Telehealth follow up visits available for select patients to help stay on track in their recovery (All new patients will be in person as a physical examination is needed)
Southern California is known for sunshine, but late summer can bring sudden changes in humidity, heat, cloud cover, and occasional storms. For some people with migraine, those changes seem to come with something else: a headache.
If you have ever felt a migraine building as the weather changes, you may have wondered whether it is a coincidence. Can weather changes cause headaches? For some people, the answer appears to be yes. Weather changes, including shifts in barometric pressure, are commonly reported migraine triggers, although not everyone with migraine is sensitive to them.
Barometric pressure, also called atmospheric pressure, is simply the pressure of the air around us. It naturally rises and falls as weather systems move through an area.
A rapid change in pressure often occurs before a storm or other change in weather. Some people with migraine notice that these periods correspond with more frequent or severe headaches. Research has found an association between migraine attacks and changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature, although the effect varies considerably from person to person.
Importantly, a barometric pressure headache is not necessarily a separate type of headache. In many cases, the weather change may be one factor that makes a person who is already prone to migraine more likely to experience an attack.
Migraine is more than simply a bad headache. It is a condition involving the brain and nervous system. During a migraine attack, people may have throbbing or severe head pain along with nausea and sensitivity to light or sound.
Researchers are still studying exactly why weather affects some people with migraine. Changes in barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, wind, and bright sunlight have all been reported as possible triggers. It may also be the combination of several factors rather than one particular weather measurement.
This explains why one person may develop a weather headache before a storm while another person with migraine feels no change at all.
Weather-related migraines can easily be mistaken for "sinus headaches." A person may experience pressure around the forehead, cheeks, or eyes and assume the sinuses are responsible.
However, migraine itself can cause facial pressure and even nasal symptoms. Studies have found that many people who believed they had sinus headaches actually had migraine.
Migraine becomes more likely when the headache includes symptoms such as:
A true sinus problem is more likely when there are other signs of sinus infection or inflammation. Because symptoms can overlap, recurring "sinus headaches" are worth discussing during a headache evaluation rather than assuming the sinuses are always responsible.
You cannot control Southern California's weather, but you can reduce other factors that may make migraine attacks more likely. On days when the weather is changing, it can be especially helpful to maintain your usual routines.
Keep yourself well hydrated, eat regular meals, maintain a consistent sleep schedule, and avoid major changes in caffeine intake. Regular exercise and stress management can also be useful parts of a migraine plan.
One of the most useful steps is keeping a headache diary. For several weeks, record when headaches occur, how long they last, your symptoms, medications used, and suspected triggers. You can also note major weather changes. Over time, this may reveal whether pressure changes really are part of your personal migraine pattern rather than relying on individual attacks that are difficult to predict.
If you already have a migraine treatment plan, having your prescribed treatment readily available can also help you respond promptly when an attack begins. Avoid increasing the frequency of over-the-counter or prescription headache medications on your own, because frequent use of some headache medicines can contribute to more frequent headaches.
If headaches regularly interfere with work, family activities, exercise, or sleep, it may be time for a more complete headache evaluation. The same is true if your headaches are becoming more frequent, more severe, or difficult to control.
An evaluation can help determine whether the symptoms are migraine, another headache disorder, or a different medical condition. It can also help establish an individualized treatment plan for relieving attacks and, when appropriate, preventing them.
Seek urgent medical attention for a sudden, extremely severe headache or a new headache accompanied by symptoms such as weakness, difficulty speaking, confusion, loss of consciousness, or other new neurologic problems.
If your headaches seem to arrive whenever Southern California's weather shifts, the pattern may be meaningful. Barometric pressure and other weather changes can be associated with migraine attacks in some people, but individual sensitivity varies.
Rather than worrying about every change in the forecast, focus on identifying your own pattern and keeping the factors you can control—hydration, meals, sleep, and your migraine treatment plan—as consistent as possible.
Recurring weather headaches do not have to become an unavoidable part of every storm or humidity change. Understanding what type of headache you have is an important first step toward finding a treatment plan that works for you.
