The hunt for things that could trigger a migraine headache is a continuing quest for those people hard to steer clear of the sometimes unbearable pain that follows the start of a migraine attack. Perhaps the best known of all migraine triggers is stress and sufferers from this neurological condition work hard at either avoiding stress altogether or mitigating the effects as much as they can. A few other triggers to avoid are alcohol, nicotine, chocolate, and even nuts.

Tradition also suggests that weather could trigger migraine headaches, so is this the case?

People who suffer with arthritis and chronic back pain acknowledge that the pain of their condition is greatly affected by changes in the weather and this lends credibility to the claims of chronic migraine sufferers that weather also adversely influences their ability to avoid a migraine headache.

The announcement of a forthcoming pressure system might well herald the arrival of a storm to most of us but for those of us who suffer from migraine headaches it usually spells trouble. The weight of the actual air is changed and this weight affects the ease with which we breathe and with which oxygen is moved through the body in the blood vessels. Capillaries may for example constrict more because of the change in pressure and this could be the trigger event for a migraine. It is also interesting to note that counteracting this effect using caffeine is normally one of the fastest and best remedies.

The wind is another aspect of the weather that frequently puts migraine sufferers on edge. Even though the changes in pressure which come with windy conditions are negligible the fact that pollutants which may be triggers for the migraine sufferer are flying all around and cannot be avoided makes this another distinct migraine trigger.

Sometimes a migraine headache could be the secondary effect of a different kind of headache such as a sinus headache. This may present with difficulty breathing, a fever, and aches and pains. When taken alongside the increasing pain of a migraine the effect may be not only severely painful but also debilitating.

If the root cause of the sinus headache is allergens there might also be a subsequent infection that the body will have to fight off. During that period it is possible that a migraine are triggered because the body is weakened and is susceptible to stress factors.

As you can see, a change in the weather not only signals the potential for one migraine trigger, but it also serves as the starting point for a whole host of trigger events that may result in numerous migraine attacks. Unluckily, weather triggers are unavoidable and even remaining indoors has only a partial effect on the overall avoidance of a migraine trigger event.

As a substitute therefore, it is advisable to use various preventive measures to avoid a trigger event from actually taking place. Sometimes this involves the use of medication while at other times you might like to try holistic means of migraine trigger avoidance. These could include such things as cardiovascular exercise, relaxation techniques, stress relief, biofeedback, massage therapy, aromatherapy and also acupressure of acupuncture.