Ice-cream headache facts for kids

An ice-cream headache, also known as brain freeze or cold-stimulus headache is a form of brief cranial pain or headache. The scientific name is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. It is often due to 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 palate of the mouth. It is believed to result from a nerve response 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.

Images for kids

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  The trigeminal nerve, shown in yellow, conducts signals from dilating blood vessels in the palate to the brain, which interprets the pain as coming from the forehead.

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In Spanish: Cefalea por estímulos fríos para niños