Tell Your Friends About HealthandWellnessCentral.com ™ Sign-Up Free  |Member Login  

HealthandWellnessCentral.com
<

Home | Health Condition | Headache-migraine

A Guide To Cluster Headache Treatment

By:

Before we discuss cluster headache treatment, here is a brief introduction to cluster headaches: Cluster headaches are a rare (occurrence less than 0.1% of the population, affecting predominantly the males) type of sudden and acute, but short-lived headache attacks that come recurrently in different stages or clusters; each attack can last for 15 minutes to 3 hours. This type of headaches are so excruciatingly painful that they are sometimes also known as suicide headaches. The cluster headaches are characterized by a penetrating and stabbing kind of pain affecting only one side of the head near the eye or temple region, accompanied often by reddening and watering of the eye and a stuffy nose.

Options Available For Cluster Headache Treatment

As far as cluster headache treatment is concerned, there are not too many options available as a genuine cure has not yet been found – the primary focus is on providing prompt relief from the pain by nipping it in the bud, or to reduce its intensity and duration. Since a cluster headache is often short-lived, a cluster headache treatment must be acute, i.e., fast-acting. One such abortive treatment involves inhaling oxygen. Though this method is very effective and can abort an attack as fast as 5 minutes, ready access to an oxygen cylinder at the time and place of attack can make it limiting and sometimes impractical. Imagine carrying an oxygen cylinder all the time, every where you go!

There are some over-the-counter prescription drugs (e.g., Imitrex, Migranal, Sandostatin, injectable form or as a nasal spray) available too for cluster headache treatment, but none of them seems to give satisfactory relief for most of the people. Nasal drops of a local anesthetic like Xylocaine has also been tried and found effective in some people against cluster headaches.

Lastly, a rarely recommended option for cluster headache treatment in chronic cases, where no other treatment seems effective, is surgery. This involves destroying the pathways of the trigeminal nerve, a nerve believed to be involved in cluster headache pain. But, as of now, this kind of surgery too has its own risks and limitations, and sometimes may not even yield lasting results.

Conclusion

Cluster headaches are the most agonizing pains one can suffer from, and it is but natural that the lack of a proper cure for this ailment can despair even the most optimistic of people. But here is something to comfort all those suffering from cluster headaches: medical researchers are continually experimenting with all kinds of options (drugs, hypothalamus-stimulating implants, etc.) and working towards an effective cluster headache treatment, and it is just a matter of time before they understand this ailment fully and come up with a long-lasting cure or preventive measures.

Till then, the best option is to stay relaxed and consult your physician to find an individual treatment option that suits you the most.

Article Source: http://www.healthandwellnesscentral.com

Christopher Jay provides free and extremely helpful information on his content rich What Causes A Headache site. For more information please explore Cluster Headache Treatment with our onsite search function


Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated


Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Headache-Migraine Articles Via RSS!

Additional Articles From - Home | Health Condition | Headache-migraine
Sign Up Free | Learn More
Home
Member Login
Submit Articles
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Article RSS Feeds
New Annoucements
Link to Us
About Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

Check Out:Blessed Herbs

Highly Recommendation:

eBook Recommendation:

i
eBook Recommendation:

Recommendation:

Recommendation:

Recommendation:

Copyright © and All Rights Reserved.
Use of Our Service is subject to Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Powered by Article Dashboard