hi this is tom from zero2finals.com in this video i'm going to be going through cluster headaches and you can find written notes on this topic at zerodefinals.com cluster headaches or in the neurology section of the zero to finals medicine book so let's jump straight in cluster headaches cause severe and unbearable unilateral headaches usually around the eye and they're called cluster headaches because they come in clusters of attacks and then disappear for a while for example a patient might have three to four attacks a day for a week or month followed by a pain-free period lasting one to two years attacks last between 15 minutes and three hours and they can be triggered by things like alcohol strong smells or exercise a typical patient that you might see in your exams who's got cluster headaches is a 30 to 50 year old male smoker coming in with severe pain around one eye so what are the symptoms well cluster headaches are often described as the most severe and intolerable pain in the world they're sometimes referred to as suicide headaches due to the severity of the pain and symptoms are all typically unilateral with a red swollen and watery eye pupil constriction which is called meiosis eyelid drooping which is called ptosis nasal discharge and there could be facial sweating on one side so what are the treatment options for cluster headaches well there's the acute management which aims to improve the symptoms of the cluster headache at the time and this can be with tryptons for example sumatriptan injected subcutaneously at the start of the headache another option which often comes up in exams is high flow 100 oxygen which is breathed for 15 to 20 minutes to try and improve the symptoms of the headache and patients are often given oxygen to keep at home to use during the headaches to help with the symptoms so my tom tip at this point is to remember that oxygen is used to treat the symptoms of a cluster headache and this is quite a unique fact that can be brought up in exams there's also options for prophylaxis to prevent the cluster headaches from occurring and this can be things like varapamil lithium and prednisolone can actually be used for a short course for two to three weeks to try and break the cycle during a cluster of headache attacks so thanks for watching i hope you found this video helpful if you did don't forget there's plenty of other resources on the zero to finals website including loads and loads of notes on various different topics that you might cover in medical school with specially made illustrations there's also a whole test section where you can find loads of questions to test your knowledge and see where you're up to in preparation for your exams there's also a blog where i share a lot of my ideas about a career in medicine and tips on how to have success as a doctor and if you want to help me out on youtube you can always leave me a thumbs up give me a comment or even subscribe to the channel so that you can find out when the next videos are coming out so i'll see you again soon