It was suggested that the headaches might be caused by worrying or emotional problems. Yet, Richard could not find any connection between unpleasant events in his life and the cluster headaches. He could not link them to anything he ate or drank.
For several years, doctors tried different drugs to treat Richard's headaches. The most effective treatment was a chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin is found in red peppers. It gives the peppers a hot, spicy taste.
Doctor Solomon says that the chemical is partly effective in stopping the series of headaches. He says the patient places capsaicin in his or her nose when the headache starts. The treatment causes some brief pain. However, the cluster headaches do stop, and capsaicin does not cause the possibly harmful side effects of other treatments.
A tension headache is not so severe as a migraine headache or as cluster headaches. Still, tension headaches interfere with the lives of many Americans especially women. A study says women are fifteen percent more likely to get tension headaches than men.