Headache and migraine trigger: Weather

Since ancient times headache has plagued people of all ranks all over the world. For instance Napoleon’s terrible tirades may have been driven by his unbearable headachepain. The pain still goes on. Today migraines and other types of headaches affect as many as nine out of every 10 people in the UK.

Headache and migraine triggers: Weather

In a survey by the National Headache Foundation in the US, headache sufferers were given a list of 16 possible triggers. They then were asked to rank them in terms of what commonly brought on their migraines and other headaches. Three out of every four respondents said that weather triggered their headache pain. Specific weather triggers include:

• Changes in humidity
• Changes in temperature
• Thunderstorms
• Extremely dry conditions
• Dusty environments

Listed below are common environmental triggers for headaches included in the survey and the percentage of people who identified them as triggers. People often have more than one type of trigger for their headaches. How many, if any, of these factors trigger your headaches?

Most of the participants reported that these environmental triggers have kept them from participating in their normal outdoor activities. They also said they’d stayed away from places likely to have smoke in the air.

Headache and migraine triggers: Why weather?

Headache experts are still unravelling the mysteries of migraines and other headaches. Most believe a combination of factors is involved. These factors range from genetics to neurovascular imbalance in the brain.

However what role could weather play? One compelling evolutionary theory is that getting a headache is a protective mechanism against adverse environmental stressors. The theory is that headache pain would cause someone to seek a safer, more hospitable environment. The fact that changes in weather and extremes in heat and cold cause headache, some experts believe, gives credence to this theory.

These experts also believe that people who get frequent headaches have a greater sensitivity to changes in the environment. They also have a lower pain threshold. The reason for these things, the experts say, could be that people with migraines have probably inherited this sensitivity.

The same survey also found that two out of three headache sufferers had not discussed environmental triggers with their doctors. However nearly half of them had been plagued by headaches for more than 20 years.

Headache and migraine triggers: How to cope

Keeping a headache diary is the first step towards stopping pain from disrupting your life.

Some people have clear signs that a migraine headache is coming. They may get these warnings as early as 48 hours before the headache strikes. These early warning signs are called "prodromal", meaning precursory. Possible signs include:

• Irritability
• Depression
• Frequent yawning
• Feeling especially excitable