Most of us know we need to be careful during hot weather. We have written a lot about the dangers of hot weather. It can take a toll on your heart, kidneys and overall body. It’s essential to pay attention to your body’s cues and take care of yourself. One sign you might not be looking out for is a sore head.
“Heat can definitely cause people to have more headaches,” said Dr. Rachel Marquez, an adult and family medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente.
There are many reasons for the problem. “Heat can be a major factor, experts agreed, though the onset of a headache is often a mix of compounding environmental factors,” according to The Washington Post. But if you have more headaches or migraines during warm weather, there are ways to stop the problem before it starts.
“Migraine brain does not like variability,” said Jessica Ailani, neurologist and director of the Headache Center at MedStar Georgetown. “It wants you to sleep at the same time, eat the same thing. So big shifts in temperature and weather don’t do well with migraine.”
Drinking electrolyte drinks can be helpful. You can drink something like Gatorade Zero or add electrolyte powder to water to regain the salt you have lost through sweating. Electrolyte imbalances can lead to aching heads. Dehydration can cause the brain to shrink and tug on blood vessels in the brain, leading to physical pain.
“We may be drinking how much water we normally drink, but when we’re outside and it’s hot, and we’re sweating, we need to be drinking more water,” said Dr. Marquez.
If you are light-sensitive, bright sunny days can obviously be a problem. But you might not know that a sunburn can also trigger a headache. That’s why sunscreen and other forms of sun protection are so important. Heat-related headaches often manifest as dull pressure around the whole head. Headaches can be an early symptom of heat exhaustion.
The treatment is the same for any of the causes of a heat-induced headache. Seek out an indoor air-conditioned space. Take your preferred headache medication. A wet, cold washcloth on your forehead can bring your body temperature down more quickly.
“Pick up on those cues and take care of yourself and your health,” said Dr. Marquez.
“It’s not a hopeless thing,” said Dr. Ailani. “There’s lots of treatments to help get through these hard months.”
