During summer, more than one million Americans experience cluster headaches characterized by severe pain, a new study finds.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Montefiore Medical Center. The center is credited for being the first to focus exclusively on diagnosis and treatment of headache disorders. The researchers found that most individuals experience cluster headaches during seasonal changes, especially during the onset of the summer season.
According to the researchers, the main reason behind this is the Earth's shift toward the sun. The researchers reveal that the human biological rhythm is tied to earth's rotation, making individuals who suffer from cluster headaches encounter unrelenting head pain.
"Cluster headache, also known as 'suicide headache,' is a neurological disorder characterized by severe pain behind or around one's eye," said Brian M. Grosberg, M.D., director, Montefiore Headache Center and associate professor, Clinical Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, in a press statement. "It is one of the most painful conditions a person can experience, even more incapacitating than a migraine. When patients come in with a cluster headache, they often share how it impacts their personal and professional lives and how the sensation is so severe they feel at the end of their rope."
Cluster headache (CH) is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent, severe headaches on one side of the head, typically around the eye. There are often accompanying autonomic symptoms during the headache such as eye watering, nasal congestion and swelling of and around the eye, all confined to the side of the head with the pain. Attacks occur regularly for 1 week to 1 year. The attacks are separated by pain-free periods that last at least 1 month or longer. Cluster headaches are the least common type of headaches, affecting less than one in 1,000 people. Cluster headaches typically start before the age of 30. They are more common in men than women, according to a Mayo Clinic report.
Dr. Grosberg said that there are many ways in which people can reduce the severity as well as frequency of such headaches. Firstly, individuals should avoid drinking alcohol or smoking during cluster headache periods. They should also consider taking the hormone melatonin. It not only helps regulate sleep but also restores balance in the body that may have caused the headaches. The researchers also recommend keeping a diary log of all the headaches experienced for better diagnosis in the future.
"I infrequently get a headache, however, during the longest and shortest days of the year, the left side of my face would contort and I would be in severe pain," said Robert Drain, a former firefighter, who lives in Yonkers. "I would find myself walking in circles; it was almost like I was trying to run away from the agony. By tracking my headaches in a log, Dr. Grosberg and I were able to figure out that I was experiencing cluster headaches."
