MONDAY, March 9, 2009 (Health.com) — Most people who are prone to headaches or migraines suspect that certain things, such as red wine or strong perfume, can trigger their head pain. Now a new study suggests that rising temperatures could trigger headaches, too.
According to a study published Monday in the journal Neurology, a spike in temperature may be enough to land some headache-prone people in the emergency room. The researchers found that for every 5-degrees-Celsius increase in temperature, the risk of a hospital-related headache visit went up 7.5 percent in the next 24-hour period. And a drop in barometric air pressure, which tends to happen before it rains, was also linked to a greater risk of headaches in the next 48 to 72 hours.
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While people may think they’ve got a handle on their migraine triggers, in truth, weather changes may be to blame for at least some of those headaches, says Kenneth J. Mukamal, MD, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “In the summer, you may think that ice cream set off your migraine,” he says. “But it wasn’t the ice cream—it was the temperature increase on that very hot day that led you to eat the ice cream.”
Dr. Mukamal’s team looked at 7,054 patients diagnosed with headaches in the emergency room of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center over a span of seven years; they compared factors like temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, and pollution for the period immediately preceding and following each patient’s hospital visit. While temperature and barometric pressure were linked to headaches, pollution—which is linked to a greater risk of heart attack and stroke—was not associated with migraines. But Dr. Mukamal isn’t ruling out the possibility. “Our city was not big enough to say for sure that air pollution is off the hook,” he says, adding that a similar study performed in Los Angeles (where air pollution levels are considerably higher) might yield different results.
Next page: How to avoid temperature change-related migraines
Comments (23)
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I started having migraines when I was 12yrs old. I am now 70yrs old. Unfortunatly my three children and my youngest granddaughter is 12 yrs, her sister is 17 and thank God has been spared so far, all have migraines. For sure it’s in the family history. I still get them and for sure when there is a major weather change, however there are other factors we can’t find out. It is not diets. I read everything I can about migraines so far nobody has an answer.
I started having Migraines when I was 12yrs. old I am now 70yrs old. Unfortunatly my three children and my youngest granddaughter is 12yrs. old her Sister is 17 and thank God has been spared so far all have migraines. For sure it’s in the family history.I still get them not as often. For sure when there is a
major weather change, however there are other factors we can’t find out. Don’t tell me it is diets. I read everything I can about Migraines so far nobody has had an answer.
This is the most useless article I have ever read.
In my case it’s not the temp going up – it’s the air conditioning turning on to deal with the temp going up. They should re-evaluate the situation and consider the AC.
whomever wrote this article is just figuring this out?
i could have saved you the trouble.. people with year round allergies/seasonal allergies have the same, if not stronger reaction to weather changes..
I think the reaction that has been studied above may vary from person to person. So it may be affect me stronger than to you. It depends on how much chemical (medicine, additives, pollution etc) someone has in his/her body, more chemical more prone to the headaches/migrain/heart attack. Thanks
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My husband is plagued by the opposite trigger: When the barometric pressure drops, such as when a rain or snow storm is moving in, he gets terrible migraines. Not much can stop them. When he tried to tell the doctor this years ago, he was laughed at.
The first time I found any real information on them was on a gardening email list. Gardeners, you see, pay attention to the weather, esp. to approaching rain storms. People were plagued with these awful headaches right when they were trying to get work done before the rain moved in. And they noticed the cause and effect — unlike researchers and physicians, apparently.
My wife has migraine, the triggers r some condiments, lack of sleep, tension. Some medication does help. Siberian ginseng with ginkobiloba did help.
Ya this happens all the time to me w/ weather changes & migraines.
I’ve had weather/barometric pressure migraines since I was in my mid-20′s or earlier. This is nothing new…I can always predict a summer storm hours before the weather “guessers” tell us to take cover!
I found the poor migraine sufferer’s comments on the weather effect on this condition very interesting .
Weather patterns are responsible for the exacerbation of a number of chronic inflammatory conditions … Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease , Fibromyalgia and the Arthritic Spectrum in particular .
The approaching storm , especially after a protracted period of high barometric pressure[Good]is felt [ acutely ] by the sensitve, although many fail to make the meteological connection .
Even worse , the medical profession / paramedical sector are in almost total denial of a weather induced discomfort escalation . Any comment offered is met with a blank look and a “Yeah right”…. Thats the cause “.
I am not a migraine sufferer , but chest problems and joint pain are certainly made far worse by an approaching front /storm …Low barometric pressure , especially where snow is expected and other linked factors [ Moon Perigee / Declination }conspire to give ,a noticeable inflammatory effect in lung , joint and muscle function – Certainly a miserable time for the infirm and possibly a significant cause of hospitalisation .
Baromtric pressue is the key and the Medical Profession needs to recognise the need for valid studies to authenticate the anecdotal nature of this stressor .
Needs
I think this article touched upon all types of migraines in a concise, easy-to-read manner. Even if you’ve heard it before, it’s good to revisit and perhaps learn something. Sharp weather changes, either direction, fluctations in 20+ degrees within hours, fast approaching storms, or a gradual changes with symptoms up to 2 days before a change, cause migraines for me. Many times it’s in combination with hormonal changes and/or food or environment triggers. Keeping a constant schedule isn’t easy, but helpful. I try to get 7 hours of sleep…for many years I only could find 5-6 hours. Let-down headaches after the stress of the week is over is another issue for me. Now finding help through a holistic approach of fighting pathogens, taking supplements my body absorbs, and following a food-allergy diet; all this has helped reduced headaches in half in recent months. Hope it continues and I wish you all luck in helping to find what works.
I always called these ‘heat headaches’. And if I wasn’t able to stop them almost ibefore they started, they usually built into a raging, days-long migraine. At least twice I had to go to emergency because they were so bad.
My physical activity is almost non-existant in hot weather. ‘Heat headaches are still not a good thing.
Yep! Been able to ‘forecast’ rain or fast moving weather fronts since being stationed in the tropics and going through a couple of storm seasons (WestPac and PR). Had it ignored by every Dr. I spoke to about it, “well then you can not take a elevator because that causes the same pressure drop”, etc., ad nausem. The base ER staff knew me all too well after the 3rd hurricane. Glad to see it at least acknowledged.
Like HARLEY, I also suffer from HEAT migraines as well as barometric pressure migraines. However, since I started taking PROVIGIL, I have had less headaches. From 4+ per month are now 4 per SIX MONTHS at the most. somehow, I believe PROVIGIL has helped in ways I never even
suspected. Despite the one day headache I had when I started this med., I sure have reaped the overall benefits of using this.
I don’t usually write in this kind of venue, but reading the other comments, I thought I should share as well. I started getting migraines when I was about 4-5 years old. (This is not an eageration.) My father had them too. There were no meds other than aspirin which really wasn’t any help. My parents had me lie on their bed and stay very still. I guess it helped, but in the 40′s no one knew what else to do. They have plagued me all my life.
I was assured that after menopause I wouldn’t get them any more. Wrong. As the person who said diet didn’t make any difference, I agree, other than perhaps wine which I no longer drink. I also have fibromyalgia which was diagnosed about 10 years ago. Needless to say pain makes one tense leading to headaches as well. I have changed my life style as much as possible–don’t do as much volunteer work anymore–but if we all gave up everything, we might as well be “dead.” If I have one trigger for everything it is stress. After all these years of not realizing how destructive stress is, it’s hard to change that habit. But I do try.
Weather related, yes indeed. I don’t have to deal with cold anymore, living in Florida, but I have noticed the last two years, that the heat is “getting” to me especially when I work in my garden. And there is no question that changes in barometric pressure (the day before rain or change in humidity) are terrible days. What next! Gardening is one of my great delights and even digging up and moving, shrubs or doing major pruning gives me a great deal of satisfaction (that’s if my arthritic hands hold out.) I try to keep my sense of humor about all this. Why complain; most of my friends have similar challenges, and those who are younger don’t know what you are talking about. When the baby boomers start aging, they will find out that it’s not for the weak. And will their children be there for them as we were for our parents. (I have no children so it’s no problem for me.)
I still get headaches almost every day–sometimes when I wake up, sometimes during the morning and sometimes not until the afternoon. Even if it isn’t a migraine, I pop two Excedrin for Migraines which seems to stave off a more serious condition. I’ve tried natural remedies, including homeopathic, and used Fiorinal for years. I may go back to it as it really seemed to help if I caught the migraine early on.
I hope this info is helpful for others. What seems to be evident is that we are all different making the doctors diagnoses and recommendations very difficult. Same with fibromyalgia. I have learned to live with both. And I’m sure we have all been “blown off” by those who don’t have any answers or don’t care!
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hope this may help me.
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This is especially for Susan. I have had headaches for several years (sometimes for days at a time) and only recently found out that a lot of them were because of allergies. I also had all over body and muscle pain with weakness and fatigue that I attributed to doing Chemo (13 year survivor). Apparently, because the allergies had not been treated (I took no allergy medication until recently) – my sinuses and throat were so irritated that ANY exposure would set off the headaches. By exposure, I mean household cleaners, gardening, smelling hairspray or perfume, too much dust, paint, polyurethane on wood floors, and my dog! I could work out in my flowers for one day and be sick in bed the next two days. Same with cleaning the house. I thought I just needed to get built back up from chemo.
First, I started taking Topomax for the headaches and within a couple of weeks, I didn’t hurt all over ALL the time. Doctors would ask me if I had allergies and I would always say no, because I had allergy testing done many years ago and nothing really showed up. After one really bad winter and several sinus, chest, throat and ear infections with several rounds of antibiotics, I conceded that I should do allergy testing again. I’m allergic to almost everything (except cats). I’m now taking several prescription drugs and using a nose spray. I also started allergy shots – which made me sick at first – now it’s just the day after. I’m feeling WAY BETTER and I haven’t had a headache in a while – several months. I think the chemo and Cipro, (an antibiotic that I took off and on for a year) did contribute to me becoming more chemically sensitive.
Oh, I could also tell when a storm was coming by the headaches, nausea and body aches. That is way better now. Just ask any hospice nurse (or any nurse) when their patients are in crisis.
I told the allergy doctor about having headaches after I cleaned or worked in the yard and thought I must be allergic to all the household cleaners, etc. He explained the difference between allergic reaction and the irritation in my nose/throat/sinus/ears. They were irritated for so long, that ANYTHING would set me off. Now when I work in the yard or clean, I WEAR A DUST MASK. I even wore a respirator for a while(you can get them at a good hardware store) while cleaning the bathroom. If you are using ANY chemicals in the garden – organic or not, doesn’t matter – you should be wearing a respirator anyway. We had done some minor remodeling and painted, refinished floors etc., and that (smell) has had time to dissipate. Now, I use a Neti pot or another sinus rinse device after I have worked in the yard or cleaning. Also, I immediately change my clothes and shower when I come in from outside. Oh, I also wear long pants and long sleeved shirts to work in the garden. Results, a huge improvement in my overall health.
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I’m 33 years old and have dealt with migraines since middle school. Back then I recognized weather as a trigger, (ie. on the first sunny warm day after a few crummy ones I’d usually be nauseous and laid up in a dark quiet room all afternoon). I also blamed stress and hormones. The major difference came when I learned in my late twenties that I have seasonal allergies. When not tended to, my allergies cause major sinus pressure that quickly becomes unbearable. Since treating my allergies, I’ve experienced a precipitous drop in the intensity, frequency and duration of headaches. Occasionally, hormonal fluctuations still cause them, but the quality of life has drastically improved
There is a quite obvious reason why storms trigger certain biological effects such as headaches, and that is simply because bugs and animals don’t read weather reports. Their lives depend on advance warning of storms, so they have to get the message to their brains in some other way. This is why you will not see a squirrel or bird or fly anywhere about for 15 minutes before a storm hits. Unfortunately, I have the same sort of receptors in my brain, and so get those headaches.