In most cases cluster headaches are confused with migraine headaches, but those two are entirely different from each other. Don't take this the wrong way: when you suffer from migraines, you have to endure terrible pain, but cluster headaches are, if you believe it or not, even worse. If you have experienced them before, you will know what I'm talking about. This article will list the most common cluster headache symptoms, so if you suffer from them and you aren't properly diagnosed, you will find out here.
The Major Symptoms of Cluster Headaches:
Cluster headache symptoms often begin just after going to sleep. Doctors don't know why this is, exactly, but it's a common pattern. It's not universal, though; they can come on at any time of day or night. Also, the pain is located on only one side of your head or face, which is where many people mistakenly think the name cluster headaches come from, because the pain isn't spread out evenly, but instead clusters in a particular area. (The name actually refers to the fact that cluster headaches occur in clusters of time, with attacks happening over a period of weeks or months, then stopping.) In the vast sufferers, the pain is on the same side of the face in during nearly every headache, while a small minority of people report that the attacks alternate between both sides. That is, one attack will be on the left side of the face, and the next one will be on the right side, etc. But in all cases, the pain stays only on one side during a particular cluster period.
You'll immediately recognize the onset of a cluster headache because its first symptom is a terrible pain in one eye. Victim after victim report the same thing - a horrible sensation that feels as if they're being stabbed in the eye with a knife or a pair of scissors. The pain, which is almost unbearable, will be at its worst about 10 minutes after the headache begins. This is accompanied by the other major symptom, which is the sensation of tiny little electrical shocks, which only worsen the pain during the cluster period. The cluster period usually lasts between 30 minutes to an hour and a half.
Cluster Headache Symptoms: The Minor Symptoms
The cluster headache symptoms are divided in two categories: major and minor ones. The most important symptoms we have discussed above: the stabbing feeling you have to endure in one eye or on one side of the face. If you have ever suffered from this and it has lasted for over an hour, it's quiet possible that you have had a cluster headache. But to be sure, you will need to know more symptoms, the minor ones, to help you diagnose your headache.
The first minor cluster headache symptoms you might notice are problems with your eye on the affected side of your face, in addition to the terrible pain. Cluster headaches are poorly understood by medical experts even today, so doctors really can't say what causes this reaction, but the affected eyelid may have a noticeable droop during the duration of the headache. In addition, the eye itself may shed tears. These aren't really tears of pain, because both eyes would tear up in that case. And the droopiness and tearing may occur individually, or together. But they'll always happen to the eye on the same side of the face as the headache.
Nasal problems are also classic cluster headache symptoms. It's common to experience either a runny nose or a stopped up nose, and, just as with the eye, it only happens in the nostril on the affected side of the face. Other symptoms include a pronounced restlessness, or anxiety, which is certainly understandable given the intense pain. Finally, profuse sweating and a flushed face are common cluster headache symptoms. One thing to note, although it's not really a symptom, but more of an indicator, is that cluster headaches usually occur in January or July. The reason for this is not known, and is part of the medical mystery of cluster headaches.
If you've been suffering from these symptoms, you've probably been having cluster headaches but didn't know it. It's important that you seek an effective treatment, because they rarely stop occurring on their own.
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