is at pushing oxygen into your body’s water;
  • Cumulative Effect –  which determines how much metabolic waste gets stuck in your body’s water to progressively reduce oxygen the longer you stay at altitude with altitude sickness…

Altitude sickness is a medical mystery because medical knowledge doesn’t factor the role that oxygen dissolved in body fluids plays in inflammation.  Hypoxic, low oxygen, inflammation affects a medically un-noticed tissues that have one thing in common.  These tissues don’t get their oxygen from red blood cells – they absorb it from body fluids, or water.

Altitude sickness occurs when these tissues swell because they can’t get enough oxygen because the body’s fluids can’t hold enough to keep them going.   This is why we mentioned our friend Henry Law governs your vulnerability to altitude sickness.  It tells  much oxygen will go into your body’s water based on partial pressuretotal dissolved solids and respiratory turbulence that control how much oxygen resides in your fluids.  When this level gets too low inflammation starts and things go downhill.

The biggest category of cells that swell are called the endothelium – which is the inner skin inside your vascular system.  When these swell – your arteries and capillaries get smaller – so the lack of a little oxygen – causes chokes that block blood flow which causes the lack of a lot of oxygen from narrowed pipes.

Vascular Structures

Vascular Structures

The Factors

Each of the factors we mentioned earlier  directly or indirectly relates to an influence on body fluid’s ability to contain dissolved oxygen.

Altitude determines the partial pressure of oxygen.  Lower oxygen pressure reduces the natural pressure that forces and retains oxygen in body fluids.  The higher you go, the less pressure, so the less oxygen.  Less oxygen causes more inflammation.

Dehydration determines the salt and waste present of body fluids.  As these solutes increase, less molecular space for oxygen, so the amount of oxygen body fluids carry decreases.  The more salts and waste in your blood, from dehydration, from drinking, or toxins, the lower the dissolved oxygen, so the greater the inflammation.

Exertion Level – This is a fitness factor.  Very strong athletes able to hold high pulse rates and hard breathing generate greater respiratory turbulence.  This turbulence forces more oxygen into blood – individuals who are more fit tend to get more oxygen, and generate less metabolic waste.  This efficiency balance favors more fit individuals. Lesser fit individuals will produce more lactate during exertion, which creates solutes, which in turn reduce dissolved oxygen.

Cumulative Effect – Sludge from poor metabolism caused by Altitude Sickness causes more sludge, lactate and dehydration.  Since the sludge is in the water – the sludge from poor metabolism reduces dissolved oxygen. This causes progressive worsening of the inflammation and distress.


Altitude sickness persists until the balance changes enough for the body to reestablish equilibrium – which generally means increasing dissolved oxygen concentration – usually by reducing altitude or descending.

Altitude related inflammation is driven by a threshold.  And the big issue is the progressive nature.  May Colorado skiers have had vacations shorted because their bodies were unable to adapt – because one, or more of these factors combined – usually after a few drinks triggered dehydration and triggered inflammation which they not naturally resolve because of the cumulative effects.

Your Answer


Contact Us Now

Our users report hyper-saturation with LiveO2 or the athletic version of ExtremeO2™ durably fixes altitude sickness by restoring dissolved oxygen levels – even without returning to a low altitude.  These systems use respiratory turbulence and extra oxygen to increase plasma oxygen to over 12 cc/L (over 4x normal).  This level, Manfred von Ardenne, clinically reverses the inflammation that is altitude sickness.  No users have reported a return of symptoms.

So if you’re planning a high-altitude vacation – or aren’t enjoying your current one, contact us.  It usually takes about 15 minutes to durably (several days or more) resolve altitude related discomfort with LiveO2 or ExtremeO2.



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    • Judy Shurley on July 3, 2013 at 6:35 pm
    • Reply

    I am just really curious if you are aware of some people behaving on the side of “crazy” due to altitude sickness! I have been known to think the hotel room I was in was tilted and kept insisting it was, with feelings of having to leave it – similar to feelings of clostophobia (sp), extremely dizzy and so sick at my stomach I could not eat anything. Could not lay down – had to “try” to sleep propped up on pillows. Ended up being put on a plane and sent back home! So much for my get-away!

    Thank you for your help in this matter.


    1. Hi Judy:
      Since altitude stress is inflammation in the vascular system and since the inflammation often reduces blood flow to regions of the brain – perception & and cognitive irregularities, including depression and anxiety, are possible symptoms.
      Mark Squibb

    • memhim on July 24, 2013 at 2:57 pm
    • Reply

    Can someone experience tiredness and fatigue a week after being in the mountains?

    We went to Switzerland and were up and down the mountains on a daily basis. Now we are back home, but I still feel very fatigued.

    Thanks in advance for your time

    1. Yes. The travel + altitude constitute a stress event. When the event pushes the body into a fatigue pattern, then the fatigue can persist until it resolves. Please see The combination of effects establish a “chronic fatigue” condition which may persist indefinitely.
      Either extremeo2 or liveo2 will likely pull you out of it.

  1. I have had altitude sickness several times. I have heard that one can rent oxygen canisters to take to visit high altitudes in South America. If I take the drugs that help prevent it and carry oxygen with me is it likely I can avoid altitude sickness this time?

    1. As for renting oxygen canisters – this is VERY unlikely to resolve the problem by itself. The oxygen canister delivery systems, 2-10 Liters Per Minute, lack the ability to increase blood oxygen partial pressure to reverse the inflammation that hypoxia causes.

      If you want, you could rent a canister, and pack one of our LiveO2 respirator assemblies. When you get there, use the canister to fill the LiveO2 reservoir & do LiveO2 protocol under load. Since LiveO2 kit assembly weighs about 6 lbs, and would take up a fraction of a suitcase. You could rent/buy an oxygen canister onsite to fill it. This would let you get enough oxygen to reverse the inflammation.

      Here’s a link to the LiveO2 upgrade which you can fill with either an oxygen canister or an oxygen concentrator.

      Here is a protocol. For the high altitude all you need to do is disconnect the oxygen supply from the mask – since you’re in a HA environment.

      As for “drugs” the only drug that I’ve ever heard to have an effect is viagra, a vasodilator rumored, increases vascular dimensions enough to maintain oxygen delivery during high altitude exertion.

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