Denver Dentist Ice-cream Headaches

Denver Dentist Ice Cream headaches (what a pain!)

Denver Dentists Dr. James DeLapp and Dr. H. Candace DeLapp like others have wondered why we occasionally get headaches (brain freeze) when we eat ice cream or a very cold drink. The number of terms used to describe this phenomena is vast and includes Brain Freeze to name a few.

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Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia (Brain freeze)

The above name is a mouth full but is means nerve pain of the phenopalatine ganglion. It has been described a a form of brief cranial pain associated with fast cold beverages or food (ice-cream e.g.). It symptoms is a brief headache that goes away as the area warms and gets used to the cold.

The British Medical Journal reported the effect as when cold touches the top palate in the mouth. The blood vessels constrict due to the cold and this nerve causes the brain too pen blood vessels. This vasodilation makes the fluid back up in the tissues and will not drain for a short period of time typically one minute or less. This causes a swelling the the forehead which causes the pain.

Treatment of brain freeze....what to do!

Wait it will go away in a minute or so or it has been reported that taking rapid short breaths may help.

Denver Dentists Dr. James DeLapp and Dr. H. Candace DeLapp provide dental services to their patients in Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Parker, Greenwood Village, and Ken Caryl areas of Denver. They can be reached at (303) 694-9740.

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