What are the symptoms of cluster headaches?
A cluster headache attack is a dramatic event. The pain usually peaks in a few minutes, but attacks can last from 5 minutes to 3 hours and can occur from once every other day to 8 times a day. Unlike migraine headaches, cluster headaches are not preceded by auras (visual or other types of sensory disturbance), so people usually have little or no warning that one is about to happen. A unique feature of cluster headaches is that they often begin while a person is sleeping. The pain and location of cluster headaches are its most important defining features. The pain is generally described as excruciating, explosive, deep, and/or piercing (but usually not throbbing). Some people say that it feels as if an ice pick were being driven into their eye. This stabbing eye pain may feel like an electric shock, which may last for a few seconds, followed by a deeper element that continues for a half hour or longer. The pain almost always begins in or around an eye and always on one side of the face.
