What are Cluster Headaches?
by: LeeDobbins
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The pain you feel with a cluster headache is much greater than a traditional headache. The pain is generally located behind the temple or eye and can spread to the neck or shoulders. Some frequent symptoms are eyelid drooping, tearing, runny nose, blushing, swelling, sweating and a reddening of the eye.
If you tend to get cluster headaches everyday at the same time for a number of days and then notice that you are headache free for some time before the cluster headaches begin again then you suffer from episodic cluster headaches. Those individuals that do not have a headache relief period but always get cluster headaches, every day suffer from chronic cluster headaches. You can be prone to both types of cluster headaches and switch between them.
Cluster headaches tend to be more prevalent in men than women, whereas women tend to have more migraine headaches. The pain from the cluster headache is caused by a dilation of the blood vessels which applies pressure onto the trigeminal nerve. The cause of the dilation of the blood vessels is still unknown.
Some known triggers of cluster headaches are chocolate, exposure to sun, alcohol, exposure to hydrocarbon products like gasoline and perfume, nitro-glycerine, lack of sleep, too much sleep and heat. Not too individuals are a like so why cluster headaches form is confusing. Certain foods also trigger cluster headaches so you need to be observant of what is the trigger for your cluster headaches.
Alcohol, exposure to hydrocarbon products like gas and perfume, chocolate, lack of sleep, too much sleep, heat and nitro-glycerine are all known triggers to cluster headaches. Certain foods can also trigger a cluster headache though this is very dependent on the individual. You may need to regulate or change your diet if you notice that a specific food product triggers your cluster headaches.
Over the counter pain medication like aspirin, Tylenol and Advil are ineffective and relieving cluster headache pain. You need to use either abortive or prophylactic medication to treat cluster headaches. Abortive treatments can decrease the length of your headache but does not eliminate them. Prophylactive or preventative treatment is always the preferred option.
Melatonin, lithium, methysergide, muscle relaxants, steroids, calcium channel blockers and magnesium supplements have all been found to prevent cluster headaches depending on the individual. You will respond differently to each treatment so it is important to pay attention to what causes your cluster headaches and which treatments work the best and preventing or shortening them. If you do not like taking medication there are some herbal treatments that some people have found to be effective against cluster headaches.
About the Author
You don't need to suffer from headaches if you know how to treat them. Please visit Headache Causes And Treatments where you can learn more about cluster headaches as well as how to treat them.
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