What actually is a brainfreeze?

Question

im drinking a slurpee and i just got one and it hurts pretty bad lol.

Answer 1

Brain freeze, cold headache, ice cream headache, freezie, Frozen Brain Syndrome, or its given scientific name Spheno Palatine Gangleoneuralgia are terms used to describe a form of cranial pain or headache which people are known to sometimes experience after consuming cold beverages or foods such as ice cream, slurpees, or margaritas, particularly when consumed quickly.

The reaction can be sometimes triggered within a few seconds after a very cold substance consumed comes into contact with the roof of the mouth. The body's response to cold environments is to vasoconstrict the peripheral vasculature (to reduce the diameter of blood vessels). This vasoconstriction is in place to reduce blood flow to the area, and thus minimize heat loss to keep warmth in the body. After vasoconstriction, they return to normal status and artery size results in massive dilation (vasodilation) of the arteries that supply the palate (descending palatine arteries). The nerves in the region of the palate (greater and lesser palatine nerves) sense this pain and transmit the sensation of this pain back to the trigeminal ganglia. This results in pain that is referred to the forehead and below the orbit, other regions from which the trigeminal nerve receives sensation (This phenomenon is partially similar to the referred pain that is present in the left arm when someone is having a myocardial infarction). A similar effect occurs when one takes a prescription vasodilator, such as Nitroglycerin or Viagra. It is a stabbing or aching type of pain that usually recedes within 10–20 seconds after its onset, but sometimes 30–60 seconds, and can persist for up to five minutes in rare cases. The pain is usually located in the midfrontal area, but can be unilateral in the temporal, frontal, or retro-orbital regions.

It has been estimated that "30% of the population" experiences brain freeze from ice cream. Some studies suggest that brainfreeze is more common in people who experience migraines. Raskin and Knittle found this to be the case, with brain freeze occurring in 93% of migraine sufferers and in only 31% of controls. However, other studies found that it is more common in people without migraines. These inconsistencies may be due to differences in subject selection–the subjects of the first study were drawn from a hospital population, whereas the controls in the second were student volunteers, making the tests inconclusive.

Answer 2

Brain freeze, cold headache, ice cream headache, freezie, Frozen Brain Syndrome, or its given scientific name Spheno Palatine Gangleoneuralgia are terms used to describe a form of cranial pain or headache which people are known to sometimes experience after consuming cold beverages or foods such as ice cream, slurpees, or margaritas, particularly when consumed quickly.

Answer 3

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Brainfreeze

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• Brain freeze is something that many people can relate to. I am fortunate to say that I have never experienced the pain of brain freeze, despite my frequent consumption of the ice cold Slurpee drink.

• Brain freeze is an intense stabbing headache-like pain that occurs after consuming something cold, and it affects about 30 percent of the population.

• Your brain DOES NOT actually freeze. NO damage is caused by brainfreeze.

• 7-Eleven registered the term "brainfreeze" in 1994 to communicate the painful joy of drinking a frozen Slurpee beverage.

• Brainfreeze is also known as an "Ice Cream Headache", and "Frozen Brain Syndrome"

• Simply put, Brainfreeze occurs when the Slurpee (or anything cold) touches the roof of your mouth, the collection of nerves in the roof of your mouth (called the spheno-palantine ganglion) go into a spasm (a spasm is like a cramp). These nerves tell the brain blood vessels to get bigger or "dilate". When our brain's blood vessels get big, we get headaches.

• So, the best way to avoid getting brainfreeze is to keep the Slurpee from the roof of your mouth.

• The pain of brainfreeze begins a few seconds after the rapid ingestion of cold foods or beverages (such as ice cream or slurpees or yellow snow)and peaks in 30-60 seconds, and can last up to 5 minutes.

• The Phenemenon is further explained in an article by Joseph Hulihan :

• The pain is usually located in the midfrontal area, but can be unilateral in the temporal, frontal, or retro-orbital region.

• It is a stabbing or aching type of pain that recedes 10-20 seconds after its onset. Rarely, it can persist for two to five minutes

• Some Studies suggest that brainfreeze is more common in people who experience migraines. Raskin and Knittle found this to be the case, with brainfreeze occurring in 93% of migraine sufferers and in only 31% of controls

• Other studies found that it's more common in people without migraines. These inconsistencies may be due to differences in subject selection–the subjects of the first study were drawn from a hospital population, whereas the controls in the second were student volunteers.

• Ice cream headache has been studied as an example of referred pain. Experimenting on himself, Smith found that:

• Ipsilateral temporal and orbital pain developed 20-30 seconds later after crushed iced was placed on the palette.
• 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.
• Bird et al found a similar relation with respect to site of application of the cold substance and ipsilateral occurrence of the resultant pain Some of their subjects also experienced an associated toothache.

• Raskin has suggested that ice cream headache may represent a model of migraine, in that both encompass disordered thresholds to sensory stimuli.

• No treatment is usually required, and sufferers rarely seek medical attention.

An odd idea or two....

• Some people actually enjoy brainfreeze. I've been told that it can take away a headache.

• Believe it or not, but some people also find it orgasmic... seriously.

Tips for alleviating brainfreeze

• To relieve the pain of brainfreeze, try pressing your tongue onto the roof of your mouth. For some reason, this works (Submitted)

• Try Holding your breath during a brainfreeze, For some reason, this makes it go away faster. (submitted)

• Try taking a sip or two of a warm beverage, such as hot water, hot chocolate, or even coffee, when the brainfreeze hits. This seems to get rid of the pain quickly for some people. (submitted)

• A good cure for really bad brain freezes: Close your eyes and press your fingers GENTLY on your eyes so that your fingertips are resting between your eyeball and browbone. Breathe deeply. Wait calmly for the brainfreeze to pass. (submitted)

• Pinch your nose with your thumb and forefinger. At the same time try blowing through your nose (not too hard) and mouth (with mouth closed). Allow a little air to escape from your nose/and or mouth. Keep the pressure up by continuing to blow. (submitted by steve)

• Breath in through the mouth and out through the nose. The Idea is that the air gets heated by the body on the way in and helps to warm the palette (at the back of the mouth) on the way out, thereby shortening the duration of the freeze. (Submitted by Tim)

• You can also try pressing your thumb to the roof of your mouth (Submitted by Stacey)

• Try rubbing the back of your neck vigorously. The heat from the friction helps to reduce the duration of the brainfreeze. (Submitted by steve)


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Last Updated: September 9, 2006

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