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Migraine headaches from steam heat?

rogerretro
rogerretro Member Posts: 1
in THE MAIN WALL
we have a 1950s era 1 story house with a boiler in the basement. Every time the heat comes on my wife gets a migraine. The interior, including radiator covers, was painted just 7 years ago (hopefully covering any lead paint) The original boiler cracked and was replaced 2 yrs ago, but the migraines still occur when the heat comes on. we had an environmental specialist check the air quality and they found nothing, they said. Any ideas on what could be causing or what type of person to call to investigate?

Comments

  • GGross
    GGross Member Posts: 1,043
    Well get your heating equipment checked out, get an ambient low level CO alarm just in case. You can contact air specialty companies that will put a machine in your home for an extended amount of time that will measure and log pretty much everything in your air. Obviously since this is medical related you should see a doctor as well
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,669
    rogerretro said:

    we have a 1950s era 1 story house with a boiler in the basement. Every time the heat comes on my wife gets a migraine. The interior, including radiator covers, was painted just 7 years ago (hopefully covering any lead paint) The original boiler cracked and was replaced 2 yrs ago, but the migraines still occur when the heat comes on. we had an environmental specialist check the air quality and they found nothing, they said. Any ideas on what could be causing or what type of person to call to investigate?


    It's been my experience that hot dry air can trigger a migraine. Especially sudden changes.
    Is your house drafty?
    What are you using as a thermostat?

    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,631
    It could also be sounds or vibrations.
    CLamb
  • meerkat
    meerkat Member Posts: 35
    edited June 2022
    The lower humidity levels indoors during the heating season can dry out sinus membranes and trigger headaches in people who are sensitive to atmospheric changes. OP, have you tried bringing in a humidifier to see if that makes any difference?

    I grew up in a house like yours, with cast iron radiators and aluminum covers. My mom used to set a pan of water atop every radiator cover during heating season in an attempt to raise the humidity a bit. Humidifiers weren't really a thing back then. I remember the air in the house being so dry that you could practically power a Tesla with the static electricity, lol
    CLamb

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