The Effects Of Weather On Our Health

Not exactly been a great week for fitness.  I knew this week was going to be busy.  We’ve had a lot going, but I didn’t count on getting sick.  Yep.  Finally gave up the ghost on Wednesday and went to the doctor, where I was informed that I have a sinus infection.  Drat!  I’m blaming it on a combination of pollen and weather.  Tuesday was a beautiful day here – 80 degrees F and sunny.  This picture shows what we’re facing today.  They say if you don’t like the weather in Kentucky today, just wait until tomorrow, because it will be totally different.  It’s true.

Weather Effects On Health News

I suppose its an appropriate time to talk about this.  With spring approaching, the trees are in bloom.  What a wonderful time of year, right?  It’s beautiful outside.  Unless, of course, you suffer from allergies.  Today I stumbled across the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology website (wonder who dreamed up that name…), where you can get the actual pollen and mold counts for large swaths of the United States.  This is an invaluable resource if you’re an allergy sufferer, or more especially, an asthmatic.  Combine that information with the pollen forecast, and you can hopefully arm yourself against some of the unpleasantness that comes with the spring bloom.

If you’re curious, trees and mold tear me up.

Weather and Headaches

In other weather and health related news, there was a recently released report that details the effect of weather on the occurrence of headaches and migraines. What researchers learned was that increases in temperature were strongly associated with the likelihood of developing a migraine.  Apparently a dramatic increase in temperature (as little as 9 deg F) could cause headaches.  They also found a less prevalent link between changes in barometric pressure and migraines.  Although we obviously can’t do anything about weather conditions, experts suggest that if we know drastic weather conditions are coming, headache triggers tend to stack.  So, if you suspect that caffeine, lack of sleep, and red meat may trigger headaches, you may want to avoid some of those things if a drastic weather change is being forecast.

Related posts:

1. The Fair Weather And My Exercise Bias
2. Do You Like Running In Cold Weather?
3. Getting Started With Fitness – Visiting An Old Friend
4. Stress, Antidepressants, The Economy, And Your Health
5. Why I Didn’t Skip A Workout – Keeping the Faith