Ice Cream Headache (Brain Freeze)

It’s common to have a brain freeze after having something cold, especially an ice-cream headache. However, it’s a simple condition that doesn’t require any specific treatment and wears off on its own.

Ice cream headache (brain freeze)

An ice cream headache (brain freeze) is an intense and sudden pain in the front of the head that occurs when eating or drinking something very cold and even when breathing very cold air.

Brain freeze usually lasts a few seconds to two minutes, and it wears off on its own without the need for medication or rest.

Causes of ice cream headache (brain freeze)

• It’s thought that ice cream headaches occur due to the sudden changes in blood flow. When you eat or drink something very cold, and it touches the roof of the mouth and the back of the throat, the temperature there decreases unexpectedly, and as a survival response, the body increases the blood flow to the brain as an attempt to warm it up. As a result, the blood vessels in the head expand, causing this sharp, sudden headache.

Symptoms of ice cream headache (brain freeze)

• A sudden sharp pain in the forehead, temples, behind the eyes, or in the back of the nose.
• Some people feel it like a throbbing or stabbing pain.
• Brain freeze usually lasts a few seconds to two minutes.
• It’s been noticed that ice cream headaches are more likely to occur in people who have a migraine. However, cold-stimulated headaches don’t trigger migraine attacks.
• There have been some cases of people who have atrial fibrillation who have reported that ice cream headaches triggered an episode of it.

Management of ice cream headache (brain freeze)

There isn’t a specific treatment for cold-induced headaches because they go away on their own. However, there are some ways that help to make them go away quickly:

• Stop eating or drinking the cold thing immediately.
• Try warming up your mouth’s roof by putting your tongue or thumb on it and pressing.
• Drink a warm (not too hot) beverage to help warm up your mouth and throat.
• To prevent a brain freeze, eat and drink cold things slowly.
• Use something to protect you from breathing too cold air, like a scarf.