... and with nowhere to run

Details

Description

Cluster headache (CH) always involves pain that is one sided (although it can switch sides) and the main defining feature is the association with one or more of the 'cranial autonomic' features normally described as follows:

Reddening and tearing of the eye

A runny or blocked nostril

Droopy eyelid

Constriction of the pupil

Flushing and facial sweating

 
Although possible, it is very unusual for any of these not to occur in cluster headache. These features tend to come and go with each attack; however, some sufferers may continue to experience the constricted pupil and/or a droopy eyelid, especially after frequent attacks.
In most sufferers the headaches often start at the same time of year and at the same time during the day or night.

The pain involved is excruciating and is probably one of the most painful conditions known to humans. Female sufferers have described each attack as being more painful than childbirth.

As few as 0.2% (two in a thousand) of the population suffer from CH, approximately the same number as for multiple sclerosis in the UK. Men are more likely to suffer than women, with an estimated male to female ratio of between 2.7 to 1, although this ratio appears to be steadily declining. CH can begin at any age, but most sufferers are more likely to start suffering in their 30s or 40s.

- https://ouchuk.org/

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