Posted by Brian W on October 16, 1998 at 18:14:48:
In Reply to: It's an EAR thing posted by Bob on October 13, 1998 at 14:17:03:
Great bunch of observations there Bob. Our pain sometimes presents itself away from the actual root cause. When we go to the dentist with a toothache and tell him that it's 'dith one heeaahh'.. he starts poking around other teeth. Why? The nerves don't always tell us the truth. Push here and they give a pain sensation over there.
Another contribution that i can make to the ear theory is that flying and other sudden pressure changes are known to trigger clusters predictably. It's on takeoff that the pain starts. Also driving up a long steep hill will trigger a cluster with regular predictability.
The one common element that i have found in all the causes of cluster is 'inflammation'. If there is a pressure drop on the outside, will there be an inflammation on the inside of our bodies? Could it be the dura or a sheath around the trigeminal nerve that is inflamed? It's a complicated process that eventually causes the pain. If we use the sensations that we have from nerves (that lie to us about where the pain is centred) then we have a big detective job to do.
Painfree days a'head to all.
Brian W.