The search for things which might trigger a migraine is a continuing battle for those people who are hard to steer clear of the debilitating pain that follows the onset of a migraine attack. Stress is probably the best known of all migraine triggers and those people who suffer from this neurological condition try hard to either avoid stress or to mitigate the effects as far as possible. A few other triggers to try to avoid are nicotine, alcohol, chocolate, and nuts.
Yet there has been some folklore that holds that the weather could also be a trigger for migraine headaches, so is this the case?
Arthritis and chronic back pains sufferers accept that the their pain is significantly affected by changes in the weather and this lends some credibility to the view of chronic migraine sufferers that the weather can also have a negative effect on their ability to steer clear of migraines.
The announcement of a forthcoming pressure system might herald the arrival of a storm to many people but for those of us who suffer from migraine headaches it spells trouble. The weight of the actual air is changed and this weight affects the ease with which oxygen is breathed and moved around the body in the blood vessels. For instance, constrict more because of the changed pressure and this could be the very trigger event for a migraine. It is worth noting that countering this effect with caffeine is often one of the quickest and most effective solutions.
The wind is another aspect of the weather that has migraine sufferers on edge. Even when the associated pressure changes of windy conditions are negligible the simple fact that pollutants which may be triggers for migraine sufferers are flying all around makes this a clear migraine trigger.
Occasionally a migraine headache may be secondary to a different kind of headache such as a sinus headache. This might present with a temperature, difficulty breathing, and aches and pains. When this is compounded by the burgeoning pain of a migraine the effect can be not only extremely painful but debilitating.
If allergens are the root cause of the sinus headache there could be a consequent infection that the body may try to fight off. During that period it is possible that migraine headaches will be triggered by the weakened body and its heightened susceptibility to stress factors.
As you can see, a change in weather not only signals the possibility of one migraine trigger, but it actually acts as the starting point for a whole host of trigger events that might lead to numerous migraine attacks. Unhappily, weather triggers cannot be avoided and even staying indoors has only a limited effect when it comes to avoiding a migraine trigger event.
As a substitute therefore, it makes sense to use various preventive measures to avoid trigger events. In some cases this involves the use of medication while at other times you can turn to holistic solutions to avoid migraine triggers. These include cardiovascular exercise, relaxation techniques, stress relief, massage therapy, biofeedback, aromatherapy and also acupressure.
Donald Saunders
Author Bio
TheMigraineHeadacheCentre.com provides information and treatment advice for a variety of headaches including tension headaches, sinus headaches, cluster headaches, ocular migraines and migraine headaches.
