Is There a Migraine in Your Forecast?

Migraines can be influenced or triggered by various environmental factors. One of the more commonly reported triggers is weather.

Weather is a rather broad term but then again identifying specific triggers can be complicated. While many people with migraine blame changes in barometric pressure as the trigger that started their current migraine attack, there could be more to it than that.

Migraine sufferers are not wrong when they list one of their triggers as barometric pressure changes. But let’s navigate away from medical science for a minute and focus on weather science (meteorology). When the barometric pressure changes, along with that usually comes a change in temperature, a possible change in humidity, a potential thunderstorm, precipitation, and a chance for an abundance of sunshine or even lightning. (Generally, low pressure systems are associated with cooler temperatures, precipitation, wind, and storms.)  Any one of these weather phenomena have the potential to be a trigger, or it could be a combination of a weather condition and another non-environmental trigger.

The exact mechanism by which weather changes trigger headache or migraine is not fully understood – but research has concluded that:

• environmental changes can influence serotonin levels,
• cause changes in blood pressure,
• lead to dehydration and,
• can affect pressure in the brain.

A fall in air pressure allows tissues to swell and expand. Your sinuses are tiny air pockets that are usually balanced with the outside air pressure. But when the outside air pressure falls, it creates a difference in pressure resulting in pain. (Think of when you are flying in a plane and feel the need to “pop” your ears – that discomfort is felt because of the difference in pressure inside your ear versus outside your body). When the temperature is cold, blood vessels constrict which causes a rise in blood pressure since it takes more pressure to move blood through a narrower space.

What you can do

While a trigger is not the sole cause of a migraine attack, vulnerability to a weather change might be just enough to set off the migraine prodromal phase. Weather changes are unavoidable, so you should try to mitigate the effect the changing weather has on your body by:

• staying hydrated,
• getting enough rest,
• keeping stress to a minimum and,
• avoiding excess alcohol and caffeine.

If you feel that weather changes influence your migraine, it would be helpful to keep a headache diary, noting when your headaches occur and what the weather was like leading up to and at the time your migraine occurred. Once a pattern is established, downloading a weather app on your mobile device might aid you in alerting you of changing weather conditions and possibly serve as a “Migraine Watch” (much like a “thunderstorm watch”). Having advanced warning can help you make lifestyle or medication modifications.

As the saying goes, “Don’t wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain.” Don’t let the weather or migraine control your life. Get out and enjoy life but don’t forget to bring your umbrella, sunglasses and as needed headache/migraine medications with you the next time a weather front moves through.