How Weather Changes Affect Fibromyalgia Sufferers

It may be hard for those of us not living with fibromyalgia to comprehend, but weather does seem to have an effect on those suffering with the syndrome. In a recent study, 90 percent of the patients involved said that their symptoms were definitely affected by changes in the weather patterns. They felt more fatigued, their sleep patterns were not good and headaches and muscle pain seemed to be intensified.

The weather factors that seem to directly affect fibromyalgia are temperature changes, barometric pressure and humidity. It is pretty easy to figure out that when the temperatures are cold naturally the symptoms are going to be worse. Warm weather helps to ease the pain caused by fibromyalgia. With the barometric pressure, it’s not so much what the number is but it’s the changes in the pressure that cause heightened pain and fatigue. With humidity, one might think that the higher the humidity, the more discomfort for fibromyalgia sufferers. It is the opposite, though. Low humidity causes them stiffness, headaches and more pain in general.

Some people will say the weather has no bearing at all on worsening the symptoms of fibromyalgia sufferers. But, of the people with fibromyalgia that were polled, the consensus was without a doubt that the weather had a definite bearing on the number of symptoms and their intensity.

Some recommendations for individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia are to avoid extreme cold temperatures, dress in layers and try to make sure you get a good amount of daily sunshine. The latter will help to keep depression away, even if it is necessary to provide artificial light with halogen bulbs.