We all suffer from headaches sometimes. Very annoying, but we take two aspirin and we can get back to it. Migraine is much more than just a headache. They are repeated attacks of sudden headache, which may be accompanied by vomiting, nausea and hypersensitivity to light and sound. An attack can last half a day to three days, which is really not pleasant.
The cluster headache variant
There are different types of migraines, including cluster headaches. Cluster headaches are often described as one of the most intense pains a person can experience. You experience severe pain on one side of your head. You feel the pain behind your eye or near your forehead. The characteristics of cluster headaches are painful attacks that last short but are very intense, red eyes that are watery and swollen and you suffer from a stuffy nose. Cluster headaches are caused by abnormal activity in certain parts of your brain. It can also be a genetic condition. Although you wouldn’t believe it, men suffer from cluster headaches more often, and it is thought that hormones play a role in this. Cluster headaches can have a major impact on someone’s daily life. You can counter the attacks in a number of ways, but unfortunately there are disadvantages to this. In the event of a first attack, the doctor will send you to the hospital for treatment. Here you can receive extra oxygen or sumatriptan, which involves an injection under the skin that narrows the blood vessels in your brain. If you suffer from attacks more often, you can discuss with a neurologist what treatments you could do at home. For example, you can learn to do oxygen treatment at home, you can learn to give yourself the sumatriptan injection or you can use the sumatriptan nasal spray.
Facial pain or trigeminal neuralgia
Another annoying variant is facial pain, also called trigeminal neuralgia. Facial pain can be divided into typical facial pain and atypical facial pain. With typical facial pain you suffer from sharp pain shooting through your face. These attacks occur unexpectedly and are short-lived. Because the pain attacks are short-lived, the treatment for typical facial pain mainly focuses on prevention and reduction of the pain. There are various medications and procedures that can reduce pain. The atypical facial pain, on the other hand, is long-lasting and has a persistent pain. This pain varies in intensity, but for many people the pain never completely goes away. Unfortunately, it can take years to counteract atypical facial pain. This is because there can be so many different causes.
Take action
As you have read, it is really no fun to experience these variants of migraine. Finding the right solution can take a while. Therefore, go to the doctor on time if you experience the aforementioned symptoms!
