Causes, symptoms and treatment of cluster headaches

Cluster headache, migraine, or beam, is one of the most painful forms of headaches. These types of spasms are marked as intolerable, splitting and comprehensive and, typically concentrated around the eye. Paroxysms of cluster migraines happen very suddenly and without warning, manifest in the form of a peak spasm 15 minutes after the attack has started.

The Number of victims of this type of migraine is 1% of the inhabitants of our planet. Men are significantly more likely to suffer from migraines than girls. The treatment of this disease should start from the symptoms, but not be limited.

A Lot of people, which is a cluster headache feels unbearable pain.

Classification migraine headaches

Migraines can be:

1. Irregular. Attack (i.e., epileptic) are performed continuously (from 7 days to 12 months). They are divided into long phases of remission without pain lasts no less than one month. 8 out of 10 patients have irregular cycles. A significant number of people who have a first cluster attack do not notice the ensuing seizures.
2. Prolonged. Attacks are constantly (over 12 months), have a light phase with a duration less than 4 weeks. In 2 of 10 patients have prolonged cluster migraines. A constant form is extremely difficult to treat.

Usually identify the following characteristics of the attacks:

1. the timing of the paroxysms. Seizures cluster headache tend to occur regularly, in the same period of the day, especially in the morning. Most of the attacks committed between early evening and dawn, limit time – from midnight until 4:00.
2. Duration of seizures. Cluster seizures are, as a rule, short, but extremely painful, lasting 15 to 90 minutes.
3. Number of seizures per day. During the intensive cycle people have a chance to survive just 1 attack every other day, but sometimes – and as much as 8 seizures per night.
4. the Duration of cycles. Attacks often continue for from six to eighteen months, followed by remission lasting no longer than one year. In protracted form, the paroxysms are protracted, but it does happen sometimes remission. Cycles occur seasonally, mainly in spring and autumn. Without treatment in this case can not do.

Role of the hypothalamus in the development of headache

One of the factors of migraines are pathology in the hypothalamus.

The Experiments of scientists show that pathology in the hypothalamus (the body placed in the brain) playing a significant role in cluster headaches. Modern visualization techniques have revealed that during the period of seizure cluster migraine is activated by the fragment of the hypothalamus.

The Hypothalamus participates in regulation of numerous important chemical elements and nervous lines, including:

• hydrocortisone (hormone of stress)
• melatoninbuy hormone associated with the human response to light and dark;
• beta endorfinov hormones (substances that are responsible for pain).

The Trigeminal nerve, in addition, participates in the regulation of chemical substances and nervous lines. Trigeminal vasomotor transmits nerve impulses from the face to the brain. A patient develops a cluster headache because of the defect in the transmission of these pulse signals.

Role of other factors

The Causes of the disease can be other factors. Cluster attacks often occur during the period certain stages of sleep. They also come along with the seasonal increase in temperature. Almost all patients are informed about the increase of attacks in the daylight. The scientists focused their attention on circadian rhythms and, in particular, the small bundles of nerves in hypothalamus area that function as a biological chronometer. The hormone melatonin, in addition, participates in the work of biorhythms of the person.

Migraines can be caused by expansion of blood vessels and inflammation of nerve fibers located in the space behind the eye socket. Inflammation close to nerves has the ability to cause splitting, pulsing pain in the eye. Trigeminal vasodilator departs from the brain in the space behind the eye and sends nerve signals to your brain and facial muscles. Such causes are fairly common.

What causes these processes and how they relate to clustered spasms in the head? It's still unclear.

Some evidence suggests that abnormalities in Autonomous nervous organization can contribute to the subtype cluster migraines. This system regulates the muscles, for example, heart-or those that control the contraction of blood vessels.

Conditions of occurrence of cluster pain symptoms

To Trigger cluster attacks:

• alcohol and tobacco;
• weather changes
• high altitude (mountaineering, flying);
• sudden odors;
• strong light (including solar);
• huge amperage;
• fever (high temperature air, whirlpool or shower)
• foods with lots of nutrients (for example, pork, meat canned foods)
• of drugs (including those that provoke the increase of blood vessels).

These conditions typically cause activation of pain only in the period of intense cycle of the cluster. If the disorder is in the form of remission, it rarely generates new migraine.

Symptoms of cluster migraine headaches are usually pronounced. Moderate pain is unbearable.

Patients may feel agitated or anxious during the seizure and often wish to retire.

gastrointestinal symptoms are not too frequent.

Possible signs of migraine are:

• swollen or “fallen” ever;
• watery eyes
• rhinitis
• hyperhidrosis of the forehead;
• irritation from bright light and loud sounds;
• anxiety and agitation;
• nausea and vomiting
• increasing the pupil of the eye.

The Symptoms of migraine include splitting, a powerful pain behind or above one eye, a break in the retina of the eye, congestion in the nostril, century metamorphoses, etc.

Symptoms of other disorders

Every person is obliged to go to the doctor if any of the following signs:

1. severe headache (may be an indication of an apoplexy in the brain or breakage of the aneurysm).
2. Prolonged or powerful migraines that begin in humans after 50 years.
3. Headache, accompanied by other symptoms: loss of memory, confusion, lack of coordination, changes in speech or vision, numbness, tingling in the hands or feet (likely a small stroke in the brain).
4. Headache, which is accompanied by fever, nuchal hardness of the muscles, vomiting and nausea (probable meningitis).
5. Migraines that are worse from coughing (probable brain swelling).
6. Throbbing pain around or behind the eyes and in the frontal lobe, which is accompanied by redness in the eyes and an illusion of halos or rings around light sources in the direction of looking at them (likely acute glaucoma).
7. Limited headache in older people. The arteries become hard and knotty, no pulse (probable pathology of the arteries in the temporal area, which can cause blindness or heart attack).
8. Persistent pulse of pain around the eye (may be their radionovna to the ear or the neck, likely a blood clot in one of the interior areas of the blood vessels supplying the brain).

Often Treatment is not the elimination of the specific impact of pain themselves, and with the elimination of the primary causes of disease.