Diagnosing whether a person is weather sensitive may take time because the frequency, severity and symptoms of weather headaches vary considerably between individuals. For this reason, headaches such as these may simply be discounted or ‘passed off’ for any number of reasons e.g. late night, too much wine.
This situation can continue for many years before the person starts slowly to put ‘the pieces of the jigsaw’ together. They will begin to realize that there is an uncanny coincidence between certain weather conditions and the risk of them developing headache symptoms; even then, most people will never really work out the exact link. Why? Because that will require them keeping a headache diary over a period of time. This will record when their headaches occur, their severity and certain variables such as air pressure.
What symptoms can one expect if they suffer from weather headaches?
People can develop pain around the lower back part of the head, the forehead area and/or region at sides of the nose, whilst others develop a general headache that can have a vise-like nature. The headache is most common on both sides of the head.
However, some people develop more intense and reoccurring headaches that are called migraines. For these people, changing weather conditions can act as a migraine trigger. They may also have their migraines triggered by other things such as certain foods or drinks, irregular amounts of sleep or hormonal changes. When a person suffers from migraine headaches a variety of possible symptoms can occur, for example:
- Severe pain typically on one side of head and/or in the temples, head or eyes that can last many days.
- Possible aura, flashes or other visual disturbances.
- Sensitivity to sound, bright lights or strong aromas during the attack.
- Nausea with possible vomiting.
- Problems speaking and altered perception.
- Numbness or tingling sensations.
Therefore, if a person gets headaches or migraines they should consider the possibility that they may be experiencing weather related headaches. However, it should be noted that although the overwhelming majority of headache and migraines sufferers do not have any serious or life threatening underlying medical condition, an individual who develops persistent or unusual symptoms should seek medical advice.
Having looked into the symptoms of weather headaches, the next article in the WeatherHeadaches.com series will look at the cause of weather headaches.