Editorials

Ice cream headache

All sorts of things can cause headache. For migraineurs, attacks can be provoked by chocolate, cheese, cured meats, or non-food such as stress or changes in sleep habits. Headaches can herald serious neurological disease. Some people have a benign type of headache provoked by coughing or, rarely, by coitus. Many people feel that headaches are caused by eye strain or chronic sinus problems, although probably they are not.

The most common cause of head pain is ice cream, occurring in one third of a randomly selected population.¹ It occurs regardless of whether someone suffers from other types of headache. Children know all about ice cream headache, although I have found that they know it best by the descriptive term "brain freeze."

The pain begins a few seconds after the rapid ingestion of cold foods or beverages and peaks in 30-60 seconds. The pain is usually located in the midfrontal area, . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Sleigh, J W, Harries, M. (1997). Ice cream headache. BMJ 315: 609-609 [Full text]  

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