They are a painful type of pains in the head, which strike in cyclical patterns. The pains are relatively short but they can leave you awakened at night,with the pain characteristically occurring on one eye and one side of your head.
Cluster periods are the series of attacks that a person suffers, and these periods are normally accompanied by periods-when there are no attacks and pains for months or years. The most interesting fact about these pains is that, more often than not, they strike during the fall and spring each year. Since they are seasonal in nature, many people confuse them with stress and symptoms of allergies.
They are the least common forms of head pains and they mostly affect more men than women. They sometimes get more severe than common migraines, and they strike without caution,causing intense pain to one side of the head.
Cluster Headaches Diagnosis
No one has so far unraveled their causes , but what we know is that whenever they strike,they can leave one of your eyes and one side of the head in excruciating pain which begin to radiate to other parts of the head,face,neck and even the shoulders.
Because they are usually punctuated by a series of short but extremely painful bouts of pain, a diagnosis will mainly depend on how you will describe the severity of the attacks to the doctor. Your doctor should inquire about the location and the intensity of the aches, as well as any other associated symptoms. How often these pains occur and the time they last are also very important determinants in the diagnosis.
Diagnostic processes
Your doctor will inquire about your symptoms in examining the intensity of your pain.After your doctor has maximumly examined your pain using these factors, he should be able to pinpoint its nature and causes using certain expert approaches. Some of the diagnostic processes that your doctor may consider using to arrive at the best conclusion about your condition and pain include:
Read More: How to get rid of cluster headaches?
- Neurological examination
A doctor may use this to detect any physical sign of a intense pain.During this procedure, the doctor applies a series of tests to evaluate brain function,nerves,senses and reflexes.
- Brain Imaging
These tests are carried out to rule out tumors and aneurysm,which could be the most serious causes of excruciating pain. MRT and CT Scans are the most effective forms of brain imaging.
Cluster Headaches: Signs and symptoms
Even though these pains strike without warning, there are symptoms to look out for in order to determine whether yours is a cluster headache or not. They include:-Intense pain on one eye-One sided pain-Swelling around the affected eye accompanied by a drooping eyelid-Runny and stuffy nose only on the affected side-Restlessness-Excessive tearing-The skin around the face becomes pale-Facial ad forehead sweating-The affected eye becomes darker
Cluster headaches Causes
The exact causes of cluster headaches remain unknown,but unlike migraines, this form of headaches is not caused by trigger factors. Their likelycauses include the use of heart disease treatment like nitroglycerin. Other risk factors of cluster headaches include:
-Smoking and alcohol use
-Sex. Men are more likely to suffer cluster headaches than women are.
-Age. Even though these pains can affect anyone, they mainly attack those aged between 20-50 years.
-Family history of cluster headaches.
Natural health Remedies 