The Best Weather for People With Fibromyalgia
I recently had a chat with a fellow fibro-fighter about what weather is best for people with fibromyalgia that really stuck with me. This conversation started because, while I live in the Bay Area of northern California now, I used to live in Orange County, in southern California. Last weekend I went back for a baby shower, and man did my body feel different when I got there! I knew the cold wet winter that lingered until early this week in the Bay area added to my aches and pains, but it was so nice to go to a hot, dry place for a weekend because I felt a little better!
- What is Fibromyalgia?
- What Are Common Fibromyalgia Symptoms?
This got me thinking, did any other spoonies have a climate they felt best in? To find out, I took my question to the internet, and after some chats and research, it really seems like many of us feel better in a certain type of weather.
The overall response was that most people with fibromyalgia prefer temperate climates with limited humidity, and felt best in spring and fall as extreme hot and cold weather, as well as drastic changes in weather and wet weather especially, tend to increase the severity of their symptoms.
These findings then sparked an idea. If we feel best in a certain climate, shouldn’t we live and vacation there when we can? There are so many other struggles to deal with on vacation and in day-to-day life, why not at least have the weather on your side? So I went back to the internet to find out where the weather is the “best for fibro” based on my findings (i.e. temperate and fairly warm with minimum humidity year around), and came back with a “wish list” of 20 cities around the world. Here it is, by region:
- Oahu, Hawaii
- San Diego, CA
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Quito, Ecuador
- Loja, Ecuador
- Caracas, Venezuela
- Medellin, Columbia
- Bogota, Colombia
- Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Lima, Peru
- Malaga, Spain
- Canary Islands, Spain
- Nice, France
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Sydney, Australia
- Kunming, China
I hope you’re able to enjoy this list, and here’s to more temperate adventures ahead!
This story originally appeared on The Fibro Strong Collective.
Getty image by Irina Sen.
A few years ago I started to feel like no one understood what I was dealing with in terms of chronic illness and mental health, so I went out looking for an understanding community. What I found along the way was that most of us living with chronic conditions are in need of understanding and support, so I formed The Fibro-Strong Collective (thefibrostrongcollective.com) to lend my voice to help fill this void. Connecting with other vocal creators and communities has become increasingly important to my self-care and my work.
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