Understanding pressure change headaches

[Oliwerko]

Hi folks!

This thing has always bothered me - I know I am meteosensitive - I have headaches often when the pressure is dropping.

The drill is always the same as today - I have a headache and click on the local forecast site. I can see the graphs for my area (which is 152 meters above sea level) and I can see that the pressure is dropping. BUT - the question is, I don't know how big the change is. For example now the pressure dropped from 1025 to 1000 hPa in 3 days. Is it a small change? Is it a big change? I don't know.

What I'm looking for is some kind of pattern. Like let's say seeing that the pressure is going to change only X hPa and saying "oh, that's ok", or seeing a change of Y and starting to prepare for pain.

Does anybody know what is considered a "big" change of atmospheric pressure?

[Calin Leafshade]

a change of 25 hPa is about the equivilant of going 300 metres up from sea level.

Generally speaking barometric pressure ranges over about 50hpa (about 1000hPa to 1050hPa at sea level, but that can be adjusted for elevation) so 25hPa is a fairly significant change over that range.

To put this into perspective, the air pressure in an aeroplane at cruising height is only about 800hPa.

Hope some of those figures help.

[Baron]

Given that you, as an individual, respond uniquely to fluctuations in the environment around you, my best recommendation is to start a daily journal recording the variations in atmospheric pressure and how your head feels.  No doubt after a month or two you will be able to determine if there is or isn't a strict correlation between headaches and magnitude of pressure change.  You might save time by buying a barometer and driving up mountains slowly until you feel something coming on, but this doesn't help with changes in a different range (ie you are acclimatised to a lesser pressure already, and then it drops further).

[Oliwerko]

Thanks for replies both of you!

Generally speaking barometric pressure ranges over about 50hpa (about 1000hPa to 1050hPa at sea level, but that can be adjusted for elevation)

This is the critical piece of info, thanks! I was clueless about the range.

I really should take Baron's advice and make a diary. There's something funny to this though - I have absolutely no headaches from flying on planes or going into the mountains. There must be something else that affects people when the weather changes and the pressure goes down. Otherwise all the people susceptible to migraines would have headaches on planes.

[SSH]

It may be a secondary effect, such as the bad weather makes you behave differently (e.g. drink less water) and thus its actually dehydration that is the cause.

[Baron]

A brief perusal of the online literature (grain of salt!) suggests that it might be a combination of factors loosely related to pressure change, including but not limited to humidity, temperature, and solar exposure.  It seems that most people have their own unique combination of triggers, so a diary (as in the study) detailing your head condition and as many daily weather phenomena as possible is probably your best bet.  Then it's spreadsheet time, baby!

[Oliwerko]

Then it's spreadsheet time, baby!

Hell yeah, who doesn't just love spreadsheets! I'll be on the lookout for pressure changes and will note down weather parameters along with headache severity. Thank you all for advice, I feel more complete already