The cluster headache is a malady that affects just 69 out of 100,000 people in the population-much fewer than those who suffer from migraines, sinus headaches, or one of the many other types of headaches. This is probably why it was not really recognized by the medical community until the last 150 years or so and is still largely misunderstood.

Cluster headaches are rare headaches that often occur in groups or clusters and are frequently associated with drooping eyelids, red, watery eyes and nasal congestion on the affected side of the face. This is also characterized by severe headaches of piercing quality near one eye or temple that last for between fifteen minutes to three hours.

There are several treatments available to help decrease the severity of pain and shorten the headache period. These include induction therapy, maintenance therapy, symptomatic therapy, natural herbs and supplements, melatonin, and yoga and meditation.

Symptoms
If you can answer yes to many of these categories, then you may be suffering from cluster headache syndrome.
• You are male, aged 20-50
• Headache is one sided
• Headache is in your eye and socket
• The pain is sudden and explosive
• It often wakes you from sleep at night
• You have many headaches for weeks (the cluster ‘bout’) and then none from months
• You get a stuffed up nose with the headache
• Your forehead sweats

Cluster Headaches Treatment
It’s said that migraines are very painful but a cluster headaches can top this. Cluster headaches are also sometimes described as "suicide headaches" because of their sudden and extremely painful attacks which can last anywhere between five minutes and three hours. Another disturbance is the fact that cluster headaches often come in the night at the same time, waking you up with a severe pain.

Cluster headaches are not migraines but both are vascular headaches. Other types of headaches are myogenic/musculare (tension-typed), traction and inflammatory headaches which are usually much less aching. The causes are unknown but it's believed that migraines and cluster headaches derive from the dilution of the blood vessels.

Medication
Although this type of headache is often classified together with the migraine headache, the cluster headache is not the same at all-even responding to different types of medication. Migraines typically respond to drugs containing propanolol, but clusters do not show the same relief from this type of drug.



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