Do I Have Ice Cream Headache?

Did you eat or drink something cold too quickly (ice cream, ice pop, cold beverages, slushy frozen drinks)?

Have you dived in cold water with your head unprotected (without adequate equipment)?

Do you have a sharp, stabbing pain in the forehead?

Do you have pain that peaks about 20 to 60 seconds after it begins and goes away in about the same time?

Do you have pain that rarely lasts longer than five minutes?

Based on your answers it is unlikely that you have an ice cream headache. An ice cream headache is a type of headache, also known as a cold stimulus headache. It is a short-lived, stabbing headache that can occur when you eat or drink something cold too quickly. Common triggers of this type of headache are frozen items, such as ice cream, ice pops and slushy frozen drinks.

Based on your answers there is a possibility that you have an ice cream headache. An ice cream headache refers to the sharp throbbing pain in your forehead or temple after you eat something cold.Anyone can experience an ice cream headache. People who are prone to migraines have a higher risk of a more serious form of this type of headache. The exact mechanism that causes this pain of an ice cream headache is not known. It is thought that the cause could be a sudden change in the blood flow in your brain. Ice cream headaches affect about 30 percent of people who don't usually have headaches.

Based on your answers there is a high possibility that you have an ice cream headache. An ice cream headache is a type of headache that occurs in some people after ingesting something cold. Blood vessels in your brain constrict under the influence of cold, only to relax again later when they adapt to changes in temperature. This short-term change in blood flow through your brain leads to the pain that is characteristic of an ice cream headache. This headache does not need to be treated. It disappears on its own after swallowing cold food or drink. To avoid ice cream headaches, consume cold drinks and food slowly.