Human Barometer With Endometriosis

I remember being a child and thinking the older people were full of it when they spoke about the effects of future weather on their bodies. They always said they knew when the weather would get worse because of different types of pain, such as knee pain. The older that I get, the more I understand them now.

It will rain, and my endometriosis is bothering me more than usual. Why is that?

Inflammation in the body

The news channel is discussing a rain system headed our way this week. I already feel the ache from my endometriosis.

While my endometriosis is mainly controlled, it does not miss a weather-related opportunity to remind me that it is there. My endometriosis is better at forecasting the weather than my knee or the meteorologists.

Inflammation can be acute, temporary, or it can be chronic. Many assume that the redness, warmth, swelling, and pain around tissues and joints are bad in response to an injury. But inflammation is good as long as it does not become chronic.

Inflammation and endometriosis

Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease in which the lining of the uterus grows on the outside of the uterus on other internal organs. Unfortunately, endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease.

Chronic inflammation occurs when “the immune system continues to pump out white blood cells and chemical messengers that prolong the process.” This causes the immune system to fight what it perceives as a threat continuously.¹

Some of the endometriosis’ significant symptoms are caused by chronic inflammation. Two of these symptoms, pelvic pain and infertility, are caused at least in part by the chronic inflammation process.

Barometric pressure

Many individuals understand that the change in barometric pressure has something to do with the weather. Additionally, most individuals recognize that it can influence some people’s bodies.

But how barometric pressure works and what it means can be confusing to some people.

Barometric pressure reading

In simple terms, when the barometer rises, the air pressure increases. This high reading on a barometer means good weather.¹

On the other hand, a low reading on the barometer indicates some bad weather.

Barometric pressure effect on the body

A change in the barometric pressure can cause physical changes in your body. This occurs because “the barometric pressure measures how much force the air around you is applying against your body.” ²

This invisible force is lifted when the barometer provides a low reading. As mentioned before, a low barometric pressure reading predicts poor upcoming weather.

This lower level of air pressure is what creates a painful situation inside our bodies. The tissues within the body can expand when the air pressure decreases, and these expanded tissues increase internal pressure.³

Barometric pressure and endometriosis

The endometriosis growths are tissue. The change in the barometric pressure allows these tissue growths to expand, just like the tissues within a knee joint. This expanded tissue puts pressure on everything surrounding it.

Personally, during rain or a cold front, my endometriosis aches more than usual. It is one of the ways that I know there will be poor weather.

Does your endometriosis flare when it is raining outside?