Cluster Headaches Treatment

So far no pharmaceutical companies has developed any cure for cluster headaches. To manage cluster headache effectively, you can approach your headache in three ways- avoid triggers, use prophylactic medications, and take abortive medicines.

To identify cluster headache triggers, keep a diary or a journal to document the time and pattern of the attack. You can include the activities, food or anything you consumed in the last twenty-four hours, and other notable factors. From your diary, you can mark the starting and ending points of the each attack since they often have a clockwise regularity. With this information, you can estimate when is the next attack. This can encourage you to follow closely to your treatment plan as dictated by your doctor and to avoid any cluster headache triggers.

Most of the sufferers are heavy smoker. To prevent headache, you must stop smoking. You should also abstain from drinking alcohol. Before you can finish your first drink, you already get cluster headache. When you change your sleep pattern, it can set off the headache. So, try to keep your usual sleeping time. Avoid stress as much as possible. The cluster period starts the moment you relax after a stressful day.

During the cluster period, abstain completely from alcohol drinks and nicotine products as they can negate the effects of prophylactic drugs. Stay away from bright lights and excessive glare as they can aggravate your headaches.

For chronic cluster headache, you can take prophylactic medicines or headache preventive medications. They are meant to reduce the frequency of headaches, decrease the severity of pain, and possibly shorten the length of the cluster headache period. You take prophylactic medications daily to prevent headaches. Some of the prophylactic medications are prednisone, calcium channel blockers (verapamil), ergotamine tartrate, methysergide maleate, and lithium carbonate. Ergotamine tartrate and methysergide are not suitable for continuous use. In direct contrast, verapamil and lithium commonly are used for longer periods.

If the cluster headache kicks in, your doctor will prescribe abortive headache medications such as sumatriptan, zolmitriptan, indomethacin, prednisone, and methysergide. They may quickly stop the headache process to prevent headache symptoms. The most successful abortive drugs is Imitrex (sumatriptan) injection. Most sufferers get complete relief within 15 minutes.

Oxygen is an excellent abortive therapy for cluster headache. For quick relief, breathe in pure oxygen through a face mask. Within twenty minutes, your cluster headache should subsides. This therapy proves to be effective on almost seventy percent of cluster patients.

Some researchers have suggested that topiramate can be an effective preventive treatment for episodic and chronic cluster headaches even though it is used to prevent migraines. However, topiramate does has some side effects. Discuss with your doctor before starting this medication for cluster headache.

You should ask for your doctor's advice who is familiar with treating cluster headaches for all treatments above. Anyway, you still need the doctor's prescription for prophylactic and abortive medications. As with any medication, read and follow the label instructions carefully.