The “headache due to ice”, an astonishing neurological and medical complexity

You are having a granite, this drinking drink or biting too quickly in an ice cream. In addition, And suddenly, you feel acute, icy and throbbing pain, as brief as it is intense, which crosses your forehead. Therefore, According to the international classification of headache [PDF]it is a “headache due to a cold stimulus”. Meanwhile, also known as “headache due to ice”, in English brain freeze. Moreover, And although it may seem trivial, this phenomenon reveals a surprising neurological and medical complexity.

In recent years. Nevertheless, several research has revealed that this little “summer pain” could teach us more about the treatment of migraines, cerebral reactions to cold and, in a surprising way, on how to protect the brain in critical situations.

A signal sent to the brain – "headache due ice", astonishing neurological

The brain freeze is short -lived frontal or temporal pain, which can be intense. In addition, In sensitive people. Similarly, it is caused by the passage of a cold element (solid, liquid or gaseous) at the palate and/or the posterior wall of the pharynx. In addition, This sudden change in temperature causes vasoconstriction, followed by a vasodilation of the blood vessels in this area. Nevertheless, The Trijumeau nerve. In addition, which connects the face to the brain, interprets this change as a thermal threat and sends a “pain signal” to the brain.

What is curious is that this pain is not felt “headache due ice”, astonishing neurological in the mouth, but in the forehead or temples. Similarly, This is called “referred pain” (we also speak of “projected pain”): the brain badly interprets the source of the stimulus. Meanwhile, which is very common in other types of visceral pain.

An article published in the Critical Critical Care Medicine review in 2010 under the provocative title «Can an ice cream. headache save your life?» (in French “Can a headache caused by an ice cream save you life?”) suggests that the mechanisms behind the brain freeze could inspire clinical strategies to protect the brain after cardiac arrest. using therapeutic hypothermia.

This type of rapid neurovascular reactions would help regulate intracranial pressure, brain blood flow and autonomous reflexes. In other words, ice can activate mechanisms that doctors try to reproduce in an intensive care.

A pain that says longer than it seems – "headache due ice", astonishing neurological

An article published in 2023. which synthesizes on the bibliography available on this “headache due ice”, astonishing neurological subject, examined how deep structures of the skull such as the Trijumeau nerve and the sphenopalatin ganglion – all two known to be involved in migraines, cluster headache and facial neuralgia – can play a role in this phenomenon.

In addition. numerous research works have shown that the painful response to the cold could reveal hypersensitivity of the trigeminal system, especially in predisposed people. The prevalence of this phenomenon varies between 15 and 37% in the general population. But it is much higher in children and adolescents, in whom it reaches figures between 40.6% and 79%, according to data collected in the scientific literature.

A key study. conducted in 2016 in Germany with students aged 10 to 14, their parents and teachers, showed a prevalence of 62% in children and 31% in adults. This difference could be explained by a combination of factors: behavioral learning aimed at avoiding pain triggers. greater neural “headache due ice”, astonishing neurological stability in the face of cold with age and anatomical differences that make children more sensitive to rapid stimulation of cold receptors.

On the other hand, the pain caused by the cold is closely linked to the history of migraine. People with this type of pain have a prevalence between 55.2%and 73.7%, much greater than that of people with tension headache (23-45.5%). A study published in 2004 even revealed a surprising prevalence of 94% in people with history of headache in a stab. This suggests that the brain freeze could serve as an indirect clinical marker for an increased trigeminal sensitivity. common to other more disabling headaches.

Other risk factors have been identified, including history of head trauma and, in particular, family history. Children whose parents suffer from cold -induced headaches have a significantly higher risk of developing this condition. If the mother has suffered, the risk could be multiplied by 10.7 “headache due ice”, astonishing neurological and, if it is the father, by 8.4.

All this data reveals that what is often perceived as a simple “pain due to ice” is actually the expression. of complex neurological processes. Far from being trivial, this feeling could help better understand pain thresholds and predisposition to wider neurosensory disorders.

"headache due ice", astonishing neurological

Is it dangerous?

In general, no. It is a benign phenomenon, which disappears spontaneously and without medical consequences. However. there is an extraordinary clinical case, published in 1999 in the journal The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, in which a young man collapsed after drinking very cold water. The forensic doctors suspected an extreme vagal reflex as a cause of death. not a brain freeze Classic, but an uncontrolled autonomous response in a context of extreme heat and physiological predisposition.

This event. which remains isolated, is more used to show the ability of the body to react drastically “headache due ice”, astonishing neurological to extreme stimuli than to arouse anxiety about ice or cold drinks.

How to avoid it?

The good news is that this particular headache can be avoided thanks to a few simple strategies. The most effective strategy is to eat or drink slowly. When we ingest cold high -speed foods. the thermal stimulus at the palate is too abrupt for the body to compensate it in time, which triggers the painful response.

It is also important to prevent food from which the temperature is low coming into direct contact with the upper palate. because this area is very vascularized and close to the route of the Trijumeau nerve. Using a straw. keeping the liquid on the tongue before swallowing or not letting ice melt too quickly in the mouth can help.

And if the pain has already manifested, there is a simple tip: press your tongue against the palate. This contact helps to restore “headache due ice”, astonishing neurological temperature and relieve the discomfort in a few seconds.

So the next time that a spoon of ice freezes your forehead, remember: what you feel is not exaggerated. Your nervous system is just testing a reaction that scientists are still trying to understand … and perhaps exploiting.

José Miguel Soriano del Castillo is a professor of nutrition. bromatology (food science) of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Valencia (Spain).

This article is republished from the conversation under the Creative Commons license. Read the original article.