Could Changes In The Weather Be A Trigger For Migraines?
The search for migraine triggers is a continuing battle for those working hard to stay away from the debilitating pain that follows in the wake of a migraine attack. Possibly the most obvious of all migraine headache triggers is stress and those of us who suffer from this neurological condition work hard at either avoiding stress altogether or mitigating the effects as far as they can. A few other triggers to avoid are alcohol, chocolate, nicotine, and even nuts.
Tradition also suggests that the weather might trigger migraine headaches, so is this true?
Those people who suffer from chronic back pain and arthritis acknowledge that the their pain is greatly affected by changes in the weather and this lends credibility to the view of chronic migraine sufferers that weather can also have a negative effect on their ability to avoid migraine headaches.
The announcement of a forthcoming pressure system may well be an indication of the arrival of a storm to many of us but for migraine sufferers it frequently spells trouble. As the sheer weight of the air changes it affects the ease with which we breathe and with which oxygen is moved around the body in the blood vessels. Capillaries may constrict more because of the altered pressure and this might be the trigger event of a migraine. It is worth noting that countering this effect using caffeine is generally one of the quickest and most effective remedies.
Windiness is another weather pattern that can set migraine sufferers on edge. Even if the changes in pressure which come with windy conditions are insignificant the simple fact that pollutants which may be triggers for migraine sufferers are swirling all around makes this another clear migraine trigger.
Sometimes a migraine might actually be secondary to a different kind of headache such as a sinus headache. This could present with difficulty breathing, a fever, and various bodily aches and pains. When this is compounded by the burgeoning pain of a migraine the effect can be not only extremely painful but also debilitating.
If allergens are the root cause of the sinus headache there may also be a subsequent infection which the body will try to fight off. During this time there is a fair chance that migraine headaches are triggered because the body is weakened and is susceptible to stress factors.
As you can see, a change in weather not only signals the possibility of one migraine trigger, but it also acts as the starting point for a host of trigger events that could result in numerous migraine attacks. Unhappily, weather triggers cannot be avoided and even remaining indoors has only a partial effect when it comes to avoiding a migraine trigger event.
As a substitute therefore, it is wise to use various preventive measures to avoid a trigger event from actually taking place. Sometimes this will involve medication while at other times you can turn to holistic solutions to avoid migraine triggers. These include relaxation techniques, cardiovascular exercise, stress relief, aromatherapy, biofeedback, massage therapy and also acupuncture or acupressure.