Headaches: Cluster - Treatment

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• Relaxation treatment combined with biofeedback
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy

Lifestyle Changes. Patients should avoid the following triggers that may provoke cluster headache attacks:

• Alcohol. Heavy alcohol use is strongly associated with cluster headaches, although it is not clear if alcohol triggers pain or is simply used as a coping mechanism for dealing with severe pain.
• Cigarette smoking. Many studies indicate that a majority of patients with cluster headache are cigarette smokers. While studies have not shown that quitting cigarettes will stop cluster headaches, smoking cessation should still be a goal. Smokers who can't quit should at least stop at the first sign of an attack and not smoke throughout a cycle.

Review Date: 09/29/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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