Generality
Meteoropathy (or meteoropathic syndrome ) is a complex of mental and physical disorders associated with changes in weather, seasons or climate.
The main symptoms of meteoropathy are: headache, changes in mood (depression, irritability, nervousness, etc.), drops in blood pressure, fatigue, drowsiness, difficulty in concentrating and memorizing, palpitations, pain in the joints and pain stomach. Usually, the meteoropathic develops a sense of general malaise, before the changes at the climatic level occur, therefore an acute phase is observed that corresponds to the change of the time and a rapid attenuation followed by a disappearance of the symptoms, with the end of the variations weather.
Given the variety of symptoms and predisposing situations, there is no specific treatment for meteoropathy, but, depending on the case, it is possible to use analgesics and antihistamines, but also natural remedies to contain the disorders.
What is meteoropathy?
The meteoropathy is considered a set of physical and mental disorders, which manifests itself following a gradual or sudden climate change, in a specific geographical area.
This condition therefore depends on the variation of one or more meteorological factors, ie temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure and rainfall (rain, thunderstorms and snowfalls), with the typical effects they produce (ionization, electrical state and turbulence).
It is therefore a general adaptation syndrome where, especially in predisposed subjects, these meteorological agents act as stress factors .
Generally, it all starts near a change of season or climate change : those who suffer from it begin to feel the effects 48 to 72 hours before the change.
The effects produced by atmospheric agents are more evident when several factors (sudden rain, humidity, cold or heat) are involved and occur at the same time.
Who is most at risk?
Some people are more prone to meteoropathy: in these subjects seasonal changes and atmospheric variations can lead to the onset of disorders both on a psychological and physical level.
In general, the people most prone to suffer from the climatic effects are those subjected to intense stress, as well as all those subjects defined neurolabile, that is, endowed with particular sensitivity and emotion, difficult to adapt to new contexts and events (in practice, they present problems to load of the neurovegetative system).
The instability of the neural system is an increasingly widespread problem, due to the increase in negative elements that can weigh on daily life, such as, for example: stress, mourning, divorce, difficulty finding work, professional competitiveness, pollution and traffic.
Therefore, regardless of gender and age, meteoropathic individuals have a greater sensitivity to changes in temperature and changes in atmospheric pressure and humidity (which affects remedial disorders). The body is subjected to greater stress, which affects the systems of adaptation and metabolism .
Usually, meteoropaths are elderly, young, women and subjects with specific chronic or degenerative pathologies. For example, hypertensives have a greater risk of palpitations, tachycardia and hypertensive crises, when the temperature changes abruptly; those with chronic headaches or osteoarticular syndromes, on the other hand, see their discomfort worsen, since the pain threshold is reduced as meteorological parameters change.
In general, therefore, meteoropathy can be distinguished in:
- Primary : it can affect anyone (it is not associated with pre-existing diseases, but depends purely on weather changes); in this case, the disturbances secondary to climatic variations are more attenuated.
- Secondary : the disorders are due to a disease whose manifestations worsen with the change of weather; usually it affects particularly vulnerable individuals, such as the elderly and individuals who have suffered musculoskeletal trauma, heart problems, chronic-degenerative diseases, etc. In this case, the action of the climate must be kept in mind in relation to the underlying pathology.
Possible causes
At the base of the meteoropathy there seems to be the excessive or incorrect production of some hormones by the hypothalamus (in particular the serotonin, the main chemical mediator of stress), of the pituitary gland, of the thyroid (thyroxine) and of the adrenal gland (catecholamines, other chemical mediators that come into play during periods of fatigue or stress).
The factors that can contribute to this type of disorder can be different. Among these, the amount of natural light to which the organism is exposed is among the environmental elements that most affect our health.
What happens normally
After decoding the signals received from the periphery, the body orders the neuroendocrine glands and the central nervous system to neutralize or minimize any discomfort caused by the atmospheric environment.
What happens in meteoropathy
When an abrupt change in climatic conditions occurs, the hypothalamus can give wrong orders to the neuroendocrine glands .
In some cases, however, meteoropathy is the consequence of an exaggerated reaction of the central nervous system ; this explains why many people who are hypersensitive to weather changes also suffer from anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Other people affected by meteoropathy see pre-existing diseases (rheumatism, joint pain, sequelae from bone traumas, eczema, sudden changes in pressure, etc.) worsen or worsen ; this form is called secondary.
Weather hypersensitivity can also be a temporary condition, triggered by stress due to fatigue, weakening of the organism or psychic tension .
Action of the main climatic variations | |||
Cause | Biological effect | Meaning | Possible symptoms |
Cold | vasoconstriction | Defense of the body to reduce the dispersion of body heat | Drowsiness, throat and nose inflammation, reddened extremities |
Hot | vasodilation | Reaction of the organism to promote heat dispersion | Hypotension, asthenia, general malaise |
Humidity | It blocks the evaporation of sweat | The body has difficulty eliminating excess heat | Anxiety, insomnia, asthenia, headache and dyspnea |
How does it manifest itself?
The symptoms of meteoropathy are varied and with different degrees of intensity; these depend on the subject, but also on specific meteorological situations.
Summer heat, for example, is related to headaches and insomnia; thunderstorms often cause stomach pain, palpitations and a feeling of breathlessness, even after minor efforts and palpitations. Even cold and wet winds can be responsible for mood swings, memory difficulties and exacerbation of arthro-rheumatic pains.
Other frequent disorders associated with meteoropathy are asthenia, nervousness, irritability and sleep disorders, the latter aggravated with early nocturnal awakenings due to the return of daylight saving time and the change of the sleep-wake rhythm.
The changes in the weather can also lead to the exacerbation of various depressive forms, especially the chronic ones, characterized by a state of persistent anxiety, with a background of intense sadness.
What are the most frequent symptoms?
In most cases, meteoropathy is manifested by: mood disorders (irritability, tendency to isolation, anxiety, melancholy and depressive symptoms), asthenia, insomnia, headache, sweating, nausea, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, increased tenderness in the joints and muscles, feeling of "shortness of breath" and heaviness in the stomach.
In addition, various disorders can be observed affecting the cardiovascular system with heart disease, drop in blood pressure, hypertension, tachycardia and retrosternal tenderness.
It should be noted, however, that time alone cannot be the cause of these disorders but, in predisposed subjects, it can worsen existing ones. In meteoropathic persons, anxiety, depression and fatigue can thus be registered, but also the worsening of chronic, inflammatory and degenerative diseases on the whole organism.
How long do these disturbances last?
As a rule, the meteoropathic syndrome occurs approximately 48-72 hours before the arrival of a disturbance ( prodromal phase ). All of these symptoms tend to last for a few days ( acute phase ), to decrease as time stabilizes or changes again, thanks to an adaptation process carried out by our body.
The malaise associated with meteoropathy begins to resolve itself, therefore, once the disturbance is in place, but occurs again if there was another one coming. In the case where the atmospheric alterations are one after the other, however, each time the symptoms decrease in intensity, as a sort of adaptation occurs.
Remedies and treatment
There are no specific direct pharmacological treatments able to resolve meteoropathy at the root, but, if necessary, it is possible to try to alleviate the symptoms through mild sedatives in case of anxiety and painkillers in case of exacerbation of joint pain or headache.
In chronic or frankly depressive forms, a specialized diagnosis is essential to establish the most appropriate therapeutic approach, mild anxiolytics or antidepressants.
In the forms characterized by asthenia and exhaustion, the vitamin complexes associated with magnesium are useful, especially in the female sex.
Other remedies are found in alternative methods to official medicine, such as acupuncture, autogenic training, homeopathy and yoga, in particular for the pains characterized by the recurrence of chronic diseases.
Hydrotherapy with stimulating or calming essences and phytotherapic supplements based on ginseng, eleuterococcus or passion flower are also useful, to be chosen based on your reaction - of excitement or depression - to climate change.
Prevention
Can meteoropathy be prevented?
When there are days characterized by atmospheric forces to which one is particularly sensitive, the prevention of meteoropathy is possible by adopting, as appropriate, the main countermeasures. With the cold, for example, it is advisable to wear appropriate clothes and avoid leaving the house; in the presence of wind, however, it is useful to avoid exposing yourself to this factor.
In the case of overt allergies, it would be ideal to take an antiallergic associated with a plant sedative, such as hawthorn, linden or valerian, 24-48 hours before the arrival of the disturbance.
Then, it would be a good habit to take a shower alternating hot and cold water: this trains the body's often "lazy" thermoregulation system, since we always live at a controlled temperature.
During normal periods, moreover, a moderate and constant physical activity is advisable, able to rebalance the neurovegetative regulation that is the basis of the disorders.
