Cluster Headache

A rare medical condition causing severe head pain. The "headaches" tend to occur in clusters; One often gets 6-8 attacks per day for a few weeks, but then goes in to remission for several months. They are referred to as "suicide headaches" due to the high suicide rate among sufferers. They are often said to be the worst pain regularly experienced by humans.

A cluster headache is one of the most painful types of headache. A striking feature of cluster headache is that the attacks occur in cyclical patterns, or clusters — which gives the condition its name.

Bouts of frequent attacks — known as cluster periods — may last from weeks to months, usually followed by remission periods when the headache attacks stop completely. The pattern varies from one person to another, but most people have one or two cluster periods a year. During remission, no headaches occur for months, and sometimes even years.