|  | Conditions Treatments | Headaches

Headache Barometric Pressure Treatment

Headache sufferers have long known that weather changes affect the body. A study by Dr. Galina Mindlin of Jefferson Medical College showed that migraines were more likely to occur when barometric pressure rises.

  1. Air Pressure and Oxygen

    • Barometric pressure changes seem to cause changes in oxygen levels. The body compensates by expanding and contracting blood vessels, a known migraine trigger. Blood vessel changes can also cause headaches in people who do not regularly suffer from migraines.

    Tracking

    • Before treatment, doctors often recommend tracking headaches along with barometric pressure changes. This can determine if the two are related for a given individual. It is important to record exact times of the weather shift and the headache occurrence.

    Raising Oxygen Levels

    • Running an ionizer indoors, or seeking waterfalls and rivers outdoors where oxygen levels are higher, are recommended by headache websites as a means of raising oxygen levels in the body, thereby helping treat barometric pressure headaches.

    Medications

    • Since the forecast of approaching weather systems and associated barometric pressure changes can be seen as a predictor of headaches, Dr. Mindlin and others have recommended taking anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen or prescription migraine medicines like Imitrex as the system approaches, but before headaches actually begin.

    Magnesium

    • Magnesium can blunt the strength of a headache. Increasing the daily dosage to 400 mg per day just before, during and after a weather system change may help some people avoid barometric pressure headaches.

    Exercise

    • Increasing serotonin and endorphins may also be a way to blunt headache pain. Exercising at the onset of a barometric pressure headache may be another way to treat them.

Headaches - Related Articles