Cold-stimulus headache

A cold-stimulus headache, colloquially known as an ice-cream headache or brain freeze, is a form of brief pain or headache commonly associated with consumption (particularly quick consumption) of cold beverages or foods such as ice cream and ice pops. It is caused by having something cold touch the roof of the mouth, and is believed to result from a nerve response causing rapid constriction and swelling of blood vessels or a "referring" of pain from the roof of the mouth to the head. The rate of intake for cold foods has been studied as a contributing factor. A cold-stimulus headache is distinct from dentin hypersensitivity, a type of dental pain that can occur under similar circumstances. Cats and other animals have been observed experiencing a similar reaction when presented with a similar stimulus. == Terminology == The term ice-cream headache has been in use since at least January 31, 1937, contained in a journal entry by Rebecca Timbres published in the 1939 book We Didn't Ask Utopia: A Quaker Family in Soviet Russia. The first published use of the term brain freeze, in the sense of a cold-stimulus headache, was in 1991. 7-Eleven has trademarked the term. == Cause and frequency == A cold-stimulus headache is the direct result of the rapid cooling and rewarming of the capillaries in the sinuses leading to periods of vasoconstriction and vasodilation. A similar but painless blood vessel response causes the face to appear "flushed" after being outside on a cold day.