WHO GETS CLUSTERS AND WHEN
The majority of clusters occur at night. Researchers believe that this may be due to a combination of shallow breathing and the daily low point in adrenal hormone output. (Normally, these hormones keep blood vessels from dilating.) These circumstances, which favor dilation, seem to set a regular time for clusters to appear. During a cluster bout, the victim is often awakened at the same time each night by the same blinding pain.
Whenever instability occurs in the balance of norepinephrine and serotonin, which control pain perception, clusters may also appear during the daytime. In fact, during a cluster bout, any food, substance or circumstance that stimulates vasodilation can trigger a cluster.
Clusters usually begin in men between the ages of 10 and 30, often in teenage boys who smoke. No family history connection has been found. Beyond causing a tendency to peptic ulcers, the pain appears to leave no lasting damage. But signs of suffering are often evident. By raid-die age, many cluster victims have acquired deep furrows in the forehead plus a cleft chin, square jaw and other craggy features, and a coarse, ruddy, wrinkled skin.
Fortunately, cluster headaches are relatively rare. At times, they may be confused with trigeminal neuralgia— tic douloureux. However, tic douloureux strikes in brief, painful jabs seldom lasting more than a few seconds, while clusters last for at least ten minutes.
Breaming pure oxygen is an effective remedy for most clusters at this stage. If oxygen is not available, hyperventilation—taking long, deep, rapid breaths—will often bring sufficient oxygen into the arteries to cause them to constrict and end the pain.
*36\30\4*
Related Posts:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.