Cluster headaches aren’t that common but they are extremely painful. And they often occur when seasons change.
A cluster headache is a rare headache disorder that differs from a typical migraine or headache. Less than 1% of the population have cluster headaches, but for those people, it’s an intense experience because the headaches come on fast and hit hard.
Imagine being woken up abruptly by excruciating head pain that reaches peak intensity in seconds.
“Then (there is) 15 to 20 minutes of this pain, which is so severe that patients often cannot sit still. They have to get up, pace around, maybe push on the head or bang things against the head. And then, again, it shuts off like a light switch,” says Carrie Robertson, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dr. Robertson is describing a cluster headache attack.
“For patients who struggle with this, for six to 12 weeks, they may have multiple headaches per day ― maybe one to eight headaches per day,” Dr. Robertson says. “And then, just as abruptly as the cycle started, the cycle will shut off. And they might be headache-free for months or even a year before another cycle starts.”
Many times, cluster headache will occur without a trigger. However, a cluster headache tends to be seasonal.
“There’s no cure for cluster headaches, but treatments are available to decrease the severity of pain, shorten the headache period and prevent the attacks,” she says.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in the past 10 years, but we’re actively pursuing additional treatments on an ongoing basis,” Dr. Robertson says.
