HEADACHE — CLUSTER – INTRODUCTION
Cluster headache often goes untreated because it is not always clearly recognised.
It is regarded, like migraine, as a vascular headache. That is, changes in the walls of the arteries in the head are believed to trigger the pain.
Unlike migraine, which is far more common in women, cluster headache is almost entirely a male disease — less than 10 per cent of cases being women. Migraine has a strong family link, but this is not present in cluster headache.
It was first described in 1939, and typically occurs in men who are conscientious, self-sufficient, hard-driving and tense. The average age of onset is the forties, but it may occur for the first time in children or the elderly.
One of the most constant features of this headache is that it tends to occur in bouts or clusters, which gives it its name.
The sufferer may be free of attacks for weeks, months or years, then it recurs. The pain is usually of a steady, boring nature and severe; and is felt behind the eyes, in the temple, and may radiate to the back of the neck or down the face. It is usually one-sided.
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