The change of seasons may be the trigger for cluster headaches among healthcare staffing professionals. Experts estimate that almost 1 million Americans face the threat of cluster headaches, a one-sided head pain that is considered one of the most excruciating types of headache, since summer arrived. They generally occur in groups or "clusters," over weeks or months.
According to Dr. Brian Grosberg, director of the Montefiore Headache Center in New York City, people's biological rhythms that are more intrinsically tied to the earth's rotation can lead to the painful headaches.
Sometimes, cluster headaches can be so discomforting that a travel nurse professional may not be able to conduct his or her routine activities. The majority of people who get cluster headaches have one or two cluster periods each year, and summer might be one of them. On average, they last 30 minutes to three hours.
"Cluster headache, also known as 'suicide headache,' is a neurological disorder characterized by severe pain behind or around one's eye," Grosberg stated in a Montefiore news release. "It is one of the most painful conditions a person can experience, even more incapacitating than a migraine."
Cluster headaches typically occur around the eye and are accompanied by symptoms such as eye watering, nasal congestion and swelling around the eye. The pain usually progresses very fast, with the main symptom of severe burning or piercing pain.
Advice for people with cluster headaches
Grosberg offered the following advice for people who get cluster headaches:
- Don't drink alcohol or smoke during cluster headache periods.
- Take the hormone melatonin to help regulate sleeping cycles and remedy imbalances in the body that might be linked to the headaches.
- Talk to a doctor about prescription medicines that might relieve pain.
- Discuss different remedy solutions with a headache specialist.
Unfortunately there is no cure for cluster headaches. Experts aren't certain exactly what causes the condition, but they seem to be related to the body's sudden release of histamine (chemical in the body released during an allergy response) or serotonin (chemical produced by nerve cells), according to the National Institutes of Health.
Potential triggers
Cluster headaches may be brought on by:
- Alcohol and cigarette smoking
- High altitudes
- Bright light
- Heat from hot weather and hot baths
- Food high in nitrites such as bacon and preserved meats
- Certain medicines
Even though they can be very painful, cluster headaches do not cause long-term damage.