Who Gets Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches affect 1 out of every 1,000 people. That makes them less common than migraines, though some people get both types of headaches.
Symptoms of cluster headaches usually start showing up between the ages of 20 and 40. Researchers once thought these headaches affected men more often. They now believe they affect men and women equally.
Cluster headaches are also more common in people who smoke and frequently drink alcohol. Many people who get cluster headaches also have sleep apnea.
What Is Temporal Arteritis
Temporal arteritis is a form of vasculitis . In temporal arteritis, also known as giant cell arteritis or Horton’s arteritis, the temporal arteries , which supply blood from the heart to the scalp, are inflamed and constricted . The vasculitis that causes temporal arteritis can involve other blood vessels, such as the posterior ciliary arteries , or large blood vessels like the aorta and its branches, which can also lead to serious health problems.
If not diagnosed and treated quickly, temporal arteritis can cause:
- Damage to eyesight, including sudden blindness in one or both eyes.
- Damage to blood vessels, such as an aneurysm .
- Other disorders, including stroke or transient ischemic attacks .
When To See The Doctor
Since a headache is a common and often benign symptom, it can be hard to tell when you should seek medical attention for pain in the right temple. Not all headaches are due to temporal arteritis, but some are and more can be caused by other, equally concerning ailments.
In addition to looking out for the symptoms of temporal arteritis described above, you should seek medical attention if you begin to display any of the following:
- Headache is accompanied by a fever
- Head pain increases in response to moving or coughing
- The pain is accompanied by mental confusion or personality changes
- The headache is abnormally painful
- Headache is accompanied by stiffness or pain when trying to move the neck in certain directions
- Neurological symptoms appear such as visual disturbances, memory difficulties, slurred speech, numbness, or weakness
- You experience seizures
- Headaches appear after a blow to the head
- Headache is accompanied by pain or tenderness in the temple
- The headache is strong enough to interfere with normal activities
- One of your eyes becomes red and painful
- The headache appears suddenly, especially if it can wake you up at night
- You have an impaired or compromised immune system or
- A pre-existing headache begins to get steadily worse or starts showing significant changes in pattern, duration, severity, etc.
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What Is The Post
Post-concussion syndrome is a set of complaints that a person experiences for weeks, months, or sometimes years after a concussion. The most common PCS complaints are headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, loss of concentration and memory, and noise sensitivity. Other symptoms can include ringing in the ears, hearing loss, blurred vision, light and noise sensitivity, decreased smell and taste, depression, personality change, post-traumatic stress disorder, decreased sex drive, and nausea and sometimes vomiting.
One or more PCS complaints occur in about 50% of people with a mild closed head injury. It is not known with any certainty why PCS occurs and sometimes lasts long periods of time. Persistent or prolonged PCS is associated with increased risk when preexisting psychological conditions, expectations of disability and older age are present. For most, memory and concentration problems are better within three months.
Essential Oils For Temple Pain Relief
Gently massaging some essential oils into your temple can help to quickly get rid of a headache. Some of the best essential oils for headache relief include:
Add a few drops of your favorite pain-relieving essential oil to a tablespoon of sweet almond oil or other carrier oil and massage into your temples.
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What Are Cluster Headache Symptoms
Cluster headaches tend to have very recognizable symptoms. When symptoms set in, it usually only takes 5 to 10 minutes for them to reach their worst. Common symptoms include one sided head pain and other symptoms involving the eye, nose and skin on the same side as the pain.
Pain from cluster headaches
Pain from cluster headaches has a few notable features:
- Often described as a burning or piercing feeling.
- Lasts 15 minutes to 3 hours at a time.
- Typically felt on the same side of the head in the current cycle rarely may switch in the future.
- Always centered behind one eye but can spread over the affected sides forehead, temple, nose and gums.
- Can make you feel like you cant sit still and need to pace, unlike the relief lying down provides for migraines.
Other cluster headache symptoms
Cluster headaches may also cause:
- Congestion: Your nose may run or become stuffy only on the side of the headache
- Eye problems: You may experience a drooping eyelid, eye pain or a watering eye. Your pupil may also look smaller. These symptoms appear on the same side of the head as headache pain.
- Face changes: You may start sweating and your face may become flushed on the side of the headache.
A Pharmacist Can Help With Headaches
You can ask a pharmacist about:
- the best painkiller to take, if you’re not sure which is suitable for you
- what to do if you’re pregnant some medicines are not recommended in pregnancy
- medicines for sleep problems like insomnia if you’re having trouble sleeping and you think it may be causing your headaches
-
- is annoying but does not stop you doing daily activities
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Symptoms Of Temporal Arteritis
As mentioned, pain in the right temple is one of the more recurrent symptoms of temporal arteritis, but itâs far from the only one. As the artery swells and blood supply gets restricted, you can expect to see at least some of the following symptoms appear:
- Pain in the right temple and the eye
- Pain in the right temple and the ear
- Jaw pain that may worsen when chewing
- Throbbing or stabbing headache in the right temple
- Tenderness in the temple or scalp
- Sudden loss of vision in one eye
Temporal arteritis sometimes occurs in patients who have been given large doses of antibiotics during severe infections. Other possible causes of temporal arteritis include autoimmune reactions, genetics, polymyalgia rheumatica and age.
Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation is a fairly new treatment that uses low-voltage electrical currents to stimulate a nerve in the neck.
The aim is to relieve pain and reduce the number of cluster headaches.
You place a small handheld device on the side of your neck. Your specialist will show you exactly where.
Gradually increase the strength of the electrical current until you can feel small muscle contractions under your skin. Hold the device in position for about 90 seconds.
TVNS can be used to treat cluster headaches when you get them, and can also be used between attacks to try to prevent them happening. But TVNS may not help everyone with cluster headaches.
For more information, read the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance about transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.
There’s also a new portable TVNS device called gammaCore. NICE has said that gammaCore can be effective for some people and reduce the need for medicines.
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How Are Migraines Diagnosed
Your doctor can diagnose migraines by the symptoms you describe. If the diagnosis is not clear, your doctor will perform a physical exam. Your doctor might want to do blood tests or imaging tests, such as an MRI or CAT scan of the brain. These tests can ensure there are no other causes for the headache. You may also be asked to keep a headache journal. This can help your doctor identify the things that might cause your migraines.
If headache pain is getting in the way of your daily activities, its time to see your family doctor. Read More
Other Symptoms That May Accompany Forehead Pain
In addition to forehead pain, you may experience other symptoms. These can give clues as to what youre experiencing. For example, if you have forehead pain and are feeling weak and lethargic, you may be experiencing low blood sugar.
The following symptoms can occur with forehead pain:
When you begin feeling forehead pain, consider any other symptoms or changes you may be experiencing. This can help you figure out the possible causes of your forehead pain.
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When To Call The Doctor
If you cannot see your provider right away, go to the emergency room or call 911 if:
- This is the first severe headache you have ever had in your life and it interferes with your daily activities.
- You develop a headache right after activities such as weightlifting, aerobics, jogging, or sex.
- Your headache comes on suddenly and is explosive or violent.
- Your headache is “the worst ever,” even if you regularly get headaches.
- You also have slurred speech, a change in vision, problems moving your arms or legs, loss of balance, confusion, or memory loss with your headache.
- Your headache gets worse over 24 hours.
- You also have fever, stiff neck, nausea, and vomiting with your headache.
- Your headache occurs with a head injury.
- Your headache is severe and just in one eye, with redness in that eye.
- You just started getting headaches, especially if you are older than 50.
- You have headaches along with vision problems and pain while chewing, or weight loss.
- You have a history of cancer and develop a new headache.
- Your immune system is weakened by disease or by medicines .
See your provider soon if:
- Your headaches wake you up from sleep, or your headaches make it difficult for you to fall asleep.
- A headache lasts more than a few days.
- Headaches are worse in the morning.
- You have a history of headaches but they have changed in pattern or intensity.
- You have headaches often and there is no known cause.
Are Tests Or Further Evaluation Helpful
Scans of the brain such as CT or MRI are usually normal, or show slight bruising of the brain. Rarely, a mild head injury can cause a blood clot on the brain , which can be seen on the scan. Brain wave tests are not helpful unless seizures are suspected. If memory problems continue, a battery of memory tests, called neuropsychological tests, can be obtained. Additional evaluation depends upon the symptoms. For example, evaluation by an ENT specialist for dizzy spells, ophthalmologist for blurred or double vision, or neurologist for persistent headaches or memory problems.
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What Treatments Should Be Considered
Once aware of the diagnosis, most patients with migraine choose and respond well to acute pharmacologic therapy. When medications such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen or acetylsalicylic acid fail to provide adequate pain relief, systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials have shown that triptans are effective in aborting the pain of migraine attacks, especially if used early .5
Seven triptans are available by prescription in Canada. The number needed to treat for a painfree response at two hours is 4.7 for sumatriptan 100 mg.6 A Canadian clinical practice guideline based on expert consensus recommends that each triptan be assayed in turn at separate attacks until one is identified to be frequently effective for a particular patient.7 For patients who are unable to take oral medications because of severe nausea, a nasal spray formulation is available for sumatriptan and zolmitriptan, and a subcutaneous self-injection formulation is available for sumatriptan.
Many patients with migraine are aware of factors that may increase the risk of a migraine attack. These triggers vary from patient to patient and include poor sleep, hunger, psychophysical stressors, and certain foods and substances. When the frequency of migraine attacks interferes with work and other activities, lifestyle modification and drug prophylaxis are options to explore.8
For Chronic Or Severe Headaches
If your headaches are chronic, the doctor may refer you to a psychotherapist or psychologist for counseling. You can work together to resolve stress problems and learn biofeedback and stress reduction techniques.
For more severe chronic headaches, the doctor or therapist may prescribe other drugs, such as muscle relaxants. If depression is a factor in triggering your headaches, the doctor may prescribe an antidepressant. Antidepressants and muscle relaxants do not have an instantaneous effect. They may take some time to build up in your system, so be patient.
In some cases, you may have more than one type of headache and several different medications may be prescribed. If your headaches persist after initial treatment, the doctor may order brain imaging tests to make sure there are no other possible causes of pain, such as a tumor or aneurysm. Magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography are commonly used for brain imaging.
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Are There Any Complications
Treatments for headaches can cause complications in some cases.
Overmedication, or using OTC drugs regularly for headache pain, is a frequent problem. Drug overuse can make your headaches worse, as can abruptly stopping the use of these drugs. This is something to discuss with your doctor.
If you are prescribed antidepressants, you may have side effects such as:
- sleepiness in the morning
What Causes Pain In The Left Temple Of The Head And How To Treat It
1. Temporal Arteritis affects the temporal arteries that stem from the neckâs carotid artery. Although there is no concrete reason as to why these arteries become inflamed, researchers believe a personâs low functioning immune system is the cause.
Along with a pain in the left temple, people report fever, sweating, muscle weakness and aches, loss of appetite and fatigue as symptoms. It is treated with steroids.
2. Tension-induced pain is caused by stress, lack of sleep or food, poor posture, and muscle tension. The temporary pain feels like pressure is being applied to the temple and has no other symptoms.
Treatment is usually over-the-counter pain medication, meditation, yoga or massage. Long-term prevention suggestions include drinking plenty of water, a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and proper posture and an ergonomic workstation.
3. Occipital Neuralgia headaches are caused by damage or injury to the nerves located at the base of the skull.
Sharp, stabbing pain in the left temple of the head can be accompanied by sensitivity to light and to touch.
Initial treatment includes rest, over-the-counter pain pills, and a heating pad on the neck.
Depending on the strength and time-length of the pain, your doctor may prescribe muscle relaxants, strong pain medications, or injections of nerve blockers and steroids.
This can happen with injury to your teeth or jaw, grinding, stress, gum chewing, and even arthritis.
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What Triggers Cluster Headaches
If you experience cluster headaches, you likely know the triggers. These are things that can start headaches or otherwise affect them.
There are two ways to look at triggers:
- Triggers that start a new cycle of headaches: Most people go months or years between cluster headache periods. When headaches start again, the shift often appears tied to changes in seasons. It may happen because of suspected ties between cluster headaches and the hypothalamus. This part of your brain contains your circadian clock, a built-in schedule that responds to sunlight.
- Triggers that affect headaches during a cycle: During headache periods, the blood vessels in your brain change. These changes make you more sensitive to alcohol and nicotine. Drinking just a little alcohol can bring on a headache. Smoking can also make headaches feel worse or trigger a headache.
Headache And Facial Pain
Headache has been described as the most common medical complaint known to man. There are hundreds of different types of headache and facial pain disorders, including migraine and cluster headache. Due to their prevalence, these disorders are responsible for almost three quarters of neurological-related disability. New treatment approaches are desperately needed, but a lack of research investment has hampered progress. This is why we have made headache and facial pain a priority research area.
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Symptoms Of Temple Headaches
While many factors can cause temple headaches, they are most often the result of muscle tension, which causes tension headache, the most common type of headache. The associated temple pressure is often the result of eye strain, teeth clenching, and stress. This pressure may also be due to disruptions of blood flow to the area, caused by inflammation in the surrounding tissues.
Since temple headaches can be the result of both primary headache disorders , like migraine, and other health conditions, their symptoms can vary considerably. When the temples are affected, signs include:
- Pain and tenderness in one or both temples
- Feeling of pressure in one or both temples
- Headache pain that’s dull and aching or intense and throbbing
What Questions Should This Patient Be Asked
A unilateral, pulsatile headache of moderate to severe intensity that worsens with exertion and is accompanied by nausea or vomiting, or by photophobia and phonophobia, suggests migraine. The clinician should ask about additional historical features of the headache that may be consistent with migraine, including the quality and duration and whether the patient has had similar episodes previously. Diagnostic criteria for migraine stipulate five attacks, but when fewer episodes have occurred, a diagnosis of probable migraine may be entertained.1
The clinician should ask about worrisome features of headache, or red flags, that could indicate a cause other than migraine .2
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Sudden Jerk On Shoulder
This trigger point can be activated when something yanks down on the shoulder. Clients often return more than once because their dog has taken off suddenly. I was able to stop my dog from doing this with ideas from a video on YouTube called Command Performance.
Ive had many Do-it-Yourselfers, weekend warriors, and backyard mechanics that have hurt this with a sudden overload of the shoulder. This jerk on the shoulder creates a bind, or sometimes, a mild separation in the shoulder joint, and the problem persists until a bodyworker, orthopedist, or surgeon works on it. When this happens, they may only complain of a stiff neck, especially if they have Forward-Head Posture. If both shoulders get mild joint problems, the neck tends to be stiff when turned in either direction.