Information for the public
Treatments for cluster headache
Pain relief
Your healthcare professional should offer you oxygen and/or a triptan to help relieve your cluster headache. The oxygen comes in a cylinder and you breathe it in through a mask. The mask should not have any holes in the sides and should be connected to a reservoir bag. The triptan comes either as an injection that you can give yourself or in a nasal spray. Your healthcare professional should arrange for you to have oxygen cylinders for use at home and cylinders that you can carry with you to use wherever you are. They should also make sure you are offered enough triptan for your needs. You should not be offered paracetamol, an NSAID, an opioid, an ergot or a triptan in tablet or capsule form to help relieve cluster headache.
Reducing future cluster headache
You may be offered verapamil to help prevent future cluster headache.