What Are Cluster Headache Symptoms?
Cluster headaches usually have very obvious symptoms. In most cases, it only takes 5 to 10 minutes for them to reach their worst. Common symptoms that accompany cluster headaches include one sided pain and other symptoms involving the nose, skin, and eye on the same side as the pain.
Pain from Cluster Headaches
Pain associated with cluster headaches usually have the following features:
- Can be described as a piercing or burning sensation.
- Usually persists for 15 minutes to 3 hours at a time.
- It is commonly felt on the same side of the head in the current cycle. It rarely changes to the other side.
- It is commonly localized behind one eye but can spread over the affected side’s forehead, nose, gums, and temple.
- The pain makes you feel like you can’t sit in one position and may need to pace to relieve the pain.
Other symptoms associated with cluster headache symptoms include:
- Congestion: Cluster headache is usually accompanied by a runny or stuffy nose on the side of the headache.
- Eye problems: You may have a drooping eyelid, eye pain or a watering eye. In some cases, your pupil, the black portion of the eye, may appear smaller. These symptoms usually appear on the same side of the head as headache pain. [4]
- Face changes: Cluster headache is usually accompanied by symptoms like sweating on the face and flushed face on the side of the headache.