Managing migraines can be exhausting, especially when the causes can be so arbitrary or ambiguous. In particular, when triggers are out of your control the path to reducing frequency or severity of migraines can seem obstructed.
I have a slew of known triggers for migraines. Many are things I can control by adjusting my daily habits. Some, however, are completely out of my control. These triggers are often difficult to identify since they seem to come out of thin air. In some cases literally.
Environmental conditions are common triggers. This is a broad category that includes various factors of weather including barometric pressure, wind, sunlight, etc.
Types of Environmental Triggers
Migraine triggers are usually defined by some change in your body or surroundings. Environmental triggers describe changes in your surroundings that originate from the… environment. This is obvious when put this way, but it hints at the breadth of this category and what all contributes to it.
Because these factors are out of your control and often unseen it can be difficult to isolate them as a real trigger as opposed to randomness. Understanding the kinds of changes that might contribute to your headaches can help you identify patterns in your own life.
Sunlight or glare
We all know that migraines can make us light sensitive. Besides the pain, light sensitivity is one of the more common symptoms. But changes to ambient light, in particular sunlight can prompt a migraine to form as well.
Glare can magnify this problem. For some it may not be the sunlight it self but rather our body’s prolonged handling of it. For example, in bright light I will find myself squinting and holding my head and neck in a different pose than I might otherwise. I do this when I’m driving long distances or looking at a screen for a long time. Things I would consider triggers. For me sunglasses help to lessen these responses. It is also helpful to limit exposure.
Temperature (heat and cold)
For some migraines can be triggered by changes in temperature. This can manifest particularly strongly with an increase of migraines during certain changes in seasons.
If your trigger is the change in temperature itself then minimizing exposure can be helpful. If the trigger is actually some secondary aspect of that temperature change (eg: allergies, see below) try focusing in one addressing that.
Humidity (dry or humid)
Humidity is not something we pay close attention to day to day except when it moves to extremes, but it can affect your body in some not so subtle ways. Our respiratory systems are particularly sensitive to humidity. Dry weather can cause nose bleeds and inflammation, and humid weather can cause swelling of the sinuses causing pressure. Humid environments can also create conditions favorable to mold which can be problematic for a host of reasons, migraines being only one.
If you think humidity plays a role in you migraines try to identify if it is the humidity itself of some other element whose severity is influenced by the humidity. Humidifiers and dehumidifiers can help you manage your living spaces, and if mold is a concern you might look in to getting your home checked and any mold dealt with.
Barometric changes
I started noticing a number of years back that on the first few days when the sky was totally clear, or completely covered in clouds, I would get a migraine. When most people talk about weather triggering their migraines it is because of a pattern similar to this. These observations are most often a result of changes in barometric pressure.
Barometric pressure, or air pressure, has long been used to predict changes in weather, especially storms. If the pressure rises that indicates that the sky should soon be clearing up. When it falls you should expect rain, or at least clouds.
Unlike most of the other environmental factors I’ve mentioned so far, there is not a whole lot you can do to manage barometric pressure, save moving to a more consistent climate. Even then there is no way to completely eliminate it.
The generally accepted wisdom on weather triggered migraines is to focus on the other triggers you can control and control them, and to stay on top of your regular prophylactic treatments. While these things don’t eliminate the pressure related trigger they can reduce it’s strength and potentially make any resultant migraines less severe and easier to manage with drugs.
Allergies
Finally, there are allergies. Allergies cause so many bad symptoms its not surprising that migraines might make the list. They can come from pollen, mold spores, dust, pets, and foods. Many of these sources can become problematic because of the season, or weather.
There are many treatments for allergies, some are to be taken daily and others to be taken as needed. In severe cases you can get a course of shots designed to reduce your body’s reaction.
If allergies trigger your migraines you should make sure that when they are acting up you are taking preventative drugs. If you are having a particularly bad streak consult your doctor about layering multiple drugs and how to do it safely. I have found that there are a couple of weeks in spring and another few weeks in fall that require more than my daily Zyrtec to get through.
Strategies
Environmental triggers can be frustrating to deal with. Migraines can already make you feel helpless. Adding something that you truly can’t control to the mix can be overwhelming. It is important in these situations to focus on what you can control. Most people with migraines have multiple triggers, so focus in on the non-weather related ones. Get those under control.
If you are taking some prophylactic medication or supplements make sure to stay on top of your dosing. Your goal with managing environmental triggers is not elimination, but reduction of impact. If you can make the headaches less frequent, less severe, and more susceptible to abortive medication then you are coming out ahead and getting control.
Knowledge is power. If you know that changes in barometric pressure trigger your migraines then you can use that knowledge to move to a more reactive attitude. I know that Maxalt is like gold for me and I hate using it if something less precious would work. I also know that early treatment can affect how much Maxalt I need and how quickly I recover.
Using sites like AccuWeather’s migriane forecast can help you anticipate “bad migraine weather” and adapt how you use your abortive medication knowing that you have an unmanaged trigger at play.
Conclusion
Weather related migraine triggers are difficult to manage, but that doesn’t mean you are helpless. With chronic conditions like migraines to goal isn’t always elimination at every level. Improving control over other aspects of your life that influence your migraines puts you on a better foundation. Strengthening that foundation will make you more resilient to these uncontrolled triggers and will make recovery faster and easier.