Headaches from hell

QI hate to see my husband suffer agony from his cluster headaches. What can we do? Mona, Richmond

ACluster headaches are one of the most painful conditions known and sufferers will sometimes bang their heads against the wall in desperation to try to make them stop.

As the name suggests, the headaches appear in clusters, usually a few hours apart, over a period of days or weeks. They’re probably a form of neuralgia, where nerves send pain messages when they shouldn’t, and sometimes alcohol, smoking, strong smells or exercise can be triggers.

Painkillers often don’t help, and treatment might mean avoiding triggers, breathing oxygen, injecting migraine drugs, taking steroids or using electric pulses to stimulate nerves in the neck. Your husband will need to see a specialist, who might suggest regularly taking tablets to try to prevent attacks.