Have Headaches, Migraines. Is It The Weather? Are They Allergies?

Posted on Mon, 9 Jul 2012

Question: I have headaches - usually migraines but not always - on a regular basis. The pain lets up even when it is just misting out but a full blown storm is a complete release from it. I guess, I am hoping against hope that I could duplicate the environment in better weather. I've considered that maybe the rain clears, temporarily, allergens which might be triggers. Thanks for any advice.

Answered by Dr. Aashish Raghu (11 hours later)

Hi there.

Thanks for the query.

Is there any associated nausea, giddiness, visual disturbances with the headache ?

Are you on any medication ?

Migraines are severe headaches which are more common in women. The reasons for it's being is not understood completely and it's popular theories include vascular disorders in the brain. Hence, anything that causes the blood vessels in the brain to enlarge can trigger a migraine headache.

There is no cure for migraine, per se, but one can avoid triggers to prevent attacks.

Usually extremes of temperature in weather and environment, bright light, loud sounds, coffee, chocolate, smoking, alcohol, emotional stress, are common triggers of a migraine. Be careful and try to avoid these triggers as much as possible to prevent an attack.

Eat a healthy diet XXXXXXX in plenty of fresh fruits and XXXXXXX leafy vegetables. Avoid high calorie diet, junk food, colas, coffee. Drink 1-2 litres of water daily. Do daily brisk walking exercise. Do Yoga for stress relief. Ge 6-8 hours of sleep daily.

Treatment for migraine includes a preventive treatment and an abortive treatment.

The preventive treatment includes medication that prevent future migraine attacks. Such medication include beta blockers like Propranolol or Inderal, and also calcium channel blockers like Flunarizine.

Abortive treatment include medication that abort an acute migraine attack immediately. Medication such as Rizatriptan or Ibuprofen will be effective in aborting an acute migraine attack.

You need to be examined by your Neurologist to exclude other causes of migraine like certain brain disorders, hormone fluctuations, medication use etc. After careful evaluation, you would be advised proper management of your condition.

Kindly follow above mentioned precautions very carefully to minimize further episodes of migraine.

I hope I have answered your query. I will be available to answer your follow up queries.

Wishing good health.

Regards,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Aashish Raghu (20 hours later)

Thank you for your advice. To answer your questions, I was diagnosed with migraines by a neurologist in my early teens. Sometimes there are auras and generally with the worst of them nausea. They tend to be on both sides of my head which is a bit unusual. I've tried a number of migraine medications but they were not particularly effective. At this point, I find that aspirin, caffeine and sugar at the onset sometimes short circuits the headache and is as effective, and in some cases more so, than previously prescribed medications. Again thank you for your advice. I'll definitely keep a sharp eye out for triggers. All the best to you.

Answered by Dr. Aashish Raghu (41 minutes later)

Hi there.

Thanks for the reply.

Double sided migraine is definitely uncommon but is a well known variant. If associated with troublesome XXXXXXX and nausea, you may need anti-emetic medication to control nausea as well.

You can discuss about a drug like Migranil with your Doctor as it has ergot alkaloid, caffeine as ingredients which may be of help in your case, to abort an acute attack immediately.

Kindly avoid known migraine triggers to avoid an attack, as much as possible.

Wishing good health.

Regards,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar