Migraines? Don’t Even Think of Moving To This Missouri City

Headaches are one of the worst illnesses we can suffer. They're worse than colds, tummy trouble, and a sore throat. The only thing worse than a headache is diarrhea or maybe an earache. It's just one of those things that when you have one, the only thing that seems to fix it is sleep. So, I can't imagine dealing with migraine headaches on the regular.

If you're unfamiliar, migraines are the type of headache that can come out of nowhere, last for hours, and, in severe cases, last for days. According to Bellabuzz.com, migraines can be brought on by certain foods and your environment. That environment can be anything from your job to drastic weather changes, pollution, loud noises, and anything that can cause stress.

While migraine sufferers can control some of these things, some, like the environment, are a little bit harder for someone to control. Yet, in some cases, picking a smaller, less stressful town or a town that doesn't have big pollution problems can make a difference.

Bellabuzz.com ranked five cities as the worst places for migraine sufferers to live. St. Louis is number five on the website's list.

They dislike St. Louis because of its high pollen counts, humid conditions, and air pollution. Bellabuzz also points out that poor lifestyle choices, like drinking whole milk and eating aged cheeses, can bring on migraines. I don't know if they think St. Louis is filled with milk-drinking cheese eaters, but outside of the pollen, humidity, and pollution, there isn't much more of a reason to avoid St. Louis.

Oddly, they also mention food again for their number three city to avoid, Madison, Wisconsin. Aside from the humidity, they pointed out that in this region, cheese, dairy products, chocolates, and alcohol are part of the lifestyle, and those can trigger migraines.

So, what other cities besides St. Louis and Madison make the list?

Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas, are number four on their list. This is thanks to shifts in barometric pressure related to the storms that come through the area. Bellabuzz says research has shown that the Little Rock area has more prescriptions written for migraines than other parts of the country.

The number two city on the list, Knoxville, also experiences barometric pressure changes and rapidly changing weather, which are reasons migraine sufferers avoid this city. They also point out Knokville's coffee and alcohol consumption as a reason for migraine sufferers to avoid the town.

At number one on the website's list: Cincinnati. Busy folks who don't sleep enough are part of the problem for this town, combined with weather that includes frequent rain, lightning and thunder, and heavy winter storms.

Look, lifestyle factors like drinking, eating/drinking dairy, or whatever are controlled by migraine sufferers. So I wouldn't avoid St. Louis because it's a town that loves its Provel cheese. Or skip living in Knoxville because coffee's consumed a lot. No, the individual can take responsibility for what they're putting in their body.

That said, places where the barometric pressure changes a lot or there's a lot of heat, humidity, or pollution. Sure, those are things a migraine sufferer might want to consider before moving to any of the cities on this list, including St. Louis.

According to Bellabuzz, here are the top five cities to avoid if you're a migraine sufferer:

• St. Louis, Missouri
• Little Rock/North Little Rock, Arkansas
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Knoxville, Tennesse
• Cincinnati, Ohio