Have you ever had an ice cream headache? Some call them "brain freezes". You bite into an ice cream cone, sundae or other ice cream confection and all of a sudden you are hit with a stabbing headache. Ice cream is not the only frozen treat that can bring these headaches upon you, ice pops, slushies, frozen drinks, and certain cold foods and drinks can have the same instant headache effect on you.

The good part about ice cream headaches is that they disappear pretty quickly. The ice cream headache is caused by ingestion or inhalation of a cold stimulus, or so the technical term for ice cream headaches says.

What are the symptoms of an ice cream headache?

A sharp, stabbing pain usually felt in the forehead region.

A pain that peaks about 30 to 60 seconds after eating something extremely cold.

The headaches duration is typically only one to two minutes at most.

Do you want to know what causes the ice cream headache?

They are caused by cold substances moving across the roof of your mouth and the back of your throat. When you eat something cold or drink something cold really fast the substance hits upon the top of your mouth and the back of your throat. Experts are not entirely sure of what the exact mechanism that occurs that triggers the pain sensation but one theory is that cold food and drink temporarily changes the blood flow in your brain, which causes a brief headache. It is believed that the trigeminal nerve sends the message of pain from the teeth, tongue, mouth tissue and the brain registers the pain briefly.

Because the ice cream headache is but a brief headache it rarely needs treatment and it certainly doesn't stop us from eating ice cream or other deliciously cold treats or cold drinks.

You can prevent future ice cream headaches by eating cold foods slowly and drinking cold beverages slowly. You can also let cold food and drink warm up slightly, just to take the chill off of them a bit before consuming them. You can do this by letting them sit for a few moments before putting them in your mouth or you can put them in your mouth but hold them in the front of your mouth before swallowing so the temperature of your mouth will warm them a little before you swallow them.

You don't have to avoid your favorite ice cream or other cold treats or cold beverages just remember to consume them slowly and try to take the chill off of them a little before swallowing them.