| Suffered by over one million people in the United | | | | What Does A Cluster Headache Feel Like? |
| States alone (with 90% being male between the | | | | When experiencing a cluster headache. Sufferers |
| ages of 20 and 50), cluster headaches is one of the | | | | most commonly report pain on only one side of the |
| least common types of headaches. While the cause is | | | | head and face during a single series. It should be |
| unknown for this very debilitating type of headache, | | | | noted, however, that the pain can move to the |
| it has been reported that using alcohol during an | | | | other side once one cycle is over, and a new one |
| attack increases its severity. However, no proof has | | | | begins. Most commonly felt behind the eye, the pain |
| been cited to conclude that alcohol use actually | | | | from a cluster headache often radiates to the face |
| causes and onset of a cluster of headaches. | | | | and down the neck. The effected eye may become |
| What Is A Cluster Headache? | | | | swollen, droopy and begin to weep. Excessive |
| Similar to the severity of a migraine, cluster | | | | sweating is not uncommon during an attack, leaving |
| headaches start suddenly, offering little warning of its | | | | the sufferer with a flushed face. |
| advancement. Some people have reported a feeling | | | | How Do I Treat A Cluster Headache? |
| of discomfort or a mild one-sided burning sensation in | | | | Due to the fact the chronic cluster headache periods |
| the head and face prior to an attack. The pain may | | | | are continuous, patients often do not respond |
| be short lived (often less than an hour), but will | | | | favorably to regular forms of headache therapy. |
| disappear, only to return later in the day and into the | | | | However, preventative therapy administered as soon |
| evening. | | | | as symptoms begin may help to lesson the severity |
| Most sufferers report as many as four or more of | | | | and duration of symptoms. Some common forms of |
| these short-lived headaches in a single day, with the | | | | treatment include: |
| duration of the series, lasting for days, weeks, or in | | | | Histamine Desensitization. |
| the most severe cases, months. While the headache | | | | Oxygen Inhalation. |
| periods may last for prolonged periods of time, | | | | Surgical Intervention. |
| sufferers usually are granted months or years of | | | | They may not be as effective as some treatments; |
| relief in between these painful attacks. Sufferers are | | | | taking analgesics, using massage therapy and |
| most affected during the spring and fall, which often | | | | relaxation techniques. Using preventative prescription |
| makes them susceptible to misdiagnosis as less | | | | headache medications have also been used |
| serious allergy headaches. | | | | successfully by some patients. |