For many Albertans, the arrival of chinook winds during a wintertime cold snap is a pleasurable experience.
Others can find it extremely painful as chinooks are often blamed for intense migraines.
Chinooks — most noticeable during the winter months — happen when jet streams of air from the Pacific Ocean blow over the Rocky Mountains into southern and central Alberta.
The resulting change in barometric pressure can trigger intense migraines in some people.
University of Calgary professor emeritus of neurology, Dr. Werner Becker has conducted clinical trials and says most patients were generally affected a day or two prior to the arrival of the chinook, but could look different from person to person.
“More than slightly half were sensitive to the pre-chinook day — that’s when the barometric pressure is falling,” he said.
“Another group of patients were sensitive to the day itself, when the wind was blowing, but only if the wind speed exceeded somewhere around 38 km/h.”
Now in her early 20s, Megan Koch has suffered migraines during chinooks since her early teens, some being so severe she experiences visual auras — a visual disturbance — which can make it hard for her to function normally.
“I will get visual auras, blind spots and sensitivity to light,” she said. “Sometimes I will go numb on one side of my body.”
Visual auras are one of the rarer symptoms of a migraine, Becker explains, and usually occur prior to the onset of the headache.
“About a third of patients with a migraine will have an aura with some other attacks,” he said. “The aura occurs before the [migraine] and usually lasts 20 minutes, up to an hour.”
Becker adds migraines aren’t always caused by the chinook itself.
“Most migraine patients have several triggers,” he said. “They may have certain food triggers, stress is a major trigger for people with migraines. So weather is only one of several triggers.”
Becker, who is also a senior author of the Canadian Headache Society guidelines for both acute and prophylactic migraine treatment, says there are four pain criteria and a number of symptom criteria used to help determine if someone is experiencing a migraine as opposed to a headache.
He advises visiting the International Headache Society’s website for more information.
“The four criteria are one-sided headaches, at least a moderate or severe intensity, a throbbing or pulsating character to the pain, and the pain is made worse by activity or movement,” Becker said. “You only have to have a few of those, not all four. Migraine headaches can have quite a spectrum of clinical features.
“People with a migraine during the headache attack should also have either photophobia or light and sound sensitivity, or nausea, which may include vomiting.” He said, “also, of course, there must be no other cause apparent. And finally, migraine attacks last anywhere [from] four hours to three days, typically.”
Weather apps have made it easier to prepare for an approaching chinook, which gives Koch some time to ready herself for the inevitable migraine symptoms.
“I try to drink as much water as I can,” she said. “I stock up on [Advil Extra Strength Liqui-Gel] and I have a little face mask that I wear to block out the sun.”
When it comes to treating her migraines once they’re in full effect, Koch shares some tips that have helped her over the years.
“I will lay in a dark room with no sound and take a nap,” she explained. “Keep Advil on hand 24/7.”
The cause of migraines can also have a genetic component, says Becker, meaning there isn’t just a simple solution to prevent or cure them.
However, he does recommend some simple, preventative measures to help sufferers, such as getting enough sleep, avoiding bright light, as well as getting the appropriate medicine whether it’s anti-inflammatory drugs or prescribed medication.
With all of this in mind, Becker admits more research is needed to find out more about how chinooks trigger migraines.
“It’s been difficult to establish clear-cut scientific evidence that weather changes do trigger migraines,” he said. “But so many patients with migraines say it does, and I think they can’t all be wrong.
“A migraine is more than just a headache.”
