Medical Commission

The UIAA provides up-to-date and reliable information on medical issues. To do this the UIAA Medical Commission conducts research, sets standards for training and provides forums where experts meet to discuss which recommendations to make.

On these pages, the commission presents details on the approved mountain medicine diploma, provides advice with a focus on high altitude issues and answers frequently asked questions.

The commission has also begun to publish what will be a series of papers on access and health concerns for climbing well known mountains, in order to assist you in your planning.

Mountain Medicine

The Medical Commission has established and developed a joint Diploma in Mountain Medicine together with its partners. Go to the Mountain Medicine page. The commission also looks into the use of non-performance enhancing drugs.

Advice and Recommendations

A comprehensive list of papers provides advice and are a valuable resource for climbers and medical staff alike. An emphasis is put on health problems that only occur at high altitude. Among the issues included are acute mountain sickness, nutrition and water disinfection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is altitude sickness? What would be a safe ascent rate at high altitude? What are the risk factors? These questions and more are answered in our Mountaineering FAQs. We have devoted a separate page to climbing and bouldering FAQs.

About the commission

Commission members who are all doctors collect, evaluate and discuss medical data and try to reach an international consensus on difficult issues of prevention and treatment of illness and injuries. They regularly publish recommendation papers which are available to everybody on the UIAA website.

Latest news

Mountain and sports medicine courses in the United Kingdom and Germany

2012-08-21

Three courses approved by the UIAA Medical Commission designed for doctors and others interested in altitude, wilderness, travel and sports medicine w ...

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Resources