Cluster Headaches Definition, Symptoms And Treatments

Cluster Headaches Definition, Symptoms And Treatments

Free Online Articles Directory

Why Submit Articles?
Top Authors
Top Articles
FAQ
ABAnswers

Publish Article

0 && $.browser.msie ) {
var ie_version = parseInt($.browser.version);
if(ie_version Login

Email

Password

Remember me?
Lost Password?

Home Page > Health > Diseases and Conditions > Cluster Headaches Definition, Symptoms And Treatments

Cluster Headaches Definition, Symptoms And Treatments

Edit Article |

Posted: Feb 23, 2011 |Comments: 0
|

]]>

Medical symptoms of cluster headaches include excruciating pain earning nicknames such as “suicide headache ” or “alarm clock headache” owing to the fact that cluster headaches can awaken a person from rest. The headaches pain occurs in a cyclic pattern of 1 to 3 headaches per day per cluster period (typically lasting two weeks to three months ). The headaches then disappear fully as the sufferer moves into remission. Remission may last for months or even many years.

Cluster Headaches Symptoms And Causes

Cluster headaches are unusual and not life-threatening but are very intense. The headaches strike quickly, frequently with out warning. Signs or symptoms of cluster headaches include:

Excruciating, burning or knife-like pain experiencedbehind or around one eye whichspreads over that half of the face or head and may travel into the neck and shoulder
Congestion or runny nose
Sweating
Swelling about the eye on the afflictedside of the face
Problems closing the affected eyelid (Ptosis) or a drooping eyelid
Excessive tearing and redness of the eye on the afflicted side
Reduced pupil measurement
Restlessness (pacing or rocking behavior)

Cluster headaches are usually brief, generally lasting only 15 mins and not often lasting over a couple of hours. Nonetheless, they are excruciating and intense. The discomfort will stop as rapidly as it began. Following an attack the individual can be totally free of pain and discomfort, but exhausted.

Some will report migraine-like signs and symptoms which includes nausea, sensitivity to lights and sounds or an aura, even so, not like a migraine, these indications may be noticed on only one side of the head.

As the name suggests, cluster headaches commonly happen for a few weeks to months then vanish. A sufferer may have signs and symptoms in a cyclic pattern with headaches appearing at roughly a similar time each year. Signs and symptoms commonly arise in the spring and fall.

Cluster headaches are not common. Ninety percent of cluster headache sufferers are male, a lot between the ages of 20-30 years old (although headaches can develop at any age). Possessing a family background of cluster headaches could make you much more susceptible to getting them yourself.

The definitive cause of cluster headaches is not fully known , but may involve abnormalities of the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the portion of the brain that controls your “internal biological clock” that regulates sleep and wake cycles.

It is thought that the hypothalamus plays a function in activating the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve is the main nerve of the face and is responsible for sensations such as heat and pain. When activated, the nerve causes the eye pain felt with cluster headaches. It additionally stimulates a different group of nerves responsible for the tearing, redness, nasal congestion and runny nose linked with these headaches.

Cluster headaches have a tendency to be influenced by seasonal changes, with the spring and fall being the more typical times for headaches to arise, that may be tied to the abnormalities of the hypothalamus. Throughout a cluster period, headaches may be triggered by alcohol consumption or smoking. Other possible triggering factors include histamine injection and nitroglycerin ingestion.

Cluster Headaches Diagnosis And Treatment

An individual who just started experiencing cluster headaches is advised see a medical doctor to rule out various other disorders. The headaches pain, though intense, is usually not the result of an underlying disease, however, various other diseases such as a brain tumor or aneurysm might mimic the symptoms of cluster headaches.

A proper diagnosis will be mainly based on the traits of the headache like the kind of pain and the pattern of attacks. An evaluation by a medical physician may involve a physical examination, blood tests, and imagining tests like CT or MRI scans.

Alternate diagnosis which will have to be ruled out include: Migraines (particularly facial migraines), Raeders Paratrigeminal Syndrome, Trigeminal Neuralgia, internal carotid aneurysm, or headache due to TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) or infarction of lateral medulla.

There is no known cure for cluster headaches. Treatment will be geared toward decreasing the severity of the pain and shortening the length of the attacks and the length of the cluster period.

Over-the-counter pain medicines such as aspirin and ibuprofen are usually unsuccessful in the relieving of cluster headaches owing to the fact that the headaches come on suddenly and frequently subside within a short time, leaving no time for the medication to have an effect. Having said that, there are a number of fast-acting treatments that can produce some pain relief. These fast-acting remedies involve:

100 % Oxygen inhaled by way of a mask
The injectable form of sumatriptan (Imitrex)
Octreotide (Sandostatin, Octreotide Acetate) injections
Local anesthetics like lidocaine (Xylocaine) applied intranasally
Dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal) administered intraveneously

Other medications may be recommended as preventive therapy. The objective of these medicines is to suppress an attack as it starts. Your medical professional may prescribe:

Calcium channel blocker agent, verapamil (Calan, Verelan)
Coticosteroids like prednisone
Lithium carbonate
Nerve block
Ergotamine (Ergomar)
Melatonin
Divalproex (Depakote)

Surgery to block the trigeminal nerve could be an hope for those who do not tolerate the medicines or who have not been helped with typical treatment.

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/cluster-headaches-definition-symptoms-and-treatments-4295580.html”

(ArticlesBase SC #4295580)

Start increasing your traffic today just by submitting articles with us, click here to get started.
Liked this article? Click here to publish it on your website or blog, it’s free and easy!

Erin G. Kelly -
About the Author:

Take an active role in your health by learning all you can about Cluster Headaches

You can read more about this condition and use a free tool that walks you through your symptoms and leads you to an online diagnosis. Prepare yourself before your doctor’s visit and figure out what your symptoms means using this Medical Symptom Diagnosis Tool.

]]>

Questions and Answers

Ask our experts your Diseases and Conditions related questions here…

Ask

200 Characters left

What is the immediate treatment for regular headache. headache is getting during too hot atmosphere time, too cold time, rainy season
What are the symptoms of sinus headaches ?
X,46 years,is patient of dysmenorrheal symptoms.what are the treatment strategies?

Rate this Article

1
2
3
4
5

vote(s)
0 vote(s)

Feedback
RSS
Print
Email
Re-Publish

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/cluster-headaches-definition-symptoms-and-treatments-4295580.html

Article Tags:
medical symptoms, cluster headaches, cluster headaches symptoms, cluster headache