Feeling Under the Weather:

What Does It Mean and How to Cure Weather Pains

Feeling sleepy when the weather changes? Or suddenly feel a sharp headache on a sunny day? Or maybe your joints hurt when it rains?

Most likely, you may have noticed some changes in your health, and this is nothing unusual - any human body always reacts to the weather and adapts to its changes.

This physiological process has a scientific name - meteoropathy (or meteopathy), popularly called "being under the weather." We propose to make sense of this issue in detail and find out what it really means in this definition.

Have your friends, relatives or colleagues ever told you that they feel "under the weather" but you don't realize what that means?

It's simple - with this phrase they want to say that for some reasons unknown to them (and without any disease), they feel weakness, pain or other negative sensations.

In other words, they suddenly feel bad and do not understand why this is happening.

People who are sensitive to weather changes are called meteoropaths or "under the weather" people.

Meteoropaths are 30-35% of the world's population. Even in ancient times, there were many famous people, who felt "under the weather": Hippocrates, Napoleon, Mozart, Leonardo da Vinci, Byron, Columbus.

Most of the weather-sensitive people are people with cardiovascular system diseases (about 70% of all meteoropaths) and also people with bone or joint trauma.

Despite of this, official medicine does not consider meteoropathy as a disease. That's why this disease and diagnosis are not included in the International Classification of Diseases. The reason for officially disregarding this disease is that some researchers have not been able to establish a link between poor health and weather changes.

At the same time, there are many international medical and scientific studies and research confirming the connection between weather changes and health.

A healthy person does not feel discomfort during a sudden change in weather, as his body's adaptation mechanisms function properly.

But what about those who have health problems? Let's take a look at the "under the weather" symptoms and why people experience negative and painful sensations.

Above we have identified that pain in bad weather is caused by a disruption of the body's natural adaptation to changing weather conditions.

For example, the structure of bones changes with increased air humidity. That's why you may feel ache in places of past injuries and bone fractures, where calluses are formed.

Another example is that when the barometric pressure drops, human blood vessels also transform. If there are problems with heart or circulatory system, it is more difficult for them to work -> the body receives less blood/oxygen -> weakness, headaches, migraines, etc. This is also called Barometric Pressure Pain.

Here are another bad feelings, talking about "under the weather" symptoms:

• blood pressure surges;
• frequent palpitations;
• bad mood, irritability;
• headache, dizziness, darkening in the eyes;
• nausea, vomiting;
• weakness or drowsiness;
• joint pain;
• shortness of breath;
• ear congestion;
• chest tightness;
• exacerbation of other diseases.

Symptoms of "under the weather" also occur when a person has a bright psycho-emotional reaction to the events around him or her.

During the period of meteorological changes, such people can be "irritated by everything", their efficiency decreases, and sometimes they have insomnia.

Since meteoropathy is associated with the patient's ALREADY existing chronic diseases, it is not possible to get rid of it without getting rid of the principal disease.

But don't despair - the following recommendations will help your body to better tolerate the negative effect of the weather and reduce the strength of pain "under the weather"

Primary prevention of meteopathies comes down to:

• to general health maintenance activities (nutrition, sleep, physical activity);
• prevention of cardiovascular diseases (no bad habits, minimum stress and hard work);
• the timely treatment of acute diseases before they transform into chronic forms.

Secondary prevention is based on the compliance with medical recommendations, when the therapy is carried out in consideration of the underlying pathology and is aimed at achieving a stable remission.

Here's what our doctors tell us (meh, and what we never follow):

• Just visit the doctor. Again – stop surfing the Internet in order to find information, just visit a qualified doctor and tell him about your "under the weather" feelings.
• Find patterns between the weather changes and your health. It will be easier to control your "under the weather" feelings if you know what exactly affects your health: rain pains, barometric pressure pains, solar storms, or something else. We recommend using apps for weather-sensitive & meteoropathy people or any weather forecasts to track coming weather changes BEFORE they come.
• Healthy lifestyle. Normal sleeping and waking patterns, fresh air - are all available, free and should keep your body healthy every day, not on a schedule.
• More physical activity. The more you move, the more your blood vessels work and the more elastic they are (it will be easier for them to adapt to sudden changes in the weather and they will deliver more blood / oxygen to the organs). Running, walking, swimming - even a contrast shower will help you keep your body in great shape.
• Giving up bad habits. Frequent consumption of alcohol, smoking and fast food weaken the body's resistance to weather changes, add stress to the body and increase weather pains.
• Taking adaptogens. Peppermint, Chinese magnolia vine, chamomile, ginseng, pink radiola, eleutherococcus are organic and natural remedies that boost immunity and adaptive capacities of the human body.
• Medication. In some cases, medications prescribed by the doctor help get rid of weather pain. But remember - analgesics only relieve pain (consequences of the illness), and do not treat the disease itself.

Visit a doctor and consult him before taking any natural or medical drugs.

Meteoropathy is not something mysterious and is not related to astrology. Сhemistry and a little bit of physics - this is how our body and weather work and how "under the weather" is explained from the scientific point of view.

Just remember the basic tips and rules: a healthy sleep, a healthy nutrition and at least minimal physical activity every day. This is the most practical and useful advice that doctors around the world give us every day when we come for a check-up.

We hope this article has not only helped you understand what the term "under the weather" means, but also given you some valuable tips on how to maintain and improve your health even if you are not a meteropathy man.

Have a great day and take care of yourself and your loved ones!