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Ice-cream headache, also known as brain freeze, cold headache, shakeache, frigid face, freezie, frozen brain syndrome, cold-stimulus headache, or its given scientific name sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia (meaning "nerve pain of the sphenopalatine ganglion"), is a form of brief cranial pain or headache commonly associated with consumption (particularly quick consumption) of cold beverages or foods such as ice cream.
Cause and frequency
An editorial was published in the British Medical Journal on ice cream headache; it referenced several articles on the effect of rapid consumption of cold foods or beverages. It has been studied as an example of referred pain, an unpleasant sensation localized to an area separate from the site of the painful stimulation.
The effect occurs when something very cold, such as ice cream, touches the top palate in the mouth. The blood vessels constrict due to the cold. This makes the nerves send a signal to the brain to open blood vessels. But this rapid opening of the blood vessels makes fluid back up in the tissues that won't drain for thirty seconds to a minute. This causes a slight swelling in the forehead that causes pain.
It has been estimated that one in three people experience an ice-cream headache from consumption of ice cream. Some studies suggest that it is more common in people who experience migraines; other studies have shown the opposite.
One way to reduce the effect of the pain is to take rapid deep breaths.
References
- ^ http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/314/7091/1364 Ice cream headache - Hulihan 314 (7091): 1364 - BMJ