Cluster pain

The most severe type of headache that can affect people of both sexes and practical of all ages is cluster pain. The pain syndrome that arises suddenly, against a background of general well-being, is characterized by pain of such force that people are ready to say goodbye to life, just to get rid of the painful sensations. Until now, there are no true causes that give rise to this kind of pathology, but there are a number of assumptions that allow, if not to relieve a person of pain forever, then at least to reduce the degree of its manifestation.

[1], [2], [3], [4]

Causes of Cluster Pain

Cluster pain is not common. In general, men are predisposed to this kind of headaches. Experts identified several causes that could provoke the emergence of cluster headaches. These reasons include:

• hereditary predisposition. If one of the relatives suffered from cluster pain, then the probability of transmission of this disease by inheritance is very high;
• violations in one of the brain regions, namely the hypothalamus. What kind of violations are capable of causing attacks of cluster pain, not yet identified;
• long use of alcohol, leading to changes in the vessels of the brain;
• frequent stressful situations;
• chronic fatigue with a constant lack of sleep;
• work with gaseous toxic substances (mercury vapor, for example).

All of the above reasons are only an assumption, one of the main factors for the occurrence of severe headaches, called cluster or beam. Until now, it is not known what dose harmful substances should enter the body, if we talk about poisonous vapors, for example, to develop a pathology that causes severe headaches. The extent and nature of the hypothalamic lesion, which can lead to the development of cluster syndrome, is also unknown. As mentioned above, cluster pain is not common, and it is connected with the difficulties of monitoring patients who seek help not always and not at once, trying for a long time to cope with the disease on their own, and revealing the underlying cause does not always lead to the desired results .

[5], [6], [7]

Types and symptoms of cluster pain

All types of headaches have an international classification, according to which, cluster headache has two forms of manifestation:

• episodic;
• chronic.

The distinctive features of these two forms is the presence of different in terms of the length of the periods of remission. The duration of the cluster headache, in the episodic stage, is from one week to one year with a remission of about two weeks. Attacks of chronic cluster pain of the remission period may not contain at all, or the duration of it is less than two weeks. According to international statistics, the chronic form is much less common than the episodic.

Sudden, sharply arising pain has a pronounced character. The duration of a painful attack can be limited to 10-15 minutes or may last for an hour. Also, suddenly the pain disappears on its own and may not disturb for a sufficiently long time, from several months to several years, or it may happen in a few days. Such periodicity also formed the basis for the name "cluster pain", that is, arising from periods. During the attack, painful sensations are so strong that people, mad with pain, are capable of suicidal actions, in order to stop the painful sensations. This behavior is most typical for those who have already experienced such attacks more than once and are awaiting the next period of pain with fear.

According to the available descriptions of symptoms of manifestation, the following signs of the onset and development of a cluster attack can be distinguished:

• stuffiness of the ear and nose;
• pain from the inside of the eye;
• redness of the eyes, lacrimation;
• redness of the face and a feeling of puffiness;
• increased sweating;

All manifestations concern only one part of the face, it is very rare when the headache covers the entire face completely and spreads over the entire head. The pain of cluster nature is seasonal, so, the most dangerous is the period of spring-autumn.

Burning, painful, throbbing pain forces the patient to be in constant movement, moving from one position to another, trying to find a comfortable position to ease the condition, clasps his head with his hands. Not stopping pain causes a person aggression, refusal to make contact, which makes it difficult to control such patients and communication becomes difficult.

The spread of the pain syndrome begins with one area, for example from the eye area. Then it can capture the frontal and temporal areas with the irradiation of pain in the jaw. Attacks, as a rule, arise not single, but 2-3 times per day, one of them inevitably happens at night, causing a sharp awakening of a person and subsequent severe stress.

Diagnosis of cluster pain

Cluster pain is diagnosed, mainly, by talking to the patient with the patient. It is enough for the doctor to obtain the following data:

• a history that precedes the appearance of pain;
• localization of the main focus of pain;
• duration of pain syndrome;
• the nature of pain;
• frequency of occurrence.

From the description of all the symptoms, a specialist can draw all the necessary conclusions. Additionally, MRI (magnetic resonance therapy) and CT (computed tomography of the brain) can be prescribed to identify comorbidities and probable complications.

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Treatment of cluster pains

Completely get rid of the manifestation of headaches, especially cluster nature, is almost impossible. Timely measures, properly aligned treatment can greatly alleviate the situation and make the pain syndrome less pronounced. Treatment will depend on the severity of the pain syndrome and the frequency of its manifestation. It can be assumed that cluster pain, for sure, will be removed by analgesic therapy, which includes:

• drugs ergotamine - relieve headache by removing the tone of the dilated arteries;
• "Lidocaine" drops into the nose for acute pain;
• inhalation of oxygen (high oxygen content in inhalations contributes to the narrowing of the vessels, which leads to the removal of pain);
• other painkillers in tablets, injections or inhalations (nasal sprays), depending on the individual characteristics of the body, severity of the disease and other factors.

Definitely, to endure pain, even of a minor nature, is absolutely not worth it. It must be remembered that pain is a signal from the body that can not be ignored and left unattended. Address to experts for the help, after all to warn disease is much easier, than to treat.

Prevention of attacks of cluster pain

Until now, there are no special preventive measures aimed at preventing the occurrence of cluster pain. The reason for this is the lack of precise reasons for cluster pain. The only possible measures should be considered: the usual avoidance of abuse of alcohol products, exclude from their lives stressful situations and not allow a strong overwork of the body.