- Symptoms and features
- When to go to the doctor
- Can cluster headaches cure?
- Treatment for cluster headache
- What causes cluster headache
- How is the diagnosis
The headache on only one side of the face, which is very strong, piercing and which arises during sleep is the main characteristic of cluster headache, a rare disease, much stronger and incapacitating than migraine, being known as worse pain we can feel, being stronger than a kidney, pancreatic crisis or labor pain.
The pain affects only one side of the face, it can be throbbing and the person cannot stand still, having to walk from side to side during a crisis. Other features are redness and watering of the eye on the same side of the pain.
The treatments are not very effective and do not cure or resolve crises, but despite being a very intense pain, which is related to changes in the hypothalamus and trigeminal nerve, cluster headaches cannot kill, but it greatly impairs the quality of life of person in times of crisis.
Symptoms and features
The characteristic symptoms of cluster headache are:
- Sharp pain that affects only one side of the head; Pain behind the eye; Red eye on the affected side; Swelling of the face on the pain side; Difficulty opening the eye completely on the pain side; The pain area is the size of a each crisis lasts approximately 15 to 20 days and the person may have episodes of severe pain that happen 2 or 3 times a day; the pain may appear at any time of the day, but generally the person knows the time who will appear, because 'there is an appointment'; during the crisis the person has at least 1 episode of pain at dawn per day, which can start 1 or 2 hours after sleeping; the person wakes up with a searing headache always on the same side, during that crisis, although it may have affected the other side in a previous crisis; The pain is so intense that it does not allow any kind of activity during the episode, and the person cannot be quiet; It is not possible to identify when a new period will start crisis; the person may have 1 or 2 crisis periods lasting about 2 weeks a year, or every 3 years. For example: One crisis period per year, every year and during this period the person may have 3 or 4 intense headache crises per day, for 20 days; It is not known when the crisis will end, but some people report that the headaches start to be more widely spaced, with fewer episodes per day, until it disappears completely, returning only months or years later; it is not known what can trigger a new crisis after months apart.
See other characteristics that identify this type of headache in: Cluster headache symptoms.
When to go to the doctor
In case of a very severe headache that affects only one side of the face, especially around the eye, you should call an ambulance or go to the hospital for proper treatment.
The patient should tell the doctor in as much detail as possible about the characteristics of his headache and everything he has done to try to relieve it. So the doctor can order tests and decide the most suitable therapy for that moment.
Can cluster headaches cure?
Its cure has not yet been discovered and there is no specific treatment but patients can use a 100% oxygen mask at the time of the crisis to relieve the headache more quickly.
Treatment for cluster headache
Treatment can be done with a series of medications that can be used to stop a crisis faster, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids and the use of a 100% oxygen mask in times of crisis. However, it is very common for patients to complain that the pain does not go away completely and that the side effects of the drugs are very unpleasant.
As crises are more common at night, a good tip is for the individual to have an oxygen balloon at home when a crisis period begins. Thus, the pain decreases considerably making it more bearable. Taking 10 mg of melatonin before bed can also relieve symptoms and decrease the risk of a flare-up.
In addition, the patient cannot drink any alcohol or smoke because they can trigger an episode of headache immediately. However, outside the crisis period a person can consume alcoholic beverages socially because they will not trigger a new crisis period.
Foods with a lot of fat, such as sausages and bacon, are rich in nitrates and can worsen pain, as well as major climate changes that seem to facilitate the onset of a crisis.
What causes cluster headache
In most patients, stress and tiredness are related to the onset of crises, but there is no scientific proof of this fact. The age at which this type of migraine starts to manifest is between 20 and 40 years old, and although the cause is unknown, the majority of patients are men.
The causes of cluster headache are believed to be related to the malfunction of the hypothalamus, because it appears to be related to the circadian cycle, which regulates sleep and wake time, but despite this, its cure has not yet been found and its causes have not yet been found. are fully known.
How is the diagnosis
The doctor can diagnose cluster headache by observing the symptoms presented, but can order tests such as an MRI to check for brain changes. In the absence of changes, the suspicion of this disease may increase. Usually the diagnosis is delayed, but it is made by the neurologist, after months or years and, therefore, it is common that not all patients are diagnosed in their first cluster headache attack.
