Cluster headache and pregnancy: what should you know?

Pregnancy can change how symptoms are evaluated, but a severe one-sided attack with eye watering, redness, or nasal blockage still needs a clinician to confirm the diagnosis. The condition itself should not be assumed from pain alone. Tell the clinician how far along the pregnancy is, whether you are breastfeeding, what you have taken, and whether the attacks began before pregnancy. The Headache and Facial Pain and Pressure pages may help organise symptom details.

Contact your GP or maternity care team early rather than starting an old prescription, an over-the-counter product, or a supplement on your own. Bring a complete medicine list, including inhalers and herbal products. Keep a diary of timing, duration, side, associated eye or nose signs, sleep, vomiting, blood pressure concerns, and fetal movements when relevant. Ask about an attack plan and a prevention plan suited to your pregnancy stage.

Get urgent help for a sudden severe headache, new visual disturbance, weakness, confusion, seizure, fainting, fever with neck stiffness, severe upper abdominal pain, marked swelling, or reduced fetal movement. A new headache in pregnancy or after birth deserves prompt clinical review, especially when it differs from previous attacks.

Which treatment options are suitable at my stage of pregnancy? Should any current medicine be stopped or changed? What symptoms could suggest a pregnancy complication rather than cluster headache? Who should I contact overnight, and what should I do if an attack does not settle?