cluster headache

noun

: a headache that is characterized by severe pain in the eye or temple and tends to recur in a series of attacks

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web But while some headaches—like cluster headaches and tension headaches—can occur on their own without a specific reason, other headaches can be related to outside circumstances, like allergies. Maggie O'neill, Health.com, 28 Apr. 2020 Certain medications can trigger cluster headaches, according to the Mayo Clinic. Amy Marturana Winderl, SELF, 30 Dec. 2019 At the low point, early on, Joe McKay was getting cluster headaches every other day for an hour at a time. Jerry Carino, USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2019 The dispensary is based in Vancouver and claims to mail psilocybin microdoses to people with a documented medical need; Larsen lists anxiety, cluster headaches, and pain as conditions that can be treated with psilocybin. Olivia Goldhill, Quartz, 24 Aug. 2019 Fewer than 1 percent of people have cluster headaches. NBC News, 5 June 2019 Noninvasive, handheld vagal nerve stimulators meant to ease cluster headaches and migraine have recently also gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration, although exactly how vagal nerve stimulation helps those conditions is unclear. Scientific American, 14 Sep. 2018 The medications currently used to treat cluster headaches include the heart and psychiatric issues. NBC News, 5 June 2019 Also, cluster headaches generally aren’t triggered by certain factors, like stress or hormonal changes, the way tension headaches and migraines can be. Amy Marturana, SELF, 29 Dec. 2018 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cluster headache.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cluster headache was in 1953

Dictionary Entries Near cluster headache

Cite this Entry

“Cluster headache.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cluster%20headache. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.

Medical Definition

cluster headache

noun
: a headache that is characterized by severe unilateral pain in the eye or temple, affects primarily men, and tends to recur in a series of attacks

called also histamine cephalalgia, histamine cephalgia, Horton's syndrome

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