MED-ED EXPLORATION - CLUSTER HEADACHES - WORK IN PROGRESS
PHASE 1: RESEARCHGOT LUCKY
Why is there a 5-10 year diagnosis delay for a condition so severe, it’s been nicknamed “suicide headaches”[1-2]?
The Question
The Background
What are Cluster Headaches (CH)?
CH is a rare headache disorder characterized by intense searing or stabbing pain on one side of the head. The is centered around or behind one eye, often with other symptoms like drooping of the eye, runny nose, and a dilated pupil on the affected side. Attacks happen in repeating groups or "clusters" lasting weeks or months. Patients then have pain-free remission periods. [1]
What's the problem?
CH remains largely unknown, even among neurologists.[?] Emergency, urgent care, and primary care physicians often refer patients to ENT specialists. And even when patients are referred to neurologists the lack of education on CH leads to delays in appropriate treatment. [?]
The Goal
Who needs to know?
This project aims to focus on healthcare providers that would be the first to interact with patients with CH:
Emergency care
Urgent care
Primary care
How do we reach them?
Research in progress.
Why cluster headaches?
It’s personal. I was diagnosed in 2020.
At the time, the fact that it took a month for doctors to accurately diagnose the worst pain I had ever experienced felt like a crime. And then I did the research. I was one of the lucky ones.
I was lucky that the one urgent care doctor I went to see just happened to know about CH.
I was lucky that I lived in a metropolitan area that had a headache specialty center.
Luck shouldn’t be a factor for CH.
RESOURCES
Cluster Busters
Miles for Migraines
References: 1. Lorem ipsum sit amet 2. Lorem ipsum sit amet