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Hurricanes may cause increase in headaches

As Hurricane Florence bared down on the Carolina coast, and parts of the Atlantic seaboard braced themselves for the potential for at least three more hurricanes, some persons in these areas readied themselves for something else — headaches, according to reports in The Charlotte Observer.

The newspaper reported that a 2009 study from Harvard University found that events before big weather phenomena such as hurricanes that cause increases in temperature and drops in pressure were linked to an increased likelihood for headaches. The Charlotte Observer also noted a potential uptick in social media posts about headaches.

Not all scientists concur with the Harvard University study’s findings. According to a report in Cephalalgia, 238 patients with migraines, with and without aura, living within 25km of a meteorological station in Europe who kept a diary for 90 days, concluded that “The influence of weather factors on migraine and headache is small and questionable.” There were 11 meteorological parameters and 17 synoptic weather situations analyzed during the study period.

As Hurricane Florence bared down on the Carolina coast, and parts of the Atlantic seaboard braced themselves for the potential for at least three more hurricanes, some persons in these areas readied themselves for something else — headaches, according to reports.

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The American Migraine Foundation states there are other uncertainties regarding the connection between extreme weather phenomena and the debilitating headaches.

“No one knows for certain what proportion of people with migraine are truly weather sensitive,” its website states, adding that patients who experience headaches during extreme weather events, or know they will have a headache during these times, could “try taking an NSAID like naproxen which has a long duration of action preventatively for a day to see if this will help.” – by Janel Miller

References:

American Migraine Foundation. Weather and Migraine. https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/understanding-migraine/weather-and-migraine/. Accessed Sept. 14, 2018.

WITI TV. https://fox6now.com/2018/09/10/florence-isnt-the-only-one-there-are-3-more-hurricanes-brewing/. Accessed Sept. 14, 2018.

Zebenholzer K, et al. Cephalalgia. 2011;doi:10.1177/0333102410385580.

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