Cluster headaches 'are excruciating'
The pain caused by cluster headaches is unimaginable to many people, an expert has claimed.
Mike Pollack, trustee of cluster headache charity OUCH, told the Daily Mirror that the pain is excruciating and can make people feel as though they have been assaulted.
However, as well as taking prescribed medication, breathing pure oxygen can help to reduce the agony quite considerably and bring some relief to sufferers.
"They feel like you've been bashed around the head and can last 40 minutes to three hours. You're likely to feel agitated or restless, and suffer from a watery eye, runny or blocked nostril or droopy eyelid on the same side as the pain," Mr Pollack told the newspaper.
Dr Peter Goadsby, from the Headache Center at the University of San Francisco, told delegates at the American Neurological Association's 133rd annual meeting that oxygen therapy can bring substantial benefits to cluster headache patients.
Posted by James Worrall
26/02/2010 17:10:41
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