Rapid Responses to:
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Rapid Responses: Rapid Responses published:
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How to get rid of an ice cream headache.
- Jason (26 April 1999)
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Climate findings
- Candee M O'Connor (26 April 1999)
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Not Just Ice Cream
- Joe Miller (24 May 1999)
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Methods to stop ice cream headache
- Carl S Hayes (22 July 1999)
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ice cream head ache
- Gene Thompson (28 July 1999)
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Re: How to get rid of an ice cream headache.
- Chole Chovinninski (13 October 1999)
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Re: Methods to stop ice cream headache
- Melissa Miller (30 April 2000)
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Ice cream BACKACHE!
- Cathey Thomas (14 October 2000)
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Re: ice cream head ache
- Darrell Bauer (10 March 2001)
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How to kill the brain freeze
- Mike Pittelkow (10 March 2001)
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Nausea and sneeze response to cold liquid
- Steve Diamond (10 March 2001)
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Palatial vasoconstriction shunting to produce excess collateral vascular pressure response.
- B Vuqu (10 March 2001)
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Stop that headache in a pinch
- Sara Schroeder (10 March 2001)
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Sure Cure for brain freeze
- Dustin Pike (10 March 2001)
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Fast Fix For "Brain Freeze"
- Sharon Baker (12 October 2002)
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Skeptical About Brain Freeze
- Anthony M Grubb, Joseph Hulihan (13 October 2002)
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Re: Re: ice cream head ache
- Dr. Harold Wishman (13 October 2002)
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Ice Cream Headaches (a.k.a. Brain Freezes)
- Ann M. Hampton (29 May 2003)
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Re: Ice cream BACKACHE!
- Sharon Shircliff (14 June 2003)
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CHEST-ACHE
- BOB BARKER (25 August 2003)
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Feels more like a reflex
- James J Trueblood (1 October 2003)
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Re: Feels more like a reflex
- William R Allison (21 January 2004)
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Brain and Spinal Freeze
- Ashley J. Merrill (11 March 2004)
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Force a Burp
- Emily DeMars Kranz (11 March 2004)
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Re: Skeptical About Brain Freeze
- Erica Kerr (12 March 2004)
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Freeze brain and migraines
- Nina C. Chasnoff (13 March 2004)
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Ice Cream Headache: Optical Nerve? plus a layman's cure
- Aaron Dalton, Joseph Hulihan (15 March 2004)
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Re: Nausea and sneeze response to cold liquid
- K Jill Byrd (18 March 2004)
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Brain Freeze from the Stomach
- Peter F Staats (25 July 2004)
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Re: CHEST-ACHE
- Nicole Hood (5 August 2004)
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Re: Ice cream headache/backache
- Aaron J Franz (5 August 2004)
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hot air cure for freezer head
- DebbieAnn K. Vaughn (5 August 2004)
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Re: Sure Cure for brain freeze
- Richard B. Ferguson (5 August 2004)
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Re: Ice cream BACKACHE!
- Scott Hoffman (5 August 2004)
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Re: Re: How to get rid of an ice cream headache.
- steve rabkin (5 August 2004)
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Re: Methods to stop ice cream headache
- natasha l eckenbach (5 August 2004)
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Re: CHEST-ACHE
- Jody K. Bane (5 August 2004)
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Re: Ice cream BACKACHE!
- Paul Segal (5 August 2004)
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Throat Freeze
- Kaitlyn A. Coffey, 22560 (7 August 2004)
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The lasting brain freeze
- Karlene markham (7 August 2004)
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I'm headed to Baskin Robbins to conduct a little research &:#)>
- Bryan D. Varney (7 August 2004)
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Farting from Ice Cream
- Russell Eisenman (7 August 2004)
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Re: Ice cream BACKACHE!
- Clint Walker (7 August 2004)
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Free radicals: cause of ice cream headache and the pain in a triple response?
- Richard G Fiddian-Green (9 August 2004)
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I Like It!
- Pita Mahn (11 August 2004)
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Re: Re: Methods to stop ice cream headache
- charles n douglas (30 January 2005)
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Could be referred pain?
- David Franks (27 May 2005)
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Re: Ice cream BACKACHE!
- Thomas L Strizek (27 April 2008)
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Jason , ? home
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I thought you might want to add this to the "ice cream headache" answer. If you get an ice cream headache and want to get rid of it quickly press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. It speeds up the process!! Trust me because it worked for me!!!!!!! |
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Candee M O'Connor, none Walgreens
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In response to your findings that you could ONLY illicit this response in summer versus winter conditions. I disagree with this. If one has ever had a frozen margarita or daquiri in a restaurant or bar (a controlled "temperature wise" environment)...they will notice a "brain freeze" can occur. I believe it has nothing to do with one's external temperature. I agree with the vasodilation theory but it is independent of external factors. |
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Joe Miller Attorney at Law
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I want to point out that not only cold food and beverages in the mouth cause the "ice cream headache." I have been an avid whitewater kayaker paddling summer and winter here in West Virginia. We keep warm in the winter with insulated dry suits and even "pogies"--gloves that fit over both the hand and the paddle at the grip area. But the face is still exposed and a tip-over and roll up in ice cold water is sufficient to induce a brief ice cream headache. Perhaps the physiological response is somehow related to the mammalian diving reflex. |
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Carl S Hayes Self
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You can also (as least is works for me and others that I have told) stop the 'ice cream' headache by placing a 'cold' object on the inner wrist and hold it there. You will see (again my experience as well as others) the the headache stops really fast. |
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Gene Thompson retired
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I had been told many years ago from eating home made ice cream which always seemed much colder than the ice cream that you get from the store. If I ate the home made to fast I would get a head ache very quickly. The reason I was given is that the stomach sensing the extreme cold, blood would be diverted from the head to warm the stomach causing the head to be depleted of the blood supply, therefore causing the head ache. |
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Chole Chovinninski The SYDNEY royal infirmy (SCGGR)
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If you get a "BRAIN FREEZE" frequently after eating then I suggest that you should get a pinch of salt as soon as you feel the headache coming on and then put the salt into your mouth and swallow. As a surgeon I would recommend for you to go and see your local docter to have a cat scan it will not cost you anything if you claim it on the "NHS" I hope that you will use my method. DR.C.Chovinninski |
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Melissa Miller, hospital transcriptionist JCL Hospital
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All of these cures for brain freeze are really interesting. The quickest way I've found yet is to put my head down lower than my heart. If I feel just the slightest twinge of a headache I do this and it takes care of it immediately. Of course, you may get some odd looks at Baskin- Robbins. Just tell them you lost your contact lens on the floor. :) |
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Cathey Thomas
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Like most people, I used to experience those painful "ice cream headaches" from time-to-time, but a few years ago I was startled by a new phenomenon: ice cream BACKACHE. The intensity and type of pain was the same, but it hit me in the area of the thoracic spine, between the shoulder blades, more or less. Ever since that first "ice cream-back attack", this has been the ONLY site of "ice cream headaches" for me. No head pain anymore, just the intense spinal pain. I've never heard of anyone else experiencing this, nor do I understand it. |
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Darrell Bauer
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According to a speach therapist I once knew, Brain Freeze is not referred pain at all. Her explanation was that when the cold substance passes the soft palate and the back of the throat, it has a chilling effect on blood going to the brain which in turn constricts the vessels in the brain, thus causing the headache. |
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Mike Pittelkow, Just a sufferer
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The simplest way (I've heard pinch of salt, ice there...) to solve a "Mister Misty Headache" is to place the pad of your thumb on the roof of your mouth. The whole problenm here is the cold. Your thumb is nice and warm (unless you other problems!) and warms up your palate within a few seconds - headache gone, with no need to find something you may not already have (I don't generally carry salt, or an ice cube to put on my wrist, but my thumb is usually with me). |
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Steve Diamond
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I have never experienced ice cream headache, but for most of my life I have suffered (mildly) from what must be a related phenomenon. Often after drinking a cold liquid, especially on an empty stomach, I will suddenly feel somewhat nauseated. Within 30 seconds or so I will experience an impulse to sneeze. When I do sneeze, it instantly and completely relieves the nausea. I'm not making this up. It used to happen often when I was a boy and drank milk as an afternoon snack. In my adult life it has been less common but still present. I've never heard of anyone with the same experience. Is there anyone out there? Or do you scientists have some explanation? |
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B Vuqu, entrepreneur, e-commerce Website
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A Theory concerning possible origins of "Ice Cream Headache" Responses to low temperature liquids/foods in the mouth induce reactions in the proximate adjacent tissues. Among these, constriction of the blood vessels and therefore increases in the pressure (back-pressure) & velocity of blood in the adjacent/collateral shunting pathways "upstream" in the arterial feeds. Sinusoidal mucosae apparently take up much of the pressure owing to their elasticity & relatively high content of capillary beds. These capillary beds are also richly invested with nerve endings. Further, such an exposure concommitant with an inflammation of the sinusoidal mucosae as in instances of influenza, allergic reactions affecting the nasal, frontal and antral facial sinuses, fungal sinusitis, et al, are probable to be perceived more acutely due to reduced capacity of the mucosae to swell further, and inability of the capillaries to take up more volume at pressure. |
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Sara Schroeder, Child care provider Private homes
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We all know that the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. My first grade teacher told us to gently massage the muscle between the thumb and index finger two fingers of the opposite hand. If your head hurts on the left side, massage the right hand. I bet you know what to do if the right side hurts. Most, but not all, people I tell this to say it works. |
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Dustin Pike Irvine
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The simple and for sure way to cure brain freeze is to put the bottom of your tounge on the roof of your mouth. This works everytime for me and for the people that I have shared this with. I have yet to hear someone tell me that this method does not work. Try it!!!!! |
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Sharon Baker
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Ever since I was a small child, I would get "brain freeze" if I ate very cold ice cream too quickly. I've tried many things over the years and the tongue on the roof of the mouth doesn't always work for me since my tongue is also very cold from the ice cream. The only thing that works EVERY time is a drink of water. NOT water with ice in it, but even very cold water with no ice will immediately stop the "freeze". |
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Anthony M Grubb 28645, Joseph Hulihan
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I read Joseph Hulihan's article about brain freeze and ice-cream headaches at http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/314/7091/1364 and I must say I'm highly skeptical. I'm not skeptical that they occur-- I've experienced them commonly until age 28-29 or so, and they have strangely vanished. I'm skeptical of the explanation. I don't buy that they are a referred pain by any means, for several reasons. However, I will attempt to address this in an organized fashion. To start with, I've experienced similar phenomenon in other parts of the body in buildings lacking a hot-water heater during winter months: 1. Washing one's hands with near-freezing water can induce the similar results--one might call it "heart freeze." Not only is there a delayed reaction (perhaps 5-10 seconds) as mentioned in the above article, but one can actually feel the cold travel from the hands through the arms to the heart. And what would be the medium of transportation? Well, let's ask this question: What bodily substance circulates from an organ to the outermost extremities and back every 30 seconds? Give up? Blood. I would hypothesize that the cooled blood in the hands travels to the heart in a matter of seconds producing the above-described phenomenon. Also, it must be mentioned that the freeze pulsates with each beat of the heart. 2. In showers without hot water in the winter months, those so unlucky to experience may attest, near-freezing water applied to the upper back can be felt to travel (perhaps through the now-cooled bloodstream) to the brain to experience a similar brain freeze to the well known "ice cream headache". This brand of brain-freeze is, however, less intenze and less localized, and may almost be discribed as exhilarating. Also, it must be mentioned that this sensation pulsates with each beat of the heart. If one is lucky, their metabolism will immediately kick up a couple of notches to adapt (Remember this word metabolism, as in the study the headaches were more likely at certain times of the year). My final hypothesis, one not refuted or otherwise addressed in the article, is that the ice cream headache is also transported through the blood stream. We all agree that common brain-freeze occurs when the agents are swallowed or otherwise fixed near the rear of the mouth: "Applying crushed ice to the palate, he found that ipsilateral temporal and orbital pain developed 20-30 seconds later. Bilateral pain occurred when the stimulus was applied in the midline. The headache could be elicited only in hot weather; attempts to reproduce the pain during the winter were unsuccessful, even with use of a cold stimulus of the same temperature." Is it not true that the superficial temporal artery passes right by the palate? Not everyone has a 20-30 second delay. For many it is closer to 3-5 seconds, about as much time as it would take the blood in the above -mentioned artery to travel from the area behind the palate to the forehead. Ouch! What is more interesting, is the pain will more quickly abate if a person places a warm palm against the forehead. Instant relief! As for the differences in hot & cold weather. Have you ever noticed the little candles they hand out for Midnight Christmas services burn like the Dickens in December. However, if handed one at a teen camp meeting in July, you can drip the wax all over your hands without being hurt once. Temperature sensitivity is relative--it has to do with what your body is acclimated to, or your metabolism. In the above-mentioned article the SAME temperature was applied at DIFFERENT times of the year, and we are still scratching our heads to figure out why it didn't elicit the same response because...of...what??? I'm not sure why in my own life ice-cream headaches are mostly a thing of the past. Joseph Hulihan's article also seemed to indicate children are more familiar with or more susceptible to ice cream headaches. Perhaps something changes as we mature. Heart disease is in my family's medical history--extra insulation on the superficial temporal artery, perhaps (laymans terminology for "one would hypothesize")? I'm not a scientist or a doctor, but I'm confident that one with these credentials, funding, and instrumentation could address the topic more fully by addressing my hypotheses. Until categorically refuted, I find these explanations far more palatable (pun not actually intended) than to continue to say it is 'referred pain'. Beyond the curiosity value of this topic, it may be necessary to discern what risk there may be to inducing chilled blood into the brain, rather than telling the public "don't worry, don't abstain" In the end, ingesting cold substances more slowly may be a more prudent counsel. |
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Dr. Harold Wishman, Research Temple University
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The correct answer is infact that the cold restricts the blood vessels to the brain. |
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Ann M. Hampton, n/a 417-864-5316
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From what I read about "ice cream headaches" (a.k.a. brain freezes", are caused by a nerve in ones throat being frozen causing pain to the nerve there, and it sends a message to the brain to tell your brain such. I've found (not just in me) that if you apply your hand over your throat which is the same as applying heat, the pain goes away almost instantly because the nerve is being warmed up. What do you think of that? Competing interests: None declared |
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Sharon Shircliff, none none
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I too get a backache while drinking something cold. The backache is on either side of the spine, in the area of the kidneys. I have speculated that the painfully cold feeling in my back might actually be in the kidneys, but find it hard to believe that the icy-cold slushie I'm drinking could actually hit the kidneys that fast (maybe 10 minutes). Competing interests: None declared |
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BOB BARKER, none 819
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Ice cream head ache doesn't happen to me. Instead, I got a severe ache in the middle of the chest. It'S similar to ice cream head ache but happens in the chest. Anyone ever heard about this?? Competing interests: None declared |
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James J Trueblood, consultant Simularis, Inc
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I, too, am skeptical that Hulihan has gotten to the bottom of brain freeze. For one thing, he only tested one trigger site. The fact that he was able to trigger brain freeze from the palate is interesting and undoubtedly significant, but I am not persuaded he tested the only trigger site or even the most important one. Brain freeze for me begins inside the chest at about the level of the sternum but subjectively somewhat to the right. I feel it travel up my back (and esophagus) and into my head, eventually reaching the site at which it blossoms into a brief headache. I was never successful at avoiding brain freeze by paying attention to palate sensations, but I have become nearly 100% successful at avoiding it by by monitoring sensations at the point I described in the digestive tract. Sensations there tell me reliably when I approach or recede from the verge of brain freeze. I also agree with others that brain freeze is not limited to a warm environment. Perhaps the trigger site Hulihan tested might be thus limited, but it must be obvious to many of us who are susceptible to brain freeze that the phenomenon as a whole is not. Brain freeze needs to be examined in a wider frame of reference. It may well turn out to be part of a broader reflex, perhaps related (as another reader suggests) to the mammalian diving reflex. Competing interests: None declared |
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William R Allison, Science Teacher Wayne Co. Schools, Monticello, KY 42633
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I'll have to agree with James Trueblood's take. When I get "Brain Freeze" it starts about half way down my esophagus and then works its way up to my head. It is horrible. Almost unbearable. Usually I feel a strong pain in my right eye. I even lose some vision, but I think that may just be because I can't open my eye. I'm really not sure, because when I try to open it, things are still a bit blurry. I just had a really harsh brainfreeze last night (January 20th) and that is why I am trying to find information about it today. It was about 20 degrees and that eliminates the hot temporature theory (at least in my case). I was drinking a milk shake at the time. I can usually feel when it is about to start (especially after I over indulge once) and it seems to be directly connected to the amount of cold material that I consume in one swallow. It is not connected to the roof of my mouth. I would like to see more information about this, I haven't found a completely satisfactory answer yet. Competing interests: None declared |
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Ashley J. Merrill, Visual Artist / Author 84010
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I found it interesting that others have had similar episodes with "Ice Cream Headaches" in the spine. I have also experienced this phenomenon. I have suffered from other back pain due to a degenerative back disease called "Spondylolisthesis." I also feel electricity (usually due to storms) in my spine. However, I also experience "Brain Freeze," in my head. Usually it is one or the other (spinal or cranial) pain when I experience an "Ice Cream Headache." Competing interests: None declared |
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Emily DeMars Kranz, none 68025
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Don't ask me how I discovered the icecream headache cure. I just know I did. But it works for me and it works for my husband and kids after I introduced them to the trick. On any given day, forcing a burp is impossible. Try it right now. People can't burp on cue unless you've just gobbled up some air first or had a sip of your favorite cola, etc. But at the immediate onset of an icecream headache, if you force a burp, (and there is always one there to force at the onset of one of these things,) you relieve some sort of temporal pressure build-up, and it is gone. Works every single time, and you don't have to avoid cold foods. Competing interests: None declared |
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Erica Kerr, Student 83616
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I get brain freezes fairly often, but the quickest way to get rid of the pain is easy. I haven't tried placing my hand on my throat, so i can't say that doesn't work. I have put my palm on my head, as if to hold the pain back, but that has never seemed to help it. I have heard, tried, and found putting your toungue on the top of your mouth is the best way to make the ice cream headache go away. It takes about 3 seconds to work because it has to heat up the top of your mouth, but it works. It makes perfect sense too. When the cold object passes across your soft palate, that is when you get a brain freeze. Well your mouth is about 98 degrees so why not use it. If you put your toungue on the top of your mouth, it equalizes the temperature, and then warms it up again. It's worked for me anyway Competing interests: None declared |
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Nina C. Chasnoff, Just a layperson Cornell University
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I have suffered from migraine headaches for the past 7 years. One of the strangest cures I have found is to eat or drink something very cold, very quickly in order to experience the Brain Freeze phenomena. This can give me relief for up to an hour after the occurence. Has anyone considered doing migraine relief research in this area? Might the effect of the cold on the nervous system be considered as a treatment. Competing interests: None declared |
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Aaron Dalton, Singer/vocalist Salt Lake City, UT USA 84604, Joseph Hulihan
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Greetings. Enjoyed the article, but in my study of vocal pedagogy (including the adverse effects on the singing mechanism of extremely hot or cold liquids), I've read that the sensation is actually the result of a chilled optic nerve, which is vulnerable to extreme temperatures in that it lies very close beneath the skin. In any case, I happened upon my own cure several years ago, which is, upon first "spike" of pain, to quickly lean forward at the waist, until your head is below the plane of your heart. The sudden rush of blood to the neck and head seems to create a surge in temperature sufficient to quickly (within just a few seconds, really) overcome the effects of the cold. At least, that has been my experience, and it has never failed. Best Regards. Aaron Dalton Salt Lake City, UT USA Competing interests: None declared |
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K Jill Byrd, Computer Dept Ryzex, Bellingham, WA 98226
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I also get that nausea feeling when I drink a glass of water and my stomach is empty. The first glass of water in the morning really hits me hard. Feels like I'm about to throw up. Passes within a couple of minutes, but is real unpleasant in the meantime. Glad to know I'm not the only one that has experienced this. Competing interests: nausea |
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Peter F Staats, Engineer Loveland, OH 45140
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I have been successful in avoiding "brain freeze" by melting any ice cream or ice drink in my mouth prior to swallowing. I started doing this after reading that brain freeze is a result of chilling the stomach, not the mouth. Since melting the ice in my mouth surely chills the mouth excessively and yet does not cause headaches for me, I conclude that the stomach is a more likely site for causing brain freeze. Competing interests: None declared |
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Nicole Hood, IT Coordinator WA 98004
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I have read several of the numerous responses to this article, and am also reluctant to accept the hypothesis that "brain freeze" is a referred pain. I have experienced brain freeze in several of the exhibitions other responders have described. It will often start in my lower throat, and either travel rapidly into my chest, or up into my head. Sometimes the pain is like sinus pressure behind my eyes, and sometimes it is across the back of my head, behind my ears, or even sometimes felt at the top of my head. I have also experienced the nauseated feeling. For me, this usually occurs after drinking a cold beverage, not after eating ice cream, and the fullness of my stomach as other responders mentioned is not usually a determining factor for whether I will experience this form of "freeze". I have sometimes experienced brain freeze when holding the cold substance in my mouth for awhile (mostly to avoid bringing ice cream into contact with the surface of my molars), and sometimes when I have swallowed cold substances quickly, and the pain began in my throat. Although I haven't performed extensive observations of other factors surrounding these brain freeze experiences, I will agree that this article's idea stating brain freeze is caused simply by contact with the soft palette is a somewhat limited view. Competing interests: None declared |
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Aaron J Franz, Student Purdue University
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Perhaps the pain is not due to vascular dialation, since it is highly unlikely that 3-20 seconds after ingestion that the substance is sufficiently cool after having passed through the esophogus that it would cool the capillaries in the general vicinity of the stomach. I have experienced a nearly instantaneous response after ingesting a quantity approximately equivalent to the volume of a shot glass, in under a second. The pain of cold did not come in such circumstances from the top of my mouth, but rather the back of my throat. Perhaps it is a nervous reaction to having been exposed to too much relative cold, especially due to it's proximity to major nerve bundles. Competing interests: None declared |
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DebbieAnn K. Vaughn, dental lab tech Mitchell, SD 57301
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When I get this response, usually from a slush-type drink and rarely if ever from icecream, I blow warm air out of my nose. I don't know what this does, but it works. When I get what I so fondly call freezer head, it is excruciating pain, like possible brain malfunction or hemmorrage. Competing interests: None declared |
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Richard B. Ferguson, Teacher Central High School 58203
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As a kid we would experience the "brain freeze". We called them "Beaners" Bean ache as in bean was a word for the brain/head. What helped us was to drink some liquid. Worked every time. Rich Ferguson Competing interests: None declared |
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Scott Hoffman, CEO, Engineer, IT 29928
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I have a close friend that also had this backpain vs the brain- freeze. So, you are not alone. Competing interests: None declared |
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steve rabkin, Physician 80206
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I cannot believe a physician would actually recommend a CAT scan for an Ice cream headache!! You clearly must have an agenda in your practice of defrauding whomever you can to get insurance to pay for UNEEDED procedures!
If one were to get the headaches without eating something cold or for no explainable reason, then yes maybe a CAT scan is in order if it happens with a high degree of unexplained frequency.
Getting a CAT scan for every Ice Cream headache, (even though it is gone before you get in the car to go), is about the biggest and stupidest waste of money I can think of!! Spending serious money on anything related to "Ice Cream headaches" is riducles and trying to get insurance to pay is even more riducles! You have to pay your deductible,pay for what is above and beyond your insurance, as well as damage your standing with the whole insurance industry for no good reason;where do you get your "ethics"???
Someone ought to report you to the AMA and whomever else!!!
Although the AMA will probably do nothing, there are others that will!!
/steve
Competing interests: None declared |
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natasha l eckenbach, daycare owner 95453
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The quickest way i have figured out to stop a "brain freeze" it to drink or eat something warm like water. haveing kids around all day you seem to learn some tricks. But i guess to that drinking or eating something warm kinda defeats the purpose of having something cold. then there is just eating or drinking slow i have noticed that most of the people who i know who get "brain freezes" is because the drink or eat to quickly. Competing interests: None declared |
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Jody K. Bane, Graduate Student Oklahoma State University, 74078
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Yup! I occasionally get a brain freeze, but more often (especially when drinking a frozen drink such as a margarita) I experience the chest pain, which I have always referred to as an "esophagus freeze". A drink of room temp to cool water tends to cure it, but it is definitely unpleasant while it lasts! Competing interests: None declared |
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Paul Segal, Medical writer 7438 Belden St. ,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111
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I too get that pain between the shoulder blades when I eat ice cream. I am reassured to know that I am not a medical exception and that there is at least one other who suffers so cruelly as I. Competing interests: None declared |
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Kaitlyn A. Coffey, Student Don't work, 22560
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Does anyone else feel an odd sort of pain, constricting breath when they eat lots of ice cream really fast? I do. I want an explanation. Competing interests: None declared |
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Karlene markham, catering CUSD
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I enjoyed this article, I forwarded it to my husband, because it goes so in line with what I have been telling him about migranes for 10 years... I don't remember when my migranes started, I rembember when I was about 4 telling my parents that I had a tummy ache right here... and pointing to my head though. When I was little no one believed me about my head aches, and so I was sent to school, and struggled because I couldn't keep up because my head aches would get worse because of all the stimuli. Over the years, I learned how to deal with them, and by time I met my husband I had gotten to a point where my routines weren't so devastated all the time because of them... yes I still have them, and if left unattended, I still suffer them just as badly, but I don't let them get so bad now. I have found that by taking 2 tylenol, taking a hot shower (despite the temperatures), and drinking hot herbal tea, my pain would reduce greatly... Enough so that I wouldn't be seeing spotted vision, and throwing up,getting bloody noses and so forth... I could still function... I find that if I wear a stocking cap, and comfortable sweats I usually have an even better chance of eventually pulling out from the migrane all together, instead of going days with the pain... It doesn't always work, however, but it reduces it enough that I can still take care of our kids, and function with out breaking into tears, and sleeping my life away. my husband is not someone who really had any experience with head aches, so when we were first married, it was an adjustment for him, because he didn't know really what I was experiencing, so I told him that it felt like a head rush, or brain freeze, only it doesn't go away.. When he went to basic training, one of the girls in his Technical training class, experienced migranes, she had only been having them for a few years, but because of their situation in their training, she was really struggling to deal with them, so he told her what I did to control them, and she didn't try it at first, but one day in deperation, did... and he said she came out smiling and told him that it didn't get rid of it completly, however, it reduced it so much that she felt good again. At that point, I think my husband finnally started to realize that my descriptions, and self taught coping skills were something that seemed to have something to it... I always recomend seeing a dr. to get a full annalisis of any kind of medical concern, but I also tend to find that once people know that you are a migraine sufferer and that they see you out functioning dispite your pain, they become curiouse... There are alot of different triggers for migraines... and everyone is a little different. food and sinus irritation is only a few. I find that any time that my body seems to become over whellmed or I go to extremes, I usually end up with one... Over hungry or thirsty, over tired, extreme temperature fluctuation of over 20 degrees, over stressed, allergies, over or under activity, excessive noice, or light. I often wonder sometimes if the physical cause of the pain, isnt linked to something along the lines of chemical imballances, and just how the body reacts to that, or kind of like how thyroid function effects the body. The triggers, just seem to be the inital cause of the onsought, and that the reaction is a coping mechanism, and that there seems to be atleast for alot of my friends with migranes, actually avoidance and control treatments. I have one friend who is on blood pressure medication, and anouther who is on I believe heart medication, even though neither of them suffer symptoms of blood pressure problems, or heart conditions, the medications were perscribed to control the body's natural responses, to inhibit the pain... I myself am always right on close to perfect for my blood pressure, however I do find that sometimes I will go down just barely, not enough that my dr, hardly notices, I am still well in the target pressure rate, and even though I know body tempurature has been debated, and at various points thrown out back and forth with migrane studies. I do find that when I am experiencing migranes, I struggle to maintain body temperature, and that even if my body temperature does not go down, when I reduce my body's effort to maintain temperaute, I have better sucess at controlling the effects of the migranes. So I think there is some ground to what you are saying, I definatly concure with the findings of this report. Thanks for posting it!
Sincerly,
Karlene
Competing interests: None declared |
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Bryan D. Varney, Software Engineer 83869
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A very interesting article complete with many potential cures. It inspires me to conduct my own research. I'll see you at Baskin Robins ... Bryan Competing interests: None declared |
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Russell Eisenman, Assistant Professor of Psychology University of Texas-Pan American, 78541
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Ice cream does not induce a brain freeze in me, but it oftentimes induces farting, stomach ache, and head ache. I think this adds to our understanding, and extends the symptoms to include more than brain freeze. I wonder if the brain freeze subjects also have these symptoms, but perhaps out of embarassment are not willing to mention it. One doctor I saw suggested I had lactose intolerance, but another said he thought I did not. I recently underwent a Hida Scan which found that my gallbladder is functioning at a normal level, although in the lower part of the normal range. Perhaps this is analagous to people whose IQ range is dull normal. Competing interests: Farting |
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Clint Walker, i skateboard? the streets 78456
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Ya dude, im only 14 but i was bored so i looked at this n i get that same stuff right behind my shoulder just like a brain feeze only the shoulder n it goes away in about 5 or 10 seconds Competing interests: None declared |
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Richard G Fiddian-Green, FRCS, FACS None
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This is an intriguing problem. Two observations come to mind. The first was a man in his forties with hypertension who had a coeliac axis stenosis and who developed abdominal pain whenever he drank cold water (1). His pain was accompanied by a gastric intramucosal acidosis, which would appear in my current thinking to be caused by the rate of energy release by ATP hydrolysis that exceeds the rate at which ATP is resynthesised by oxidative phosphorylation. Revascularisation eliminated the the intramucosal acidosis and like the other patients studied appeared to eliminate his symptoms but these patients are notoriously difficult to evaluate. Food of course is the usual stimulus. Another investigator has comfirmed our provocative findings (2). One mechanism by which intragastric stimuli might cause abdominal pain is by causing vascular or smooth muscle muscle spasm. Another mechanism is by causing a steal of blood flow from a midgut supplied by stenotic mesenteric arteries (3,4,5). Neither of these would seem to account for an ice cream headache (6). A haematogenous or neural/humoral reflex needs to be invoked. A decrease in temperature causes a rise in pH by a purely physical effect (7). If high enough it will inhibit oxidative phosphorylation by eliminating the protonmotive force driving ATP resynthesis by oxidative phosphorylation. In so doing it might increase the [ADP] and induce a haemotological changes such as activation of the ADP receptors on platlets (8). Cold is known to cause cryoprecipitation of blood products in some patients. As the supply of oxygen is not inhibited in these circumstances the stage may be set for free radical release upon rewarming. In which case a bolus of free radicals might be released not only into portal venous blood but also into gastric lymphatics and have direct access to the brain by draining into the thoracic duct. Perhaps this caused the ice cream headache. The release of free radicals upon reperfusion has been implicated in the causation of pain (9). Furthermore the free radical release induced by reperfusion after a transient fall in gastic intramucosal pH has been implicated in multiple organ dysfunction (10). Neurological ddysfunction appears to be the most sensitive symptomatic measure of multiple organ dysfunction in awake patients(11). Sir Thomas Lewis brought the scientific method to the investigation of human disease at the bedside when he was at Univeisty College. In 1927 he described the triple response to a cutaneous njury, flush(redline), flare(red zone) & weal(edema), and the classic five signs - rubor(redness), tumor(swelling), calor(Heat), dolor (pain) and loss of function of inflammation are well known. It starts with dilatation of blood vessels(vasodilatation) to bring more blood (Hyperemia) and along with it the mediators of defence & healing. Blood vessels become leaky allowing escape of fluids(transudation), proteins & cells (exudation) into tissue space causing edema. The WBC crawl out of capillary(emigration) towards site of injury attracted by chemicals(Chemotaxis) and engulf debris (phagocytosis). Antibodies and other chemical mediators of inflammation serve to neutralise the injurious agents such as microbes. If one thinks about cutaneous injury, which contrary to visceral injury is painful, it occurs in an hyperoxia, hypocarbic environment. This should inhibit oxidative phosphorylation by elevating the pH and thereby presumably prevent the generation of free radicals until reperfusion when it could be excessive. If blood flow is compromised at first from vasocontriction and platelet plugging coling should also occur compounding thelevation in pH in increasing the need for an exothermic metabolic response, one that iappears to occur with anaerobic glycolysis. The lumen of the gut is, in contrast, microaerophilic. It has a very low pO2, relative to air, and a pCO2 the same as that in arterial blood or a little higher on occasions. These are not circumstances in which free radicals should be produced in anything like the amount presumabky seen after, for example, removal of a colonic polyp. The difference might account in part for the difference in pain experienced. The release of free radicals upon reperfusion might be responsible for the initial pain experienced in the triple and for an ice cream headache, the latter being a systemic and the former a local manifestation. The pain associated with the later inflammatory response might be a regional manifestation. If in the evolution of man avoiding the toxic effects of oxygen has been a crucial property then, thinking in terms of a simple cellular automata or Wolfram rule(12), pain is a likely derivative. It is not a response that would have included a nervous system until evolution was far advanced. 1. Fiddian-Green RG, Stanley JC, Nostrant T, Phillips D. Chronic gastric ischemia. A cause of abdominal pain or bleeding identified from the presence of gastric mucosal acidosis. J Cardiovasc Surg (Torino). 1989 Sep-Oct;30(5):852-9. 2. Faries PL, Narula A, Veith FJ, Pomposelli FB Jr, Marsan BU, LoGerfo FW The use of gastric tonometry in the assessment of celiac artery compression syndrome. Ann Vasc Surg. 2000 Jan;14(1):20-3. 3. Poole JW, Sammartano RJ, Boley SJ Hemodynamic basis of the pain of chronic mesenteric ischemia. Am J Surg. 1987 Feb;153(2):171-6. 4. Boley SJ, Brandt LJ, Veith FJ, Kosches D, Sales C A new provocative test for chronic mesenteric ischemia. Am J Gastroenterol. 1991 Jul;86(7):888-91. 5. Fiddian-Green RG. Provocative test for chronic mesenteric ischemia. Am J Gastroenterol. 1992 Apr;87(4):543 6. Joseph Hulihan Ice cream headache BMJ 1997; 314: 1364 7. JOHN W. SEVERINGHAUS, POUL ASTRUP, and JOHN F. MURRAY Blood Gas Analysis and Critical Care Medicine. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 157, Number 4, April 1998, S114-S122 8. Herbert JM, Savi P. P2Y12, a new platelet ADP receptor, target of clopidogrel. Semin Vasc Med. 2003 May;3(2):113-22. 9. Xanthos D, Francis L, Bennett G, Coderre T. Animal Models of Chronic Pain: Chronic post-ischemia pain: A novel animal model of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I produced by prolonged hindpaw ischemia and reperfusion in the rat. J Pain. 2004 Apr;5(3 Suppl 2):S1. 10. Nielsen VG, Tan S, Baird MS, McCammon AT, Parks DA Gastric intramucosal pH and multiple organ injury: impact of ischemia-reperfusion and xanthine oxidase. Crit Care Med. 1996 Aug;24(8):1339-44. 11. David Taggart About impaired minds and closed hearts BMJ 2002; 325: 1255-1256 12. Stephen Wolfram. A New Kind of Science. Wolfram Media, Inc., 2002. Competing interests: None declared |
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Pita Mahn, Food Service 60625
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I really don't understand why people want to get rid the "brain freeze" so fast. the longest one i have had lasted only 10-15 seconds, and quite honestly i like them. They happen very rarely to me but the feeling of the pain makes me think of being little again. After a quick shake of the head, which does absolutely nothing, the pain dissipates and i go back to eating the ice cream. Does anyone else enjoy the pain because of an association or because "It hurts sooo good?" Competing interests: Oatmeal |
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charles n douglas, small business owner 5683 whale watch st., las vegas nv. 89113
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i find that when ice cream comes into contact with the roof of the mouth and the back of the throat a temporary brain freze results that, if endured, will end in a few seconds. However, I also find that anything you ingest warmer than the ice cream quickly reverses the problem. Competing interests: None declared |
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David Franks, Student Cambridge University
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I believe that the 'brain freeze' could be caused by referred pain due to stimulation of pain receptors in the palette. These receptors may propogate action potentials along non-myelinated fibres, accounting for the latency before the pain is felt. Nociceptors (pain receptors) do not show a short-term adaptive response, and this could explain why the pain does not seem to dissapate until the palette is warmed again (by the toungue etc.). Also, the pain I feel when experiencing a brain freeze reminds me of that experienced when eating horseradish or wasabe. Both of which contain isothiocynates, which activate the receptor responsible for painful cold sensation. The pain felt in the throat and stomach reported by some people could simply be a result of quickly swallowing the cold substance so it is still cold when reaching the throat and passing through the thorax. This is merely speculation and I apologise if I have stated anything incorrectly. Competing interests: None declared |
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Thomas L Strizek, Utility Locator SM&P Utility Resources
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I have gotten ice cream backaches my whole life and never understood the concept of a "brain freeze." I got a lot of goofy looks when I wold wiggle and squirm to try to get rid of the backache I'll tell you, and as a kid that has something happen to them that happens to no one else, you can guess that it was a source of ridicule. I'm not the only one I know that gets backaches, but the other two are my mother and sister, and at that, my sister alternates between a headache and a backache. My brother gets headaches, though. Maybe it's a latent trait of some variety. If it were simply a vaso-constriction in the brain or cold traveling through your blood stream, the response would be 100%. However, it wasn't 100% even in the migraine group. My thought, based on my experience with my immediate family having the problem, is that there is a chromosome that triggers the effect of the Ice Cream Headache, and another to show where it is. Competing interests: None declared |
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