What Causes An Ice Cream Headache?

So it is 90 degrees outside and you and your friends stop by the local ice cream place to get some ice cream to cool off. You are all downing your ice cream when suddenly one of your friends shouts out "brain freeze!" and stops eating to clutch his head and wince in pain. He may even writhe and shout a little because an ice cream headache can hurt for a little while.

So what causes an ice cream headache and why do we get an ice cream headache when we are eating something as wonderful as ice cream? Did you even notice that you can get an ice cream headache when you are eating or drinking anything that is cold and you are eating or drinking it too fast? There is a reason for that and it is a real honest medical reason. So allow me to ruin your ideas about an ice cream headache with the real truth behind what causes an ice cream headache.

You can get an ice cream headache from drinking a cold soda on a warm day, downing a ice cold bottle of water, or from anything cold that goes into your mouth and touches the roof of your mouth. In the roof of your mouth is a series of blood vessels that are interconnected to the blood vessels in your head. A headache is usually caused when the muscles around the skull unexplainably contract or when the blood vessels around the skull expand and contract more than they are supposed to.

You feel it behind your eyes usually because this is where the primary blood vessels are running that respond to this reaction. Also the muscles around your eye sockets become very sensitive when the muscles around your skull begin to contract. It is kind of like filling the front of your head with water and then pulling back on your hair so that your skin is real tight. You get the picture.

And Now The Truth

An ice cream headache happens because the cold ice cream, or whatever cold item you are having, is hitting the roof of your mouth at a frantic pace and the blood vessels located in the roof of your mouth are trying to compensate for the extreme cold by expanding to keep the brain warm.

This shoots all the way up the front of your skull and can sit right in behind your eyes causing the classic ice cream headache. The cure? Stop eating so much ice cream so fast and just let your system naturally right itself. Don't try and warm your system back up by introducing something warm because that could aggravate the problem. You got yourself into this mess now you have to ride it out. Don't worry it doesn't take long.

If you do feel an ice cream headache coming do not take that as an invitation to a contest. Stop eating or drinking whatever you are eating or drinking immediately. The reaction of the blood vessels could cause one to burst and then your trip to the ice cream store would end real quick. If you stop eating and give your system time to adjust itself you should be able to pick up your spoon again in no time and try eating at a human pace this time!