Saw the movie Vertical Limit this past weekend. (Wife liked it, I didn’t.) Disregarding several obvious plot problems with the movie, I was left with several “real-world” questions.
Brief, not-really-spoiler synopsis. Team of climbers is on K2. Something bad happens and several of them are trapped in an ice cave. A rescue team sets out to, well, rescue them. Wackyness ensues.
The rescue is urgent because the trapped climbers are in danger of having their lungs fill up with fluid (edema). The movie strongly implies that this is because they don’t have enough water to drink. (Much is made of rationing their water supply and their lack of fuel to melt snow.) They also have a limited supply of a drug called “Dex” which apparently helps them avoid the lung problems.
My questions. Is this (lungs filling up with fluid) a real problem with high altitudes? What causes it? (Lack of air pressure? Lack of oxygen? Dryness?) If it has to do with the altitude, how does drinking water solve the problem? Finally, what exactly is this drug “Dex” and what is it supposed to be doing?
There was a thread on this about a month ago, but the question of fluid intake never came up. I’ve never read anything about that problem, but that certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t a real one.
Fluid in the lungs, aka High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) is a real threat at these extreme altitudes, and it can be fatal without prompt treatment and (especially) descent to a lower altitude. The thread I linked to above has some links to a few pages that discuss HAPE and other maladies, as well as their treatments.
“Dex” is (I believe) dexamethasone - the links talk about it some. There was some question in the previous thread about whether dex is really the drug to use in the movie’s situation - I’m not sure it was ever resolved.
I haven’t seen the movie, but it sounds like the climbers are in danger from HAPE – High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, which does indeed cause the lungs to fill up with fluid. Some good info can be found here.
Dex refers to Dexamethosone, an adrenocortical steroid that supresses inflammation. The climbers would have needed Dex to combat their sysmpotms. I don’t think the water would do much other than what it normally does – keep them from getting dehydrated and thus helping keep them alive.