Cluster Headaches

According to the Mayo Clinic, cluster headaches are rare but extremely painful headaches. Cluster headaches may cause you to wake up at night with a sharp pain on the side of your head or near your eye. And this may happen daily or many times in a day, lasting from 15 minutes to three hours, often at the same time each day. 

When these headaches occur on a regular basis, it is called a cluster period. Cluster periods can last for a month and a half to three months. And headaches may occur in a certain season, like spring or fall. However, sufferers may enter a remission period in which headaches are not seen for months or even years.  

The thing to know about cluster headaches is that they can come on fast and unexpectedly. Plus, you might get strange symptoms like a runny nose on the side where the headache occurs, sweaty and pale skin, tearing in one eye, swelling and redness of the affected eye, and even a drooping eyelid. In fact, the Mayo Clinic says that this can feel “like a hot poker being stuck in the eye or that the eye is being pushed out of its socket.” You may also get symptoms similar to a migraine -- like auras, nausea, and sensitivity to light and noise. 

While there is currently no way to cure cluster headaches, there are treatments that can help. For example, oxygen treatments can be helpful, and anesthetics and injectable treatments may be used. Plus, your doctor may prescribe preventive medications when cluster episodes occur. In severe instances, surgery may be recommended. 

Exercise Headaches

Headaches from exercise? Yes. Exercise headaches are literally that -- headaches that occur during and after workouts. These are said to be linked to many types of exercise.

According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise headaches often occur in hot weather or at high altitudes. Plus, those with a genetic predisposition to migraines may have an increased risk of exercise headaches.