Do you get a headache when the weather is bad?

[Aya]

I am one of those people who seem to get a headache when there is a weather change. I just googled and made sure if there is any correlation between the weather and headache, and I found many reports indicate that this can happen. In my case, it is partly genetic, because my aunt used to get headaches all the time when the weather is iffy and gloomy. Right now, I am experiencing a minor headache. Today’s Toronto’s weather was partly cloudy (in the morning, it was cloudy as if it was going to rain) and temperature was slightly lower than yesterday - it is not the big weather change this time, but it must be the cause with the combination of stress, as it has happened many times before. I put some peppermint cream to sooth my pain, but it usually takes couple of days to disappear completely. I am okay. I am just wondering if anybody else experiences this. I feel like this had happened so far more this year than the other years, probably from the constant weather change...

 

[H-KQGE]

Funnily enough i don't get headaches when the weather's gloomy or anything like that, i actually feel better & more balanced. Weird huh? I'm talking end-of-the-world looking skies! Right now in London (UK) it's pouring with rain & thunderstorms through the night - great for me! The picture in the "what's the weather like" thread (i think) with the ominous looking cloud is what i mean, i loved it.
Now sunshine & loads of heat makes me ill (imagine having an autoimmune reaction throughout & you'll get the gist) & downright moody, i really am screwed up!

 

[ytain]

I am one of those people who seem to get a headache when there is a weather change. I just googled and made sure if there is any correlation between the weather and headache, and I found many reports indicate that this can happen. In my case, it is partly genetic, because my aunt used to get headaches all the time when the weather is iffy and gloomy. Right now, I am experiencing a minor headache. Today’s Toronto’s weather was partly cloudy (in the morning, it was cloudy as if it was going to rain) and temperature was slightly lower than yesterday - it is not the big weather change this time, but it must be the cause with the combination of stress, as it has happened many times before. I put some peppermint cream to sooth my pain, but it usually takes couple of days to disappear completely. I am okay. I am just wondering if anybody else experiences this. I feel like this had happened so far more this year than the other years, probably from the constant weather change...

Aya,


I'm like you as well, however for me it was like my whole life and I've monitored myself along with the signs of weather changes and the trigger is usually the dramatic changes in atmospheric pressure (barometric level). It gets more pronounced during summer. During winter almost nothing, except the headaches caused by stress.


Ytain

 

[Turgon]

I rarely get headaches due to weather changes except about a month ago. But it was more my ears had a buzzing/vibrating sensation and I felt an uncomfortable pressure on my head which coincided with two co-workers getting headaches on the same day.

This medical abstract http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21921370 suggest that it's low pressure systems that are more likely to cause migraines but they don't mention why.

from Wikipedia

On a given plane, low-pressure areas have less atmospheric mass above their location, whereas high-pressure areas have more atmospheric mass above their location. Likewise, as elevation increases, there is less overlying atmospheric mass, so that atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing elevation.

And if higher elevation also coincides with less oxygen, the lack of pressure could mean there's a lack of oxygen during these low-pressure systems contributing to the headaches.

Altitude sickness—also known as acute mountain sickness (AMS), altitude illness, hypobaropathy, "the altitude bends", or soroche—is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans, caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude. It commonly occurs above 2,400 metres (8,000 feet).[1][2] It presents as a collection of nonspecific symptoms, acquired at high altitude or in low air pressure

The percentage of oxygen in air, at 21%, remains almost unchanged up to 21,000 metres (69,000 ft).[6] The RMS velocities of diatomic nitrogen and oxygen are very similar and thus no change occurs in the ratio of oxygen to nitrogen. However, it is the air density itself, the number of molecules (of both oxygen and nitrogen) per given volume, which drops as altitude increases. Consequently, the available amount of oxygen to sustain mental and physical alertness decreases with altitude. Dehydration due to the higher rate of water vapor lost from the lungs at higher altitudes may contribute to the symptoms of altitude sickness.[

Seems like lack of oxygen intake and partial dehydration are the reasons why. In the Wikipedia page it states Nitric Oxide as a potential method of dealing with if it's a big issue which can be derived from L-Arginine supplements and working out. This kind of explains why every time I used to get horrible headaches, which was often before getting serious on changing my diet, I would turn off the lights, lie down and do EE, and near the end of 3 stage breathing my headache would go away but come back after I was finished the meditation. All that deep breathing was oxygenating my body more efficiently.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hildegarda]

In Russia, "meteo-sensitivity" is a common diagnosis of a headache cause. Many people claim to have it. An abrupt change in atmospheric pressure, rather than a certain kind of weather, is said to be a culprit. I grew up with my mother often saying, "I got a headache coming on, the weather must be changing".

 

[Gary]

Funnily enough i woke up wondering if there was a correlation between headaches and weather changes. Then immediately found this thread!

I hardly ever suffer from headaches, but felt one coming on yesterday, and attributed it to working outside in heat and humidity. We had thunderstorms here in the English midlands yesterday evening and last night, and i still have a headache now. Will do some EE later and see if getting more oxygen in my body makes a difference.

 

[Gimpy]

I am just wondering if anybody else experiences this.

Yes. Barometric pressure changes can give me a whopper headache. It varies between mild, and a migraine. Drinking extra water and resting in a dark room help get rid of it. This past weekend Hubby and I were both down with one. A check on the weather showed several storms moving through in which the barometric pressure went up and down in sharp spikes through out. We ended up making lemon water and taking a nap. That helped more than Advil would.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Yes. Barometric pressure changes can give me a whopper headache. It varies between mild, and a migraine. Drinking extra water and resting in a dark room help get rid of it.

Same here. They usually are full-blown migraines and are really hard to get rid of. My eyes are very light sensitive and the light seems to be of a particular, 'metallic' quality when there is the atmospheric change (for lack of a better term).
I usually need to wear dark glasses or the headache is even worse.

 

[Scottie]

Yup, me too.

I get sort of minor migraines, except that the headache pain is nowhere near migraine level. But I nevertheless get the whole "seeing stars" thing reported by many migraine sufferers.

In the past (ever since I was about 13 years old), I would get 1 severe headache usually in the spring, and especially in the fall when the weather changed. Sleeping it off is the only thing that really makes it go away.

I used to think it was due to changes in barometric pressure. But I wanted to know for sure, so I read some about it. Apparently, some people get headaches as a result of just a temperature change - big or little change doesn't really matter. The same is true of pressure and even humidity.

So, I decided to keep track of the daily temp, pressure, and humidity at least once per day, and also record whenever I had any headaches, sinus pressure, or other related issues.

Attached below is a sample of recent data points on the web-based app I made (I run it locally - IOW, it's not internet-accessible) to keep track of these things.

Unfortunately, I have found no real correlation between temp, pressure, humidity and my headaches. It seems that especially large swings in 1 or more parameters CAN cause the problem, but not necessarily.

Thus, I'm tending to think that there is more to it than just those 3 parameters. Given the electrical nature of the weather, and the fact that the earth is "opening up" and that kind of thing, I think the rabbit hole goes a bit deeper than our standard measures of meteorological events.

That's my current theory, anyway!

 

[truth seeker]

Yes. Barometric pressure changes can give me a whopper headache. It varies between mild, and a migraine. Drinking extra water and resting in a dark room help get rid of it.

Same here. They usually are full-blown migraines and are really hard to get rid of. My eyes are very light sensitive and the light seems to be of a particular, 'metallic' quality when there is the atmospheric change (for lack of a better term).
I usually need to wear dark glasses or the headache is even worse.

Does it look (sort of) like the picture in the article below? If so, I think it's called visual snow. I don't get migraines but do see visual snow when I have anxiety attacks.

_http://www.consultant360.com/exclusive/visual-snow-not-caused-drug-use-migraine

_https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_snow

 

[Chrissy]

Does it look (sort of) like the picture in the article below? If so, I think it's called visual snow. I don't get migraines but do see visual snow when I have anxiety attacks.

_http://www.consultant360.com/exclusive/visual-snow-not-caused-drug-use-migraine

_https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_snow

Thank you for the links truth seeker. I've been experiencing something similar for many years now, but my eye doctor could never explain it. On the wikipedia page there's a link to another page describing "blue field entopic phenomenon." Seems that is what I've been "seeing". Glad to have an explanation.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Does it look (sort of) like the picture in the article below? If so, I think it's called visual snow. I don't get migraines but do see visual snow when I have anxiety attacks.

No, in my case it's more as if you are looking at a picture and you look at it through a blue-ish filter. For some reason it feels 'metallic'. I'm sorry, I'm really bad at describing it. A bit like this (but less intense):

_http://lousanmateo.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/beautifull-night-sky.jpg