Headache and swollen eye on one side
Do you have headaches and swollen in one eye?
Do you have cluster headaches?
In the following, we will talk more about cluster headaches that are accompanied by unilateral swelling of the eye.
Cluster headaches
Cluster headaches are not life threatening.
Doctors consider cluster headaches to be rare headaches.
Cluster headaches have certain characteristics, ie they usually occur with a specific clinical pattern or at specific time intervals.
A person with a cluster headache may wake up in the middle of the night with a headache and experience a headache around one eye or with pain in one half of the face.
When cluster periods occur, that is, headache attacks with a specific pattern are repeated over weeks to months, the headache attacks in this cluster periods are accompanied by relief of pain and other manifestations during the attacks.
It is interesting to know that by the end of a cluster period, a person may not experience the same headache for months to years.
Causes of cluster headaches
The exact cause of these headaches is unknown, but the pattern of cluster headaches is likely to be accompanied by changes in the brain's hypothalamus during which the body's biological clock undergoes abnormal changes.
Cluster headaches have no specific stimuli or triggers.
Hormonal changes
foods
Environmental stimulants have no effect on triggering the onset of cluster periods.
But there are people who avoid alcohol during their cluster headache period. When a cluster period begins, drinking alcohol can quickly trigger a splitting headache.
Taking certain medications, such as nitroglycerin-containing compounds, is said to trigger the onset of cluster headaches.
Risk factors
Men are more at risk for this type of headache than women.
The most common age range for experiencing a cluster headache is twenty to fifty years.
But people of all ages may experience cluster headaches.
Smokers suffer from cluster headaches more than others, and it is interesting that quitting smoking does not stop the recurrence of subsequent headaches.
Drinking alcohol during a cluster period will increase the risk of headaches.
Having a family history, genetics may play a role in increasing the risk of cluster headaches.
What are the common signs and symptoms of cluster headaches?
The onset of cluster headaches will be very rapid.
Unlike migraine headaches, there are no warning signs for cluster headaches.
People may experience the following symptoms during a cluster headache:
Unilateral facial pain
Restlessness
Increased tearing (epiphora) from one eye
Swelling of one eye
runny nose on one side of nostril, that is, the same side where there is pain and involvement of the eye.
Pain that is behind or around one eye and can spread to other parts of your face, even the spread of pain can affect the hands, arms and neck.
Occasionally there is a drop in the eyelid on the affected side.
Like migraine headaches, light and sound sensitivities may occur in some people with cluster headaches. Most of the symptoms and manifestations of cluster headaches will be concentrated in one half of the face.
what are the characteristics of cluster periods?
Most susceptible individuals will experience episodes of cluster period.
A cluster period can last from a week to a year.
It will usually be twelve months before the start of the next cluster period.
A cluster period lasts from a few weeks to several months. The onset time and length of each cluster period can continue into subsequent periods.
Sometimes people say that their cluster periods start at a certain time of a certain year, such as spring or autumn.
Chronic cluster periods last for more than a year, and usually the affected person has asymptomatic chronic clustering for less than a month.
During a cluster period:
The sufferer develops symptoms every day and sometimes several times a day.
Most attacks occur at night when the person is asleep, often one to two hours after you go to bed.
The onset of headaches is at a specific time of day.
Each headache attack lasts from fifteen minutes to three hours.
Sometimes people say that their headaches and symptoms decrease as fast as they appear.
After each headache attack, most people become asymptomatic but complain of fatigue.
In what cases should we see a doctor?
It is necessary to see a doctor in the following cases:
If your headache does not involve many of the above patterns.
In what cases is it necessary to refer to the emergency department?
In the following cases, it is necessary to refer to the emergency department:
- Occurrence of headache following head and face trauma or fall
- Headache with fever
- Headache with vomiting
- Headache with seizures or severe paralysis or numbness or paresthesia of the face or limbs
- Experiencing the most severe headache of your lifetime
- Headache with stiff neck
- Headaches that are getting worse day by day.