This weather can be a pain.
For a few days now, I’ve been getting messages from people experiencing headaches. Randy from Elmsdale said he gets a migraine with each approaching storm. I don’t – knock on wood - but I often hear from people who do.
Blame it on the pressure!
Storms are low pressure systems: for every area of high pressure there’s an area of low pressure. As a storm system moves in, the air pressure begins to fall. The pressure applied on the body by the air is called barometric pressure. Because our body’s sinuses are filled with air, changes in the pressure around us can cause headaches; these are known as barometric pressure headaches.
The interesting thing about this is about half the people who suffer from barometric pressure headaches feel the pain when the pressure is falling and the other half feel a headache coming on when the pressure rises.
As you know, I’m a believer in diaries. Try keeping a headache diary, listing each migraine, when it happened, how long it lasted and what could have caused it. This can help you determine if you have specific weather triggers.
A few years ago, I came across an evolutionary theory on the role weather plays in causing discomfort. It stated getting a headache is a protective mechanism against adverse environmental stressors. The theory implies headache pain would cause someone to seek a safer, more hospitable environment. The fact that changes in weather and extremes cause headaches, some experts believe, gives credence to this theory.
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Cindy Day is the chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network
