Stop the Cluster Headache. End the Bout.
Oxygen and nerve blocks stop the attack within minutes. A nerve block at the back of the head can hold off the rest of the bout for weeks – sometimes months. All delivered in one visit. In a bout? Dr. Tariq answers his emergency line personally.
Relief in Minutes · Quiet for Months
Where You Are
If you have cluster headaches, you already know what they are – the attacks behind the eye, the clockwork timing, the bouts that take weeks or months from your life. Whether you need to stop the attacks while a bout is active or break the bout itself, this is built for both.
Stop the Attack
Oxygen is the primary lever – high-flow through a mask, most attacks resolve within 15–20 minutes. A spray through the nose blocks the nerve cluster driving the tearing and congestion. An IV with magnesium and vitamins supports the session.
The attack stops. You walk out.
End the Bout
Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks – at the back of the head and above the eye – can hold off the rest of the bout's attacks for weeks to months. For many patients, the remaining attacks in the bout simply don't come.
This is the treatment that turns a single visit into a quiet stretch.
When the Next Bout Comes
Cluster headaches are cyclical – bouts return, often seasonally, sometimes years apart. When a new bout starts, the same treatment works again. Phone 5777 1115 – Dr. Tariq answers personally and gets you in the same day.
The clinic is here for every bout – not just this one.
Your Doctor
Dr. Tariq Sinan – Consultant Interventional Radiologist
He answers his emergency line personally – because when a bout starts, same-day treatment shouldn't wait for a regular appointment.
- 37 years practicing interventional radiology – image-guided procedures are his entire discipline
- Specialised fellowship in nerve and spine procedures, Dublin, Ireland
- Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (Ireland) and the Royal College of Radiologists (London)
- Trained and practiced in Ireland and Canada
- Associate Professor at Kuwait University; fluent in English and Arabic
The Full Story
For those who want to understand the approach in depth
Cluster Headache, Honestly
If you have cluster headaches, you don't need this page to tell you what they feel like. You need it to show you something can be done about them.
But the treatments on this page only make sense if the disease underneath is understood correctly. Here's how we see it.
How cluster headaches work
Cluster headache is driven by the hypothalamus – the part of the brain that runs your body's clock. During a bout, it triggers a cascade: the trigeminal nerve fires, sending severe pain behind one eye and across the temple. The autonomic nervous system activates on the same side – tearing, nasal congestion, eyelid drooping, facial sweating. The pain lasts 15 minutes to three hours per attack, and attacks come in waves – one every other day to eight times a day during an active bout.
Two-thirds of patients have a circadian pattern: the attacks come at the same time, often waking you from sleep between midnight and 3 AM. This isn't random – the hypothalamus is on a schedule.
Episodic and chronic
Most cluster headache patients – roughly 80–85% – have the episodic form. Bouts last 2 weeks to 3 months, then remission for months or years. Bouts often cluster around the equinoxes – spring and autumn.
The other 10–20% have chronic cluster headache: bouts that don't remit, or remit for less than three months at a time. The attacks are the same. The difference is they don't stop.
Both forms respond to the treatments on this page.
The hypothalamus is the generator. Treatment can't switch it off – that's why bouts return. What treatment can do is stop the attacks it triggers and interrupt the bout it's driving. That's what this page is about.
What Stops the Attack
If you arrive during an attack – or one begins while you're in the clinic – the first thing is oxygen.
Oxygen
High-flow 100% oxygen through a non-rebreather mask. You breathe it for 15 to 20 minutes. In most patients, the attack stops – not dulled, not managed, stopped. Roughly three in four patients respond.
Most people with cluster headache have never had access to in-clinic oxygen. It's not a new treatment – it's been the gold standard for decades. The problem has always been access: getting a prescription, getting a tank, having it ready at 2 AM. A clinic with oxygen on hand changes what's possible when an attack starts.
SPG block
A thin catheter through the nose delivers anaesthetic directly to the sphenopalatine ganglion – the nerve relay behind the tearing, the nasal congestion, the facial flushing. It takes a few minutes. No needles. The effect can help abort the attack and may provide additional relief lasting days to weeks.
IV therapy
An IV drip with magnesium, calcium, B vitamins, and anti-inflammatory medication supports the session. Magnesium plays a role in nerve and muscle function – the drip is designed to calm the system and support recovery. This is the supporting layer, not the primary lever.
Oxygen is the treatment most cluster headache patients haven't been offered. It's been the gold-standard acute abortive for decades – the barrier has always been access, not evidence. A clinic with in-house oxygen and an emergency phone line removes that barrier.
These treatments stop the attack you're in. The next question is what prevents the ones still coming – the rest of the bout.
What Ends the Bout
Stopping one attack matters. Preventing the next thirty matters more.
Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks – at the back of the head and above the eye – can hold off the rest of the bout's attacks for weeks to months. For many patients, the remaining attacks in the bout simply don't come.
How it works
The pain of a cluster headache runs along the nerve above the eye and across the forehead. But those nerves don't work alone – inside the upper spinal cord, they converge with nerves from the back of the head on the same relay neurons. The two territories are wired together.
Blocking the nerve at the back of the head – with anaesthetic and a long-acting anti-inflammatory – dampens that relay. The signal from the front of the head has less to amplify through. Blocking the nerves above the eye addresses the other end of the same pathway. Between the two, the circuit that drives the bout has been interrupted at both ends.
What relief looks like
Relief ranges from days to months. Many patients see the bout's remaining attacks stop entirely. Some get several weeks of quiet. A smaller number get partial relief – fewer attacks, lower intensity. The variation depends on the individual, the stage of the bout, and how the nerves respond.
The blocks can be repeated if a bout restarts or a new bout begins. There is no diminishing return – the treatment works the same way each time.
Ultrasound guidance
Dr. Tariq sees the nerve on the ultrasound screen before the needle reaches it. The injection is placed precisely, confirmed visually, not estimated by landmarks. This is how he was trained to work – ultrasound-guided procedures are his entire discipline.
What One Visit Looks Like
You come in during a bout – during an attack, or between attacks while the bout is active.
If an attack is underway, oxygen goes on first. Mask on, 15–20 minutes, the attack stops. If there's no active attack, the session moves straight to the nerve blocks.
Dr. Tariq scans with ultrasound to see the nerves. The blocks go in at the back of the head and above the eye – guided on screen, placed precisely. A spray through the nose reaches the ganglion behind the autonomic symptoms. An IV runs with magnesium, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory support.
The whole session takes under an hour. You walk out and drive home.
The attacks that were going to come tonight, tomorrow night, next week – for many patients, they don't. The oxygen stopped the one that was happening. The nerve blocks hold off the ones that were coming. The SPG and IV supported both.
At the scale of tonight, it's an attack that stopped. At the scale of this month, it's a bout that broke. At the scale of the years – when the next bout starts – it's a phone call to Dr. Tariq and a same-day visit where the same treatment works again.
That's the full circuit, treated in one visit.
Common Questions
How long does the relief last?
It varies. The nerve blocks at the back of the head typically provide relief ranging from a few weeks to several months. Some patients see the entire bout's remaining attacks stop. Others get a shorter quiet stretch. The blocks can be repeated – there's no diminishing return.
Does it work for chronic cluster headache?
Yes. Both episodic and chronic cluster headache respond to nerve blocks and oxygen. Chronic patients may need more frequent visits because their bouts don't remit on their own – but the treatment works the same way.
What if I'm already on verapamil or another preventive?
This works alongside preventive medication, not instead of it. Verapamil, lithium, and CGRP medications are daily preventives prescribed by neurologists. What Dr. Tariq offers is the interventional layer: stopping attacks and breaking bouts. The two complement each other. If you're not yet on a preventive and should be, he'll refer you.
Does the injection hurt?
A brief sting from the local anaesthetic, then pressure. Most patients tolerate it well. The ultrasound guides the needle directly – no repositioning by feel.
Can I drive home after?
Most patients drive themselves. The session takes under an hour. If you arrived mid-attack and received oxygen, we'll make sure you're steady before you leave.
What if I have an attack at 2 AM?
Phone 5777 1115. Dr. Tariq answers personally and will get you into the clinic same day – first thing in the morning for overnight calls. The nerve blocks that break the bout don't need to be delivered during an attack; they work between attacks too. The goal is to stop the attacks that were coming tomorrow and the rest of the week.
Is this the same as Botox for headaches?
No. Botox is a chronic migraine treatment – different condition, different mechanism. This targets the nerves and pathways specific to cluster headache.
Will I need to keep coming back?
Cluster headache is cyclical. Episodic patients have bouts that return – often months or years apart. When a new bout starts, the same treatment works again. Most patients come in at the start of each bout, not continuously. Chronic patients may visit more regularly.
How is this different from what my neurologist does?
Neurologists typically manage cluster headache with daily preventive medications and prescribe acute treatments like sumatriptan for home use. What Dr. Tariq offers is the interventional complement: nerve blocks that can break a bout for weeks to months, in-clinic oxygen that stops an attack in minutes, and SPG treatment. The two approaches work together.
Your First Visit
Book an appointment or call the emergency line – either way, Dr. Tariq confirms the diagnosis, decides which combination fits where you are in the bout, and in most cases treats the same visit. If your cluster headaches need a different approach, he'll tell you.
The Next Attack Doesn't Have to Go the Way the Last One Did
Dr. Tariq will confirm the diagnosis, explain what treatment looks like, and – if your bout is active – can often begin the same day.