For a small segment of the population, cluster headaches can cause severe pain with little warning. Cluster headaches attack at seemingly random intervals, for which they gain their name. Patients can go years without a single cluster headache, and suddenly suffer them for days or weeks at a time. The exact cause of cluster headaches is not known, although it is thought that stress, alcohol, and drugs are all prompters of the condition. Even without these factors, however, a cluster headache can strike a patient at any time. A cluster headache can be easily identified by the pain level.
A sufferer of a cluster headache sometimes experiences a runny nose or eyes. The pain tends to focus behind one eye, and is often described as feeling like an icepick. This extremely uncomfortable sensation sometimes becomes very painful, often times triggering a pain crisis in the patient. The pain is often intense enough to cause irrational behavior and extreme reactions. Immediate treatment is very important. Sedatives and pain killers should be the first line of defense against cluster headaches.
Cluster headache treatment is a difficult process because of the seemingly random nature of their attacks. Instead of a lifelong regimen of medication, cluster headache treatment is usually a matter of lifestyle alteration. Avoiding drugs and alcohol should be a mandatory first step. Although prevention is difficult, cluster headache treatment measures such as powerful pain killers can be necessary to have on hand.
Frequent cluster headaches are a definite sign that a visit to the doctor is in order. Although cluster headaches may happen totally at random, they may sometimes be a sign of a deeper neurological issue. If this is the case, patients should see a doctor as soon as possible. Some forms of stress management can also help to reduce cluster headache occurence. Although the role of stress in cluster headache treatment is not certain, it is known to play a role in other headaches, and could potentially have an effect on the cluster variety of headaches. Significant emotional stress is known to cause a variety of physiological symptoms, and could play an important role in cluster headaches as well.
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