What is a Barometric Pressure Headache?

It took me a long time to realize I get both sinus and barometric pressure headaches! I was reading about barometric pressure headaches last night. One of the remedies was lavender oil. So I put some on my sheets and pillowcase. For the time being it's a wonderful solution!

Good article and I'm sure it helps lots of people, but I would love to see an article take a look at and give actual information- as opposed to just speculation - on the relationship between barometric pressure and pain around the shunt. I've learned a lot about this and other things recently and wonder if - in addition to being stated above- the pain may be caused by pressure- might also have something to do with scar tissue contraction and expansion due to weather. Just a guess but probably a good one.

Thanks for this article. I've always wondered what the mechanism for this might be! It always confused me because I assumed it was related to increases in barometric pressure (I have sinus problems and thought that the increase in pressure must be due to higher pressure in smaller spaces), but obviously storm fronts are the opposite. This makes much more sense now, and also why my meditative practice is the only thing that helps sometimes!

As to why low barometric pressures, storm fronts and trips to the mountains trigger headaches, it is felt the (lower) pressure on the body causes a lowering of blood and intracranial pressure in the brain, and that the brain's CSF fluid must adapt by circulating CSF to help "constrict" blood vessels that dilate with lower barometric pressure. Medications such as Excedrin, which contain caffeine, a vasoconstrictor, help offset vessel dilation. Higher humidity also seems to contribute to migraine and sinus troubles, likely due to the body having to adjust its water output through the skin, lungs and kidneys.

Regular exercise can help with migraines and your response to low pressure fronts, especially exercises involving change of posture from standing to lying down, which helps the brain to better adjust to the acute pressure changes of a storm.

This may be why yoga exercises are so helpful, with the various change in posture. I do a lot of work with drumming, or drum circles. But I'd have to favor yoga on this one.

@MikeMason-- I get both sinus and pressure headaches. What works for me is using hot or cold packs and taking a nap in a dark, quiet room. If these don't work, I take a pain reliever with caffeine in it, caffeine seems to help a lot.

Some people get headache relief from cold packs applied on the head and forehead, others with hot packs. Both work for me, sometimes I alternate them.

There are also these warm eye masks that you can buy at the pharmacy or online. They warm up when I put them on and they smell like lavender which is very calming. When I take a nap with one on, I feel so much better when I wake up.

I have barometric pressure headaches frequently. I live on the coast and whenever the weather gets windy and stormy, it sets off a headache that can last for days. Medications have not worked for me. Does anyone else here have these type of headaches? How do you deal with them?

I went to Colorado last month with a group from college. We were in Colorado Springs, we visited the Air Force Academy there. As soon as we arrived, our guides told us that the altitude change might affects us. They told us to watch out for migraines and nausea and to let them know if we feel sick. We were also told not to drink too much because alcohol affects people more at high altitudes.

After a few hours of arriving in Colorado Springs, I started getting a migraine. I told one of our guides and she got some pain relievers for me. We were there for three days and I was on pain relievers the entire time. The change in barometric pressure really got to me. For some reason, no one else in the group got sick. I enjoyed the trip but I don't think I'm going to travel to high altitudes again.