The drug acetazolamide (trade name Diamox) may help some people making a rapid ascent to sleeping altitude above , and it may also be effective if started early in the course of AMS. Acetazolamide can be taken before symptoms appear as a preventive measure at a dose of 125 mg twice daily. The Everest Base Camp Medical Centre cautions against its routine use as a substitute for a reasonable ascent schedule, except where rapid ascent is forced by flying into high altitude locations or due to terrain considerations. The Centre suggests a dosage of 125 mg twice daily for prophylaxis, starting from 24 hours before ascending until a few days at the highest altitude or on descending; with 250 mg twice daily recommended for treatment of AMS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest the same dose for prevention of 125 mg acetazolamide every 12 hours. Acetazolamide, a mild diuretic, works by stimulating the kidneys to secrete more bicarbonate in the urine, thereby acidifying the blood. This change in pH stimulates the respiratory center to increase the depth and frequency of respiration, thus speeding the natural acclimatization process. An undesirable side-effect of acetazolamide is a reduction in aerobic endurance performance. Other minor side effects include a tingle-sensation in hands and feet. Although a sulfonamide; acetazolamide is a non-antibiotic and has not been shown to cause life-threatening allergic cross-reactivity in those with a self-reported sulfonamide allergy. Dosage of 1000 mg/day will produce a 25% decrease in performance, on top of the reduction due to high-altitude exposure. The CDC advises that Dexamethasone be reserved for treatment of severe AMS and HACE during descents, and notes that Nifedipine may prevent HAPE.

A single randomized controlled trial found that sumatriptan may help prevent altitude sickness. Despite their popularity, antioxidant treatments have not been found to be effective medications for prevention of AMS. Interest in phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as sildenafil has been limited by the possibility that these drugs might worsen the headache of mountain sickness. A promising possible preventive for altitude sickness is myo-inositol trispyrophosphate (ITPP), which increases the amount of oxygen released by hemoglobin.

Prior to the onset of altitude sickness, ibuprofen is a suggested non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and painkiller that can help alleviate both the headache and nausea associated with AMS. It has not been studied for the prevention of cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) associated with extreme symptoms of AMS.

For centuries, indigenous peoples of the Americas such as the Aymaras of the Altiplano, have chewed coca leaves to try to alleviate the symptoms of mild altitude sickness. In Chinese and Tibetan traditional medicine, an extract of the root tissue of "Radix rhodiola" is often taken in order to prevent the same symptoms, though neither of these therapies has been proven effective in clinical study.

All cases of decompression sickness should be treated initially with 100% oxygen until hyperbaric oxygen therapy (100% oxygen delivered in a high-pressure chamber) can be provided. Mild cases of the "bends" and some skin symptoms may disappear during descent from high altitude; however, it is recommended that these cases still be evaluated. Neurological symptoms, pulmonary symptoms, and mottled or marbled skin lesions should be treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy if seen within 10 to 14 days of development.

Recompression on air was shown to be an effective treatment for minor DCS symptoms by Keays in 1909. Evidence of the effectiveness of recompression therapy utilizing oxygen was first shown by Yarbrough and Behnke, and has since become the standard of care for treatment of DCS. Recompression is normally carried out in a recompression chamber. At a dive site, a riskier alternative is in-water recompression.

Oxygen first aid has been used as an emergency treatment for diving injuries for years. If given within the first four hours of surfacing, it increases the success of recompression therapy as well as decreasing the number of recompression treatments required. Most fully closed-circuit rebreathers can deliver sustained high concentrations of oxygen-rich breathing gas and could be used as a means of supplying oxygen if dedicated equipment is not available.

It is beneficial to give fluids, as this helps reduce dehydration. It is no longer recommended to administer aspirin, unless advised to do so by medical personnel, as analgesics may mask symptoms. People should be made comfortable and placed in the supine position (horizontal), or the recovery position if vomiting occurs. In the past, both the Trendelenburg position and the left lateral decubitus position (Durant's maneuver) have been suggested as beneficial where air emboli are suspected, but are no longer recommended for extended periods, owing to concerns regarding cerebral edema.

The duration of recompression treatment depends on the severity of symptoms, the dive history, the type of recompression therapy used and the patient's response to the treatment. One of the more frequently used treatment schedules is the US Navy Table 6, which provides hyperbaric oxygen therapy with a maximum pressure equivalent to of seawater for a total time under pressure of 288 minutes, of which 240 minutes are on oxygen and the balance are air breaks to minimise the possibility of oxygen toxicity.

A multiplace chamber is the preferred facility for treatment of decompression sickness as it allows direct physical access to the patient by medical personnel, but monoplace chambers are more widely available and should be used for treatment if a multiplace chamber is not available or transportation would cause significant delay in treatment, as the interval between onset of symptoms and recompression is important to the quality of recovery. It may be necessary to modify the optimum treatment schedule to allow use of a monoplace chamber, but this is usually better than delaying treatment. A US Navy treatment table 5 can be safely performed without air breaks if a built-in breathing system is not available. In most cases the patient can be adequately treated in a monoplace chamber at the receiving hospital.

The only reliable treatment, and in many cases the only option available, is to descend. Attempts to treat or stabilize the patient "in situ" (at altitude) are dangerous unless highly controlled and with good medical facilities. However, the following treatments have been used when the patient's location and circumstances permit:

- Oxygen may be used for mild to moderate AMS below and is commonly provided by physicians at mountain resorts. Symptoms abate in 12 to 36 hours without the need to descend.

- For more serious cases of AMS, or where rapid descent is impractical, a Gamow bag, a portable plastic hyperbaric chamber inflated with a foot pump, can be used to reduce the effective altitude by as much as . A Gamow bag is generally used only as an aid to evacuate severe AMS patients, not to treat them at altitude.

- Acetazolamide 250 mg twice daily dosing assists in AMS treatment by quickening altitude acclimatization. A study by the Denali Medical Research Project concluded: "In established cases of acute mountain sickness, treatment with acetazolamide relieves symptoms, improves arterial oxygenation, and prevents further impairment of pulmonary gas exchange."

- The folk remedy for altitude sickness in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia is a tea made from the coca plant. See mate de coca.

- Steroids can be used to treat the symptoms of pulmonary or cerebral edema, but do not treat the underlying AMS.

- Two studies in 2012 showed that Ibuprofen 600 milligrams three times daily was effective at decreasing the severity and incidence of AMS; it was not clear if HAPE or HACE was affected.

One of the most significant breakthroughs in the prevention of altitude DCS is oxygen pre-breathing. Breathing pure oxygen significantly reduces the nitrogen loads in body tissues by reducing the partial pressure of nitrogen in the lungs, which induces diffusion of nitrogen from the blood into the breathing gas, and this effect eventually lowers the concentration of nitrogen in the other tissues of the body. If continued for long enough, and without interruption, this provides effective protection upon exposure to low-barometric pressure environments. However, breathing pure oxygen during flight alone (ascent, en route, descent) does not decrease the risk of altitude DCS as the time required for ascent is generally not sufficient to significantly desaturate the slower tissues.

Although pure oxygen pre-breathing is an effective method to protect against altitude DCS, it is logistically complicated and expensive for the protection of civil aviation flyers, either commercial or private. Therefore, it is currently used only by military flight crews and astronauts for protection during high-altitude and space operations. It is also used by flight test crews involved with certifying aircraft, and may also be used for high-altitude parachute jumps.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station preparing for extra-vehicular activity (EVA) "camp out" at low atmospheric pressure, , spending eight sleeping hours in the Quest airlock chamber before their spacewalk. During the EVA they breathe 100% oxygen in their spacesuits, which operate at , although research has examined the possibility of using 100% O at in the suits to lessen the pressure reduction, and hence the risk of DCS.

First aid is common for both DCS and AGE:

- Monitor the patient for responsiveness, airway, breathing and circulation, resuscitate if necessary.

- Treat for shock.

- Lay the patient on their back, or for drowsy, unconscious, or nauseated victims, on their side.

- Administer 100% oxygen as soon as possible.

- Seek immediate medical assistance, locate a hospital with hyperbaric facilities and plan for possible transport.

- Allow the patient to drink water or isotonic fluids only if responsive, stable, and not suffering from nausea or stomach pain. Administration of intravenous saline solution is preferable.

- Record details of recent dives and responses to first aid treatment and provide to the treating medical specialist. The diving details should include depth and time profiles, breathing gases used and surface intervals.

Treatment of diving disorders depends on the specific disorder or combination of disorders, but two treatments are commonly associated with first aid and definitive treatment where diving is involved. These are first aid oxygen administration at high concentration, which is seldom contraindicated, and generally recommended as a default option in diving accidents where there is any significant probability of hypoxia, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO), which is the definitive treatment for most incidences of decompression illness. Hyperbaric treatment on other breathing gases is also used for treatment of decompression sickness if HBO is inadequate.

Treatment for the "Decompression Sickness" and the "Arterial Gas Embolism" components of DCI may differ significantly. Refer to the separate treatments under those articles.

There are numerous alternative remedies for motion sickness. One such is ginger, but it is ineffective.

Medications that may alleviate the symptoms of airsickness include:

- meclozine

- dimenhydrinate

- diphenhydramine

- scopolamine (available in both patch and oral form).

Pilots who are susceptible to airsickness should not take anti-motion sickness medications (prescription or over-the-counter). These medications can make one drowsy or affect brain functions in other ways.

The administration of oxygen as a medical intervention is common in diving medicine, both for first aid and for longer term treatment.

Over-the-counter and prescription medications are readily available, such as dimenhydrinate, scopolamine, meclizine, promethazine, cyclizine, and cinnarizine. Cinnarizine is not available in the United States, as it is not approved by the FDA. As these medications often have side effects, anyone involved in high-risk activities while at sea (such as SCUBA divers) must evaluate the risks versus the benefits. Promethazine is especially known to cause drowsiness, which is often counteracted by ephedrine in a combination known as "the Coast Guard cocktail.". There are special considerations to be aware of when the common anti-motion sickness medications are used in the military setting where performance must be maintained at a high level.

Scopolamine is effective and is sometimes used in the form of transdermal patches (1.5 mg) or as a newer tablet form (0.4 mg). The selection of a transdermal patch or scopolamine tablet is determined by a doctor after consideration of the patient's age, weight, and length of treatment time required.

Many pharmacological treatments which are effective for nausea and vomiting in some medical conditions may not be effective for motion sickness. For example, metoclopramide and prochlorperazine, although widely used for nausea, are ineffective for motion-sickness prevention and treatment. This is due to the physiology of the CNS vomiting centre and its inputs from the chemoreceptor trigger zone versus the inner ear. Sedating anti-histamine medications such as promethazine work quite well for motion sickness, although they can cause significant drowsiness.

Ginger root is commonly thought to be an effective anti-emetic, but it is ineffective in treating motion sickness.

As astronauts frequently have motion sickness, NASA has done extensive research on the causes and treatments for motion sickness. One very promising looking treatment is for the person suffering from motion sickness to wear LCD shutter glasses that create a stroboscopic vision of 4 Hz with a dwell of 10 milliseconds.

The most straightforward way to avoid nitrogen narcosis is for a diver to limit the depth of dives. Since narcosis becomes more severe as depth increases, a diver keeping to shallower depths can avoid serious narcosis. Most recreational dive schools will only certify basic divers to depths of , and at these depths narcosis does not present a significant risk. Further training is normally required for certification up to on air, and this training should include a discussion of narcosis, its effects, and cure. Some diver training agencies offer specialized training to prepare recreational divers to go to depths of , often consisting of further theory and some practice in deep dives under close supervision. Scuba organizations that train for diving beyond recreational depths, may forbid diving with gases that cause too much narcosis at depth in the average diver, and strongly encourage the use of other breathing gas mixes containing helium in place of some or all of the nitrogen in air – such as trimix and heliox – because helium has no narcotic effect. The use of these gases forms part of technical diving and requires further training and certification.

While the individual diver cannot predict exactly at what depth the onset of narcosis will occur on a given day, the first symptoms of narcosis for any given diver are often more predictable and personal. For example, one diver may have trouble with eye focus (close accommodation for middle-aged divers), another may experience feelings of euphoria, and another feelings of claustrophobia. Some divers report that they have hearing changes, and that the sound their exhaled bubbles make becomes different. Specialist training may help divers to identify these personal onset signs, which may then be used as a signal to ascend to avoid the narcosis, although severe narcosis may interfere with the judgement necessary to take preventive action.

Deep dives should be made only after a gradual training to test the individual diver's sensitivity to increasing depths, with careful supervision and logging of reactions. Diving organizations such as Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) emphasize that such sessions are for the purpose of gaining experience in recognizing the onset symptoms of narcosis for an individual , which are somewhat more repeatable than for the average group of divers. Scientific evidence does not show that a diver can train to overcome any measure of narcosis at a given depth or become tolerant of it.

Equivalent narcotic depth (END) is a commonly used way of expressing the narcotic effect of different breathing gases. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Diving Manual now states that oxygen and nitrogen should be considered equally narcotic. Standard tables, based on relative lipid solubilities, list conversion factors for narcotic effect of other gases. For example, hydrogen at a given pressure has a narcotic effect equivalent to nitrogen at 0.55 times that pressure, so in principle it should be usable at more than twice the depth. Argon, however, has 2.33 times the narcotic effect of nitrogen, and is a poor choice as a breathing gas for diving (it is used as a drysuit inflation gas, owing to its low thermal conductivity). Some gases have other dangerous effects when breathed at pressure; for example, high-pressure oxygen can lead to oxygen toxicity. Although helium is the least intoxicating of the breathing gases, at greater depths it can cause high pressure nervous syndrome, a still mysterious but apparently unrelated phenomenon. Inert gas narcosis is only one factor influencing the choice of gas mixture; the risks of decompression sickness and oxygen toxicity, cost, and other factors are also important.

Because of similar and additive effects, divers should avoid sedating medications and drugs, such as marijuana and alcohol before any dive. A hangover, combined with the reduced physical capacity that goes with it, makes nitrogen narcosis more likely. Experts recommend total abstinence from alcohol for at least 12 hours before diving, and longer for other drugs. Abstinence time needed for marijuana is unknown, but owing to the much longer half-life of the active agent of this drug in the body, it is likely to be longer than for alcohol.

For "T. b. gambiense" the combination of nifurtimox and eflornithine (NECT) or eflornithine alone appear to be more effective and result in fewer side effects. These treatments may replace melarsoprol when available with the combination being first line. NECT has the benefit of requiring less injections of eflornithine.

Intravenous melarsoprol was previously the standard treatment for second-stage (neurological phase) disease and is effective for both types. Melarsoprol is the only treatment for second stage "T. b. rhodesiense"; however, it causes death in 5% of people who take it. Resistance to melarsoprol can occur.

The standard and most important treatment is to descend to a lower altitude as quickly as possible, preferably by at least 1000 metres. Oxygen should also be given if possible. Symptoms tend to quickly improve with descent, but more severe symptoms may continue for several days. The standard drug treatments for which there is strong clinical evidence are dexamethasone and nifedipine. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as sildenafil and tadalafil are also effective but may worsen the headache of mountain sickness.

The current treatment for first-stage disease is intravenous or intramuscular pentamidine for "T. b. gambiense" or intravenous suramin for "T. b. rhodesiense".

Oxygen first aid treatment is useful for suspected gas embolism casualties or divers who have made fast ascents or missed decompression stops. Most fully closed-circuit rebreathers can deliver sustained high concentrations of oxygen-rich breathing gas and could be used as an alternative to pure open-circuit oxygen resuscitators. However pure oxygen from an oxygen cylinder through a Non-rebreather mask is the optimal way to deliver oxygen to a decompression illness patient.

Recompression is the most effective, though slow, treatment of gas embolism in divers. Normally this is carried out in a recompression chamber. As pressure increases, the solubility of a gas increases, which reduces bubble size by accelerating absorption of the gas into the surrounding blood and tissues. Additionally, the volumes of the gas bubbles decrease in inverse proportion to the ambient pressure as described by Boyle's law. In the hyperbaric chamber the patient may breathe 100% oxygen, at ambient pressures up to a depth equivalent of 18 msw. Under hyperbaric conditions, oxygen diffuses into the bubbles, displacing the nitrogen from the bubble and into solution in the blood. Oxygen bubbles are more easily tolerated. Diffusion of oxygen into the blood and tissues under hyperbaric conditions supports areas of the body which are deprived of blood flow when arteries are blocked by gas bubbles. This helps to reduce ischemic injury. The effects of hyperbaric oxygen also counteract the damage that can occur with reperfusion of previously ischemic areas; this damage is mediated by leukocytes (a type of white blood cell).

Treatment of diving barotrauma depends on the symptoms. Lung over-pressure injury may require a chest drain to remove air from the pleura or mediastinum. Recompression with hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the definitive treatment for arterial gas embolism, as the raised pressure reduces bubble size, low inert gas partial pressure accelerates inert gas solution and high oxygen partial pressure helps oxygenate tissues compromised by the emboli. Care must be taken when recompressing to avoid a tension pneumothorax. Barotraumas that do not involve gas in the tissues are generally treated according to severity and symptoms for similar trauma from other causes.

Pulmonary barotrauma:

- Endotracheal intubation may be required if the airway is unstable or hypoxia persists when breathing 100% oxygen.

- Needle decompression or tube thoracostomy may be necessary to drain a pneumothorax or haemothorax

- Foley catheterization may be necessary for spinal cord AGE if the person is unable to urinate.

- Intravenous hydration may be required to maintain adequate blood pressure.

- Therapeutic recompression is indicated for severe AGE. The diving medical practitioner will need to know the vital signs and relevant symptoms, along with the recent pressure exposure and breathing gas history of the patient. Air transport should be below if possible, or in a pressurized aircraft which should be pressurised to as low an altitude as reaonably possible.

Sinus squeeze and middle ear squeeze are generally treated with decongestants to reduce the pressure differential, with anti-inflammatory medications to treat the pain. For severe pain, narcotic analgesics may be appropriate.

Suit, helmet and mask squeeze are treated as trauma according to symptoms and severity.

To counter the effects of high-altitude diseases, the body must return arterial p toward normal. Acclimatization, the means by which the body adapts to higher altitudes, only partially restores p to standard levels. Hyperventilation, the body’s most common response to high-altitude conditions, increases alveolar p by raising the depth and rate of breathing. However, while p does improve with hyperventilation, it does not return to normal. Studies of miners and astronomers working at 3000 meters and above show improved alveolar p with full acclimatization, yet the p level remains equal to or even below the threshold for continuous oxygen therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In addition, there are complications involved with acclimatization. Polycythemia, in which the body increases the number of red blood cells in circulation, thickens the blood, raising the danger that the heart can’t pump it.

In high-altitude conditions, only oxygen enrichment can counteract the effects of hypoxia. By increasing the concentration of oxygen in the air, the effects of lower barometric pressure are countered and the level of arterial p is restored toward normal capacity. A small amount of supplemental oxygen reduces the equivalent altitude in climate-controlled rooms. At 4000 m, raising the oxygen concentration level by 5 percent via an oxygen concentrator and an existing ventilation system provides an altitude equivalent of 3000 m, which is much more tolerable for the increasing number of low-landers who work in high altitude. In a study of astronomers working in Chile at 5050 m, oxygen concentrators increased the level of oxygen concentration by almost 30 percent (that is, from 21 percent to 27 percent). This resulted in increased worker productivity, less fatigue, and improved sleep.

Oxygen concentrators are uniquely suited for this purpose. They require little maintenance and electricity, provide a constant source of oxygen, and eliminate the expensive, and often dangerous, task of transporting oxygen cylinders to remote areas. Offices and housing already have climate-controlled rooms, in which temperature and humidity are kept at a constant level. Oxygen can be added to this system easily and relatively cheaply.

A prescription renewal for home oxygen following hospitalization requires an assessment of the patient for ongoing hypoxemia.

A number of antiemetics are effective and safe in pregnancy including: pyridoxine/doxylamine, antihistamines (such as diphenhydramine), metoclopramide, and phenothiazines (such as promethazine). With respect to effectiveness it is unknown if one is superior to another. In the United States and Canada, the doxylamine-pyridoxine combination (as Diclegis in US and Diclectin in Canada) is the only approved pregnancy category "A" prescription treatment for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.

Ondansetron may be beneficial, but there are some concerns regarding an association with cleft palate, and there is little high quality data. Metoclopramide is also used and relatively well tolerated. Evidence for the use of corticosteroids is weak.

Patients with HACE should be brought to lower altitudes and provided supplemental oxygen, and rapid descent is sometimes needed to prevent mortality. Early recognition is important because as the condition progresses patients are unable to descend without assistance. Dexamethasone should also be administered, although it fails to ameliorate some symptoms that can be cured by descending to a lower altitude. It can also mask symptoms, and they sometimes resume upon discontinuation. Dexamethasone's prevention of angiogenesis may explain why it treats HACE well. Three studies that examined how mice and rat brains react to hypoxia gave some credence to this idea.

If available, supplemental oxygen can be used as an adjunctive therapy, or when descent is not possible. FiO2 should be titrated to maintain arterial oxygen saturation of greater than 90%, bearing in mind that oxygen supply is often limited in high altitude clinics/environments.

In addition to oxygen therapy, a portable hyperbaric chamber (Gamow bag) can by used as a temporary measure in the treatment of HACE. These devices simulate a decrease in altitude of up to 7000 ft, but they are resource intensive and symptoms will often return after discontinuation of the device. Portable hyperbaric chambers should not be used in place of descent or evacuation to definitive care.

Diuretics may be helpful, but pose risks outside of a hospital environment. Sildenafil and tadalafil may help HACE, but there is little evidence of their efficacy. Theophylline is also theorized to help the condition.

Although AMS is not life-threatening, HACE is usually fatal within 24 hours if untreated. Without treatment, the patient will enter a coma and then die. In some cases, patients have died within a few hours, and a few have survived for two days. Descriptions of fatal cases often involve climbers who continue ascending while suffering from the condition's symptoms.

Recovery varies between days and weeks, but most recover in a few days. After the condition is successfully treated, it is possible for climbers to reascend. Dexamethesone should be discontinued, but continual acetazolamide is recommended. In one study, it took patients between one week and one month to display a normal CT scan after suffering from HACE.

A large bubble of air in the heart (as can follow certain traumas in which air freely gains access to large veins) will present with a constant "machinery" murmur. It is important to promptly place the patient in Trendelenburg position (head down) and on their left side (left lateral decubitus position). The Trendelendburg position keeps a left-ventricular air bubble away from the coronary artery ostia (which are near the aortic valve) so that air bubbles do not enter and occlude the coronary arteries (which would cause a heart attack). Left lateral decubitus positioning helps to trap air in the non-dependent segment of the right ventricle (where it is more likely to remain instead of progressing into the pulmonary artery and occluding it). The left lateral decubitus position also prevents the air from passing through a potentially patent foramen ovale (present in as many as 30% of adults) and entering the left ventricle, from which it could then embolise to distal arteries (potentially causing occlusive symptoms such as stroke).

Administration of high percentage oxygen is recommended for both venous and arterial air embolism. This is intended to counteract ischaemia and accelerate bubble size reduction.

For venous air embolism the Trendelenburg or left lateral positioning of a patient with an air-lock obstruction of the right ventricle may move the air bubble in the ventricle and allow blood flow under the bubble.

Hyperbaric therapy with 100% oxygen is recommended for patients presenting clinical features of arterial air embolism, as it accelerates removal of nitrogen from the bubbles by solution and improves tissue oxygenation. This is recommended particularly for cases of cardiopulmonary or neurological involvement. Early treatment has greatest benefits, but it can be effective as late as 30 hours after the injury.

Treatment of the underlying cause is required. Endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation are required in cases of severe respiratory failure (PaO2 less than 50 mmHg). Respiratory stimulants such as doxapram are rarely used, and if the respiratory failure resulted from an overdose of sedative drugs such as opioids or benzodiazepines, then the appropriate antidote (naloxone or flumazenil, respectively) will be given.

There is tentative evidence that in those with respiratory failure identified before arrival in hospital, continuous positive airway pressure can be useful when started before conveying to hospital.

There is a lack of good evidence to support the use of any particular intervention for morning sickness.