# The sickness in the film Vertical Limit **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2000, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314 "2000-12-13T05:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/21 "2011-10-25T23:49:13Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Or “you’re”, or “after”, or “edema”, or “develop”, or “extremely”, or “it’s”, or “a”, or “pneumonia” … spell check zena warrior princess ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/22 "2011-10-25T23:52:49Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > \ is UNH unusual in requiring pre-med and pre-vet students to take 3 writing-based English classes to graduate? \ my mistakes happen on the keyboard, not in the O.R. plus i type so fast. like 500 words a minute. einstien couldnt spell either. its in the geneva convention buddy, look it up! shake and bake baby ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/23 "2011-10-25T23:55:57Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Or “Bradley.” Or “dextromethorphan,” which is the wrong drug anyway, “doctor.” It’s a cough suppressant, and while I don’t know much about high altitude pulmonary edema, I can’t see how it would help. And why would you inject it? > > Anyway, this thread was started in the dark days before Wikipedia. [The authors of the entry on Vertical Limit agree the drug was dexamethasone.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertical_Limit) come on jazz! i dont expect ypu to get ot till u take the hypo, uh hippo crattik (is that right) oats. I MEAN OATH\< YES OATH THATS IT! so nah ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/24 "2011-10-26T00:05:35Z")
just a few degrees deviation. at what altitude does this affliction start for ordinary people? i say ordinary because trained climbers can probably resist this better than non-climber (am i wrong here?) lastly, i want to ask how the “dead zone” was delineated. is this altitude really where HAPE really kicks in and that 1 in 5 is sure to die? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/25 "2011-10-26T00:51:16Z")
> [@streetgang](#): > > keep trying yall, i can do this all night k [moderator note] Trolling is not allowed in General Questions. Stick to the question and stop trying to bait the other posters. No warning issued. [/moderator note] ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/26 "2011-10-26T01:13:41Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > … at what altitude does this affliction start for ordinary people? … > [@](#): > > … People have different susceptibilities to altitude sickness; for some otherwise healthy people, acute mountain sickness (AMS) can begin to appear at around 2000 meters (6,500 ft) above sea level … > [@](#): > > … High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a life-threatening form of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema (fluid accumulation in the lungs) that occurs in otherwise healthy mountaineers at altitudes typically above 2,500 meters (8,200 ft). Some cases, however, have been reported also at lower altitudes (between 1,500–2,500 metres or 4,900–8,200 feet in highly vulnerable subjects), although what makes some people susceptible to HAPE is not currently known. … but, > [@](#): > > … The incidence of clinical HAPE in unacclimatized travelers exposed to high altitude (~4,000 m or 13,000 ft) appears to be less than 1%.[citation needed] The U.S. Army Pike’s Peak Research Laboratory has exposed sea-level-resident volunteers rapidly and directly to high altitude; during 30 years of research involving about 300 volunteers (and over 100 staff members), only three have been evacuated with suspected HAPE[citation needed]. … for what that’s worth. > [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > … i say ordinary because trained climbers can probably resist this better than non-climber (am i wrong here?) … Very, it’s got nothing to do with climbing ability and everything to do with acclimatization to altitude, > [@](#): > > … Altitude acclimatization is the process of adjusting to decreasing oxygen levels at higher elevations, in order to avoid altitude sickness. Once above approximately 3,000 metres (10,000 feet = 70 kPa), most climbers and high-altitude trekkers take the “climb-high, sleep-low” approach. For high-altitude climbers, a typical acclimatization regimen might be to stay a few days at a base camp, climb up to a higher camp (slowly), and then return to base camp. A subsequent climb to the higher camp then includes an overnight stay. This process is then repeated a few times, each time extending the time spent at higher altitudes to let the body adjust to the oxygen level there, a process that involves the production of additional red blood cells. Once the climber has acclimatised to a given altitude, the process is repeated with camps placed at progressively higher elevations. The general rule of thumb is to not ascend more than 300 metres (1,000 ft) per day to sleep. That is, one can climb from 3,000 (10,000 feet = 70 kPa) to 4,500 metres(15,000 feet = 58 kPa) in one day, but one should then descend back to 3,300 metres (11,000 feet = 67.5 kPa) to sleep. This process cannot safely be rushed, and this is why climbers need to spend days (or even weeks at times) acclimatising before attempting to climb a high peak. Simulated altitude equipment that produces hypoxic (reduced oxygen) air can be used to acclimate to high altitude, reducing the total time required on the mountain itself. > > Altitude acclimatization is necessary for some people who move rapidly from lower altitudes to intermediate altitudes, e.g. by aircraft and ground transportation over a few hours, such as from sea level to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) of many Colorado, USA mountain resorts. Stopping at an intermediate altitude overnight can reduce or eliminate an occurrence of AMS. … > [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > … lastly, i want to ask how the “dead zone” was delineated. is this altitude really where HAPE really kicks in and that 1 in 5 is sure to die? > [@](#): > > … Mountain medicine recognizes three altitude regions that reflect the lowered amount of oxygen in the atmosphere: > > ``` > * High altitude = 1,500–3,500 metres (4,900–11,500 ft) > * Very high altitude = 3,500–5,500 metres (11,500–18,000 ft) > * Extreme altitude = above 5,500 metres (18,000 ft) > > ``` > > … > … Finally, the death zone, in mountaineering, refers to altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is not high enough to sustain human life. This point is generally tagged as 8,000 m (26,000 ft) [less than 356 millibars of atmospheric pressure]. The term “death zone” was originally coined by Edouard Wyss-Dunant, a Swiss doctor, in his 1952 book, The Mountain World. … Stay long enough above ~8,000 m (26,000 ft) and 5 out of 5 are sure to die! From [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altitude_sickness), [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_altitude_pulmonary_edema), and [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_zone) (Cause I can’t get to my copy of _Medicine for Mountaineering_ ☹ .Which IIRC isn’t anywhere near as complete as the Wiki pages :eek:.). CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/27 "2011-10-26T01:21:02Z")
> [@streetgang](#): > > wrong again. oh wow, you know the authors. try again, it was not based on a novel, therefore there are no authors. they are called writers, and it is called a script. do your home work at home , homeboy. and they have an injectable version of the drug. just like they have demoral pills. and i would not expect you to see how it could help. you are not a md Neither are you, homeboy. From here: [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000695/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000695/) Dextromethorphan is used to temporarily relieve cough caused by the common cold, the flu, or other conditions. Dextromethorphan will relieve a cough but will not treat the cause of the cough or speed recovery. Dextromethorphan is in a class of medications called antitussives. It works by decreasing activity in the part of the brain that causes coughing. Dextromethorphan comes as a liquid-filled capsule, a chewable tablet, a dissolving strip, a solution (liquid), an extended-release (long-acting) suspension (liquid), and a lozenge to take by mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/28 "2011-10-26T02:25:00Z")
> [@streetgang](#): > > keep trying yall, i can do this all night k Not anymore you can’t. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/29 "2011-10-26T07:19:17Z")
> [@streetgang](#): > > to C- bull hockey! Hot air cooling down OR!!! warm air cooling off(i.e. the steam in your breath. The comparison to A/c was for simple minded physics teachers and physical education teachersl which did you say you were again. oh well, whats the dif? P.S. physics is not medicine Hot air cooling down or warm air cooling off is the same thing, and neither happens inside your lungs when you breathe cold air. A/Cs aren’t medicine either. ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/30 "2011-10-26T13:02:20Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:25, topic:45314”] [moderator note] Trolling is not allowed in General Questions. Stick to the question and stop trying to bait the other posters. No warning issued. [/moderator note] [/QUOTE] i dont know what that means, but someone called me a troll the other day. can you please define it for me so i may avoid it. does it have anything to do with not being able to spell good? also , what do you mean bait.? i want to stay in compliance, but dont understand the terminology. please help ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/31 "2011-10-26T13:06:40Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Neither are you, homeboy. > > From here: > [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000695/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000695/) > Dextromethorphan is used to temporarily relieve cough caused by the common cold, the flu, or other conditions. Dextromethorphan will relieve a cough but will not treat the cause of the cough or speed recovery. Dextromethorphan is in a class of medications called antitussives. It works by decreasing activity in the part of the brain that causes coughing. > > Dextromethorphan comes as a liquid-filled capsule, a chewable tablet, a dissolving strip, a solution (liquid), an extended-release (long-acting) suspension (liquid), and a lozenge to take by mouth. you forgot the injectable version . like the one in vertical limit. but other than that, you have a pretty complete list. hats off to you for almost getting it right ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/32 "2011-10-26T13:11:07Z")
> [@streetgang](#): > > you forgot the injectable version . like the one in vertical limit. but other than that, you have a pretty complete list. hats off to you for almost getting it right yes coughing, like they were doing in the movie vertical limit. If you control the coughing by loosening the mucus with injectable DEX, you can delay the onset of the alltitude sickness , giving you more time to “GET TO THE CHOPPER” you are drifting off the subject hoss. stick to the question. try to focus on the movie, and put down the P.D.R. ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/33 "2011-10-26T13:13:54Z")
you forgot the injectable kind. good list though. ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/34 "2011-10-26T13:22:55Z")
> [@Kubla\_Khan](#): > > errr…continental US > > I pine for an edit feature… is it a whispering pine, or just a pine ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/35 "2011-10-26T13:31:36Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Hot air cooling down or warm air cooling off is the same thing, and neither happens inside your lungs when you breathe cold air. A/Cs aren’t medicine either. yes , they are the same thing. and when you breath in cold air(i.e. the air in vertical limit around15 degrees f.) and it collids with the air in your lungs(98.6 F.) we get condensate, or fluid, or (Like in the movie, which you seem to have trouble sticking to) adema. trolling is not allowed, stick to the original question, which should be focusing on the movie. you are drifting off the subject here. p.s. the A/C comparison was for you, and you alone. i will avoid such technical comparisons in the future. ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/36 "2011-10-26T13:40:01Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Neither are you, homeboy. i have never claimed to be anything other than a normal well educated citizen,(that wastes little of his valuable, and publically needed time on spelling) i no some doctor dudes though > > From here: > [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000695/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000695/) > Dextromethorphan is used to temporarily relieve cough caused by the common cold, the flu, or other conditions. Dextromethorphan will relieve a cough but will not treat the cause of the cough or speed recovery. Dextromethorphan is in a class of medications called antitussives. It works by decreasing activity in the part of the brain that causes coughing. > > Dextromethorphan comes as a liquid-filled capsule, a chewable tablet, a dissolving strip, a solution (liquid), an extended-release (long-acting) suspension (liquid), and a lozenge to take by mouth. reply all day ---
**Author:** ![streetgang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@streetgang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/streetgang)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/37 "2011-10-26T13:49:36Z")
> [@wooba](#): > > Can anyone tell me what was that sickness the trapped people got in Vertical Limit and what were they injecting? > > Thanks.. I can. and without all the uncalled for stuff. otherwise known as “the straight dope” the drug was dextramathorafan.(DEX for short) used to treat adema , or what climbers call "altitude sickness. everyone else seems to forget, it is a movie. and (in the movie) this is the way it is. it aint real life. and thats the straight dope yall ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/38 "2011-10-26T13:54:45Z")
Why do you think they used D-E-X-T-R-O-M-E-T-H-O-R-P-H-A-N to treat E-D-E-M-A when every source says they used dexamethasone? > **[Dexamethasone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexamethasone)** > > Dexamethasone is a fluorinated glucocorticoid medication used to treat rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), croup, brain swelling, eye pain following eye surgery, superior vena cava syndrome (a complication of some forms of cancer), and along with antibiotics in tuberculosis. In adrenocortical insufficiency, it may be used in combination with a mineralocorticoid medication such as fludrocortisone. In The long-te... > [@](#): > > High altitude illnesses > Dexamethasone is used in the treatment of high altitude cerebral edema as well as pulmonary edema. It is commonly carried on mountain climbing expeditions to help climbers deal with altitude sickness. British mountain climber Peter Kinloch was provided with a shot of dexamethasone shortly before his death, after summiting Mount Everest. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/39 "2011-10-26T13:59:35Z")
And the PubMed entry doesn’t list an injectable version of dextromethorphan because I don’t think an injection has been approved. I found some hints that people who use it recreationally might inject it and I found a clinical trial studying it as a treatment for pain after mastectomy, but you’re not going to get it from the pharmacy that way and I’m not sure why climbers would inject it. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314/40 "2011-10-26T14:03:51Z")
> [@streetgang](#): > > i dont know what that means, but someone called me a troll the other day. can you please define it for me so i may avoid it. does it have anything to do with not being able to spell good? also , what do you mean bait.? i want to stay in compliance, but dont understand the terminology. please help > [@streetgang](#): > > reply all day [moderating] That’s a perfect example. In GQ, you answer the question, ask related questions, discuss other people’s answers. You don’t goad or taunt the other posters and imply that you’re only posting to get people riled up. You know perfectly well what you’re doing. Stop now. [/moderating] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sickness-in-the-film-vertical-limit/45314.md?page=3)