Most of my adult life I’ve had headaches.

Sometimes they show up at the most inopportune moments. All of the time they’re my own personal 4-letter word. To say that I hate headaches is an understatement.

And now that I’m a Mom, it’s even harder. I can’t just take a hot shower in the middle of the day, or lay down with an ice pack on my eyes while listening to/watching a great 80s/90s movie (Back to the Future, Empire Records, Indiana Jones, Tremors, Jurassic Park) and eventually pass out for a long nap. Now I have an extremely rambunctious toddler to entertain/keep alive.

I sit here writing this post coming off of an all-day headache that has now moved into what I like to call the ‘headache hangover’, but not to be confused with the Hangover Headache. For those of you lucky enough to not have headaches, this is the period after the headache has finally abated, and now you are caught between the euphoric non-pain, and kinda loopy light-headedness. Either way, the headache is gone, and life is a little brighter.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or headache Doctor. Just a person who has done a bunch of research to try to get rid of my headaches.

Quick Overview of Headaches

There are a ton of different types of headaches, which I won’t go into here. But these are a couple of the more common ones:

  • Tension Headaches
  • Cluster Headaches
  • Migraines
  • Sinus Headache

Now, most of my life I categorize my headaches in the Tension Headache family, and usually a good, painful massage to my neck and shoulders can lessen it. But I get my fair share of Migraines that knock me out for the entire day.

Every now and then I get something closer to a Migraine/Ice Pick through the eye headache, when all sounds, lights, and smells are evil and need to be eliminated.

But lately I’ve been getting these headaches where my sinuses and into my eyes feel like they’re burning, and I don’t know what that is and nothing seems to help. I thought it could be a Sinus Headache, but after looking into that more, apparently Sinus Headaches accompany sinus infections, and I’ve never had one of those.

Then in July, I had 3 straight days of a horrible migraine and nausea, which is somewhat unusual for me (P.S. Not Covid). A couple months earlier, my mom mentioned that she read that sometimes people can get headache due to pressure changes around storms. …..What? I had never heard of such a thing!

I’m making a point, I swear

A couple days later I found a Chiropractor in our area and booked an appointment. When we were talking about my headaches being why I came in, he said that he’s had a ton of patients in the last week come in with headaches due to the rain we had recently.

Wait, WHAT.

Yep, he said that Barometric Pressure Headaches are a real thing and happen more often than people think.

Wait, WHAT.

So these headaches happen when the atmospheric pressure changes right before or after a storm, or just really WHENEVER IT FEELS LIKE IT. The atmospheric pressure outside your body changes, and it takes 24-48 for the pressure in your body to acclimate to the external pressure, thus – Headache.

And then I thought back to the 3 day headache bender I had just had, and sure enough, it had rained that weekend.

So Now What?

So, armed with this new avenue of information, I dove onto the internet to find out more. The crappy thing I learned about Barometric Pressure Headaches is unless you have a giant weather-changing machine, or you’re Storm from X-Men, there isn’t a lot you can do about them. Weather happens.

But, I did find an app from this company WeatherX, that is designed to help people with weather-related headaches by letting you know when there is going to be an increase or decrease in pressure in your area, so at least you can know when you might be more prone to get a headache. And it’s FREE. So I downloaded it and started paying attention to the pressure changes for the next couple days, and sure enough, I could feel a headache starting during the increases in pressure. I was honestly in shock that I was having headaches correlating to weather.

So this company WeatherX with the app, also makes ear plugs that help slow the pressure change that triggers these Barometric Pressure Headaches, and being desperate to find anything that would help, I tracked some down on Amazon and CVS, besides their actual website.

And guess what?

They worked.

I didn’t believe it the first time, it was probably a fluke, right?

So I tried them the next time I felt a headache coming on……..and they worked.

And then I was using these things weekly to curb these pressure headaches, and they would either stop them at the level it was at, or if I got them in soon enough, take it away!

This blog post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission to fund my coffee drinking habit if you use these links to make a purchase. You will not be charged extra, and you’ll keep me supplied in caffeine. It’s a win for everyone, really.

My Favorite Headache Tips

  • Ice packs (see below)
  • Massage (also see below)
  • Chiropractic Care
  • Hot corn bag
  • Yoga
  • Avoiding Headache Triggers (some of mine are fragrances, nitrates in food/drink, fake sugar)
  • Hot shower – the steam helps equalize the pressure during pressure headaches
  • Water – I’m probably perpetually dehydrated
  • Caffeine – This is my new favorite, natural caffeine, vitamin heavy drink – Pure Boost (more on this later)
  • Essential Oils (Plant Therapy are my fav)
  • Medication
  • Sleep
  • Go Outside! Vitamin D from the actual Sun is so underrated! I forget about this one all the time, and then do it and always feel better

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

This thing is a lifesaver when my husband isn’t home to dig into my neck.

I’m also a huge fan of this face ice pack my husband got me, though it’s vaguely reminiscent of a certain horror movie villain…..

Seriously, don’t look at me.

Why does it look so elegant on her like she’s going to a Masquerade Ball???

And this oversized ice pack is perfect for covering your whole head, neck, and shoulders to freeze that headache out!

In Conclusion

Headaches are near and NOT dear to my heart, and if I can help someone else figure out their headaches, I want to help!

I’m saying all this to say – if you get headaches and can’t pinpoint why, give this app a chance. It’s free, and maybe you’re having Barometric Pressure headaches and not know it, like I was. It’s a relief to finally have an answer and be able to find something that helps.