Getting migraines along with the rain? Changing weather is a common trigger, doctors say

The Philippines has been getting more rainy days this late May, as the season transitions from dry to wet.

If you have been getting headaches more often lately, you're not imagining it — there's a science behind that.

Migraines, classified as a primary type of headache, do not stem from underlying illnesses, Dr. Rogie Ignacio-Alcantara, a neurologist at Makati Medical Center, said.

Instead, migraines are often brought on by triggers.

"Sensitivity to light, to sound — those are triggers," Ignacio-Alcantara tells GMA News Online.

Weather changes are among the many possible migraine triggers, along with intense heat, too little or too much sleep, red wine, processed meats, and hormonal changes, says Dr. Hazel Zuellig, a practicing neurologist at the Brain Institute of Cardinal Santos Medical Center and in Centre Medicale Internationale in Bonifacio Global City.

These triggers can affect blood vessels in the brain.

"Triggers are the things that make the artery constrict," Zuellig says. "The artery itself, puwede siya mag-close kasi there are smooth muscles in the wall of the artery. So puwede siya mag-close pag na-trigger siya."

Despite the wide variety of triggers, both doctors say migraines generally follow the same biological process once activated.

"Triggers set off the same process," Zuellig says. "So you have to avoid your particular set of trigger."

Identifying those triggers, however, is not always easy.

According to Ignacio-Alcantara, there is no medical test that can determine what specifically causes a person's migraines.

"Mahirap talaga alam ang trigger, and it’s a long list," she says. "So I tell them to really know their by heart para maiwasan nila."

There is no cure for migraine. However, you can prevent the symptoms from occurring.

Zuellig recommends taking the very basic medication at the first 15 to 30 minutes. "That would be your paracetamol. When you're in the 30 minutes, choose to take [something stronger like] ibuprofen. Because if you don't level up, you won't be able to contain your headache."

Learn more about migraines here. —JCB, GMA News