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Cluster headache (Horton syndrome) is the strongest headache. It is so intense that it leads to irrational behavior during an attack, such as hitting the head against a wall, and in some cases even to suicide attempts. What are the causes and symptoms of cluster headache? What is its treatment? How to ease it?

Cluster headache(Raeder's syndrome or histamine headache, Latincephalea Hortoni , formerly headache syndrome Horton , ) is the most intense headache. It belongs to the group of primary pains, i.e. those that are not caused by any disease (this group also includes migraine), and most often occurs in men between the ages of 20 and 50 ( although a case of cluster pain has been reported) head in a one-year-old child).

Cluster headache - causes

The causes of cluster headache are unknown. Alcohol is known to be a trigger for pain. Moreover, the risk of cluster headaches increases among family members of the sick.

Cluster headache symptoms

The symptoms of cluster headache are very characteristic, therefore its diagnosis does not pose any major problems:

  • is described as excruciating, burning, glaring, stabbing, drilling and most of all very intense
  • is one-sided (occurs on one side of the head)
  • is located within the innervation of the trigeminal nerve, i.e. the innervation of the face sensory. This means that the pain may appear in the orbital (behind the eyeball) or temporal area, more rarely in the cheek or jaw area
  • an attack of pain occurs suddenly (without any predictive symptoms), reaching its maximum intensity within about 5 minutes and lasting an average of 15-20 minutes, less frequently up to 2 hours. There are 3-8 such pain attacks every 24 hours
  • occurs in clusters, i.e. several seizure groups. Most often, the cluster (pain period) lasts from several weeks to several months. Patients usually complain of 2-3 such pain periods a year, between which there are asymptomatic periods (so-called remissions), usually lasting about 3-4 months
  • usually appears during sleep
  • once localized pain appears practically always thereinsame place, rarely moves

In addition, some of the symptoms appear:

  • tearing
  • conjunctival redness
  • stuffy nose
  • runny nose
  • pupil constriction
  • narrowing of the eyelid gap
  • eyelid swelling

A characteristic companion symptom is Horner's symptom on the side of the aching head, characterized by a sunken eyeball, a narrowed eyelid and a narrowed pupil.

Due to the fact that cluster headache is characterized by high intensity, patients may behave irrational during an attack, e.g. be aggressive, bang their heads against a wall. They can even attempt suicide.

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Cluster headache - how to relieve pain?

Do not lie down during an attack, because lying down increases the pain. Relief, but only a minor one, can be obtained from walking and putting pressure on the painful area of ​​the head.

Cluster headache treatment

The first method of treatment is to combat a single attack by inhaling pure oxygen. In addition, the patient is given medications (sumatriptan). The second method of treatment is to stop painful periods. For this, steroid drugs are used. It is also important to prevent pain attacks. In this case, the sodium s alt of valproic acid is most effective.

Invasive treatment is also possible, by injecting the trigeminal ganglion with alcohol, glycerol or lidocaine. Thus, its activity is weakened. The radical solution is surgical treatment and gamma irradiation, which is associated with complications (e.g. impaired sensation on the face).

Read also:

  • Dangerous causes of headache
  • The research will explain the causes of the headache
  • Coffee headache
  • Sinus Headache

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Category:

Neurology