Mauna Kea · Hawai'i Island · Travel Medicine
From sea level to 13,803 feet before sunset is the fastest big-altitude jump in travel. Your body notices.
Pack acetazolamide, Rx-strength ibuprofen, and a sleep aid for the jet lag before you fly to Kona or Hilo. Ready at your pharmacy at home, in your bag before you reach the Visitor Information Station.
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Mauna Kea's summit is 13,803 feet, the highest point in the Pacific, and the access road gets you there from the ocean in a single afternoon. That is the problem. Trekkers in Nepal or Peru spend days climbing into thin air; on the Big Island you can be snorkeling at sea level in the morning and standing above 13,000 feet at sunset, with almost no time to acclimatize. The University of Hawai'i asks every visitor to stop and acclimatize at the Visitor Information Station at 9,200 feet, and warns people with heart or lung conditions, pregnant travelers, kids under 13, and anyone who has been scuba diving in the last 24 hours not to go higher at all. Acetazolamide is the medication that does for you in one day what your body would otherwise take three to five days to do on its own. The nearest hospital is back down in Hilo or Waimea, an hour or more of switchbacks below the summit. The pre-trip Rx is the difference between a clear-sky sunset above the clouds and a pounding headache that sends you back down before the stars come out.
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Orders are reviewed and prescriptions sent to your pharmacy within 24 hours.
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+1 (302) 251-2302Rx at your pharmacy in three steps.
No appointment. No waiting room. Answer a few questions and a licensed provider reviews within hours.
Your destination, dates, health history, and current medications. Takes about 2 minutes.
A licensed clinician reviews your health profile, checks for interactions, and approves your prescription.
- Allergy screen passed
- Drug interactions clear
- Prescription approved
Your approved prescription is sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice. Pick it up when your pharmacy has it ready.
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Mauna Kea medication FAQ
- Hawai'i at sea level needs nothing. Mauna Kea is a different trip. The summit is 13,803 feet, well above the roughly 8,200 foot (2,500 meter) level where CDC says altitude illness becomes common, and the access road takes you there from the ocean in a single afternoon. That speed is exactly what causes acute mountain sickness: your body has no time to adjust. The University of Hawai'i asks every visitor to acclimatize at the Visitor Information Station at 9,200 feet before continuing, and that stop is there for a reason. Acetazolamide started the day before your summit trip lets your body keep up with the climb instead of falling behind it.
Stand on the highest point in the Pacific with the prescriptions you'll wish you packed.
One visit, three prescriptions for the trip that takes you from sea level to 13,803 feet in an afternoon. Reviewed by a US-licensed provider, ready at your pharmacy before you fly to the Big Island.