Migraines triggered by travel
Hi. My son studies in the US. He has always been prone to headaches. He used to get them after playing sport in the sun. He is 20 and yes he gets headaches on and off like most people but he seems to suffer from migraines always in May. He had exams in May and started to get a few more headaches than usual, then he took a long-haul flight to the Uk where he stayed for 2 nights and said he felt jet- lag and a bit headachy. Now he has flown to Tenerife and has been getting daily headaches. He wakes up and feels one coming on. I upland paracetamol don't seem to work. The same thing happiest year in May. He flew home and started getting these daily headaches. We wondered whether it could be allergies but no other symptoms and 3 different countries. We wondered whether it was migraines triggered by stress and travel. It seems like once they begin, he enters a cycle which lasts for several weeks. Can anyone shed any light on this for me?
Hello,
, thanks for reaching out. I'm sorry to hear that your son is dealing with an increase in migraine symptoms. It certainly is possible for allergies to trigger a migraine attack. I'm linking an article here that you might find interesting, https://migraine.com/migraine-types/seasonal-migraine. Does your son see a migraine specialist? Has he been able to meet with a doctor about his increase in symptoms?
Stress is actually one of the most common triggers for a migraine attack, so if he's experiencing more stress it makes sense that it might impact his migraine attacks also. Here's more information about this, https://migraine.com/migraine-triggers/emotions-stress.
Please encourage you son to reach out to his doctor, if he hasn't already, to help him manage his symptoms. I do hope that he can get some relief! -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
Hi! Glad you're here ... your son is fortunate to have a parent willing to look for answers even though he's not small anymore. 😀
I have two other thoughts in addition to the good suggestions Christine offered. First, is the weather different in Tenerife? Changes in temperature, precipitation and especially barometric pressure are fairly common migraine triggers.
He also could be dealing with a condition called "letdown migraine" ... this is a migraine condition that occurs *after* lots of activity or stress. So, for example, a person might work all through the week and then experience migraines as they start to relax on the weekend. Here's an article that explains more:
https://migraine.com/living-migraine/navigating-let-down-migraine
I hope he feels better soon and enjoys his summer! Please keep us posted. -Melissa, team member
