This entry was originally posted on the Ice Cream Journal back in November 2006, but we thought it was valuable enough advice to warrant a second glance!
We get this question a lot, so we thought it would be appropriate to address it here on our blog. Believe it or not, some people are immune to ice cream headaches. We call these people lucky. The rest of us, however, know exactly what it feels like.
Ice cream headaches (also known as “brain freeze”), happen when very cold items, like ice cream or slushy drinks, are consumed quickly. The scientific name is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgis – what a mouthful. When these items contact the nerves in the roof of your mouth, the nerves overreact and tell certain blood vessels in your head to become larger causing an increase in blood pressure in the head. This expansion is what causes the headache. The best way to avoid the headache is to eat slower, which allows the nerves to warm up between bites.
But this is only the most popular theory. Others think it’s caused by the same vessels constricting and dilating like in your fingers when you come in from playing in the snow, or from irritation of the optic nerve that’s close to the roof of your mouth. Others say it from blood rushing to your stomach to warm it, decreasing the blood in your head. Kayakers and surfers report the same pain when they are hit by cold water in the face.
DID YOU KNOW? Some studies show that people who experience migraine headaches are much more likely to experience ice cream headaches.
Of course, ice cream headaches are harmless and usually go away after about 30 seconds. Can’t wait that long? Here’s a few tips we’ve heard over the years for how to get rid of them. We can’t say whether or not all of them will work, but it’s worth a shot!
- Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth
- Drink warm liquids
- Hold your breath
- Breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose
- Hold whatever gave you the headache against your forehead (this one doesn’t sound effective, but it would be funny to watch)
If you’ve got any tips of your own, feel free to leave a comment. In the near future, we’ll be putting all of these remedies to the test and reporting the results in an upcoming post.
Tags: brain freezee, headaches, ice cream, turkey hill
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If you’ve got a technical question about the ice cream making process or some other inquiry about the nuances of America’s favorite treat, chances are Ernie has the answer. He might not be able to answer all questions, but he’ll try his best and some may be featured on the Ice Cream Journal.
Good to know there are things to help when you get this. I never knew that.
Very interesting information. I’d always wondered what caused it. Thanks for the information.((thumbs-up))
I tend to eat my ice cream very slowly and have never experienced a “brain freeze”.
My kids often eat ice cream quickly and my son complains of a brain freeze. At least now I can explain why.
I’ll be sending the tips to my kids who always get ice cream headaches! I’ve just learned to eat ice cream slower and enjoy every bite! No headaches!!
TURKEY HILL IS BEST FOOD SITE , TO TELL THE HISTORY OR THE MOST FAMOUS ICE CREAM FLAVORS.
Good information to know!
Oh, what a painful subject. I cringe just thinking about it, but am glad to know how to alleviate the inescapable pain of an ice cream lover.
My brain is frozen right now – that hurts!
Brain freeze is horrible; it actually gives me a headache. I do notice that it happens when I consume a large bite. I will start eating smaller amounts and it I do get brain freeze, I will try some of the suggestions posted. Thank you for the info.
Thanks for offering this info. It’s helpful. Our mothers always taught us to eat slowly. They knew best.
Thanks for the suggestions to alleviate the ice cream headache I’ll try to remember when I just can’t resist eating my ice cream too fast.
The headache is so worth it as long as you are eating Turkey Hill. So delicious!
This is great info. I used to get them drinking shakes too fast as a kid. Even got a few as adult and I have migraine issues. It all makes sense now….
Well, I’ll be sure to try one of those methods next time I get an ice cream headache — although the situation usually relieves itself within a few minutes. Annoying, but well worth it!
It seems that you don’t have to eat slower just don’t let the ice cream touch the roof of your mouth. If you do eat slower then you can savor the flavor on your taste buds. You avoid the headache and appreciate Turkey Hill even more.
The slower you eat, the longer the ice cream will last!
Very interesting! Now I have a few great ideas to tell the kids when they are running around screaming from their headaches!
I read before about pressing the tongue against the palate (roof of the mouth) to warm it when you get brain freeze. I use it every time it happens. Those headaches really hurt. A friend of my daughter always called them a polar bear headache.
great tips-thanks
Just wanted to say that the brain freeze is worth it!
Now I know why my mother always made sure she had tea brewing when she gave us ice cream in the 50′s!
What an interesting article. HAVEN’T HAD BRAIN FREEZE IN YEARS. Probably eat slower now.
Good Morning to all Turkey Hill FANS
I never got a headache from eating Turkey Hill Ice Cream.The best thing to do is to eat it slowly and think how good it is in your mouth. That will do it. Me….I something don’t think, I know it’s good and feel good in my stomach.
Turkey Hill Fans have a good but safe weekend, Don’t forget to eat some tuekey Hill Ice Cream.
had brain freeze i think it made me smater ha ha.. thanks for the tipa
I can tell you this much,a ice cream headache for me is just when I do get a migraine. It hurts. But I’m not giving up my ice cream for nothing!
I eat my Turkey Hill ice cream very slowly, as to savor every bit.
I am one of the lucky ones who never had a ice cream headache, even as a child. My sisters would always complain and I never understood why until I was older. I will be sure to pass this information on to them.
Thank you Turkey Hill for your interesting blogs and useful information, although I can’t really picture one of them holding ice cream on their forehead it sure would be funny to watch!!
I’d love to see someone hold icecrwam to their head!
I must say I never knew they had tips to relieve the ice cream headache!!!!….I learn a lot from this blog.
I can personally attest to the “put your tongue to the roof of your mouth” theory because it really works! I’ve experienced those brain freezes my whole life, and it wasn’t until recently that my 8-year-old son told me about that … and it really does work! Instant relief!
As I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to take things in moderation so I haven’t had a brain freeze in a long time. It’s hard though for kids to slow down when Turkey Hill ice cream is so delicious.
I am lucky in that I do not get this.My husband does so your tips may help him.
What headaches? I love to eat my ice cream very slowly to allow the taste buds absorb the flavor. The only time I eat it fast is with a cone on a hot day and that is mostly the drippings down the side.
If I did get a headache I would go with the exercise saying “no pain no gain” since a headache would be worth a bowl of TH ice cream.
Brain Freeze is a good discription.
That was very cool. I have learned through much bitter experience to take human bites of my ice cream especially when it is really good and I just want to eat it all up.
Thanks for all the info on “brain freeze” problems. I like the recommendation to eat it slowly! There is nothing better than “kicking back”, enjoying the delicious Turkey Hill ice creams (any and all flavors)!! It’s one of the best and most inexpensive “mini vacations” anyone can enjoy! By the way, just how many Turkey Hill flavors are there anyway?
Thank you! I eat Turkey Hill very slowly; love it when begin to melts.
Get 100% of the flavor doing this.
used to get them as a child, i like to stir my ice cream until it gets smooth now. turkey hill is the best by far
Never get a “BRAIN FREEZE” from eating Turkey Hill ice cream as I SAVOR every bite (very slowly) –great tips tho when a person does get one!———LUV, LUV,Luv your ice cream
brain freeze is painful I do not get them as an adult. I have learned to eat TH slower.
Does anyone have tip for Freezing of the throat? Even when I have “warmed” up my TH Ice cream a bit I still get throat freeze.
I can do without ice in my beverages but not without Turky Hill.
I’ve never had this happen to me, so I don’t really know what people are talking about when they say they have an ice-cream headache. But that was very interesting. I passed it on to some people I know who do get brain freeze!
WELL ,TO ME TURKEY HILL IS WORTH THE HEADACHE, IT IS BEST IN ENTIRE WORLD,SO COME ON HEADACHE
I think I am one of those “lucky” people who has never experienced an ice cream headache. But my case is a little different because I have had a head ache from eating Italian ice or an icie pop. The difference with ice cream for me is that I savor every bite. Since it is my favorite food I never eat it too quickly because I want every last bite to last! That is another strategy I guess to avoiding the terrible headache that could follow!
thanks again for the interesting info.
We love your ice cream but are extremely disappointed that you keep making your contents smaller & smaller. You went from 1/2 gallon to 1.75 quarts to 1.5 quarts. Where will it end? When it reaches dixie cup size????
Slow down and “SAVOR THE FLAVOR!” Its way less painful
I have had this happen with homemade ice cream, but not store bought. My Dad always told us to eat the homemade ice cream slowly so we wouldn’t get a headache.
Why does my first submission not show up until I do a second one?
With all the stress in today’s world, maybe we would all have less headaches if we slowed down. Take time to savor all the good things in life!
I get the occassional brain freeze — I never heard about holding the offending item to your forehead, but I find that if I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth and put slight pressure on my forehead with my hand it helps. But like they say, TH is worth it — bon appetit!
i love ice cream so headache or no headache im eating it
i always wondering why you get headaches from eating ice cream to fast. thanks for the info.
Hi. The advice to drink a warm drink works for me-just a glass of warm water will do it.
Geee, I get a terrible headache when I don’t eat Ice Cream !
I never get an Ice Cream headache (brain freeze), I’m told I don’t have a brain LOL. Honestly I don’t, but give me It. ice and I get brain freeze. So I don’t eat It.ice, only my wonderful Turkey Hill Ice Cream and I have lots of it in my freezer. There isn’t a day goes by that we don’t eat TH. It is a great dessert, so many flavors to choose. Linda
Thnaks for the brain freeze remedies. I will try them during my next brain freeze. I guess the best advice is to slow down and enjoy the ice cream.
I just had an “ice cream headache” the other day and I held my tongue to the roof of my mouth and the pain went away immediately.
One way to avoid brain freeze: drop a scoop of ice cream into hot chocolate and enjoy a “snowman” float. The warmth of the hot chocolate balances things out.
Ice cream headaches are the worst. I t feels like toture for the first few seconds. But, I breathe in through my mouth quickly and it usually shortens it.
I love ice cream so this side effect won’t stop me from my weekly dose!
Brainfreeze or no brainfreeze, I still eat Turkey Hill icecream, love it
Thanks for the tips!!!
They are good tips for ‘brain freeze’. I don’t like it either. I just stop eating my ice cream for a couple minutes.
When you experience brain freeze stick your thumb(the fleshy part) at the roof of your mouth, where the nerves are, and it should decrease the intensity and length of brain freeze. When it’s over resume eating!
I’ve had one of those headaches once! What a terrible experience from such a wonderful treat! Thanks for the help tips.
“Brain freeze” is just another indicator that the ice cream is soooooo good & yummy!!!
WE ALWAYS CALLED IT BRAIN FREEZE. I ALSO HEARD THAT YOU SHOULD PUT YOUR TOUNGE AT THE ROOF OF YOUR MOUTH
Of course, you could always up the percentage of hot fudge per spoonful.
Just finished the half of gallon of Party Cake and it was goooood!
I just recently experienced a brain freeze last week. Pretty sure I held my breath until it was over but that was not by choice it was because the pain was so intense. I hardly ever get them – maybe once ever five years so, thankfully.
Brain Freeze: get it all the time when eating Turkey Hill. Just gobbling it up soooo fast!.
Breathing in through the mouth and really hard out of the nose really works. My daughter taught me this when is was little.
My husband gets them all the time and he isn’t even the ice cream fiend in the family! I’ll have to tell him about the remedies you mentioned.
I have a small blue stress ball that looks like a brain. It sits on my desk at school and I tell the students that it is what happens when you get “brain freeze” from eating ice cream too fast. I think some of them even believe me!
i can’t wait to try that on my kids.
Fortunately I don’t experience ice cream headaches, so I can gobble up all the Turkey Hill ice cream I want … as fast as I want!!!
When I get brain freeze…the whole brain freezes up. My brain is unable to tell my tongue to move to the roof of my mouth to warm it.
I used to gobble up my Turkey Hill ice cream, but as I hit middle age and my metabolism slowed, I came to realize that by savoring each delectable spoonful, I’d not only enjoy the experience more, but I’d consume less calories. Thanks for the tips in case I get ravenous and eat too fast. Wish I’d known these solutions back when I did get brain freezes.
I don’t get headaches from Turkey Hill but your remedies are a riot. I would rather eat it than hold it to my head!
Dear Turkey Hill Folks,
Your blog this month is just like a return to my childhood! I love it. Although I grew up in NE Pennsylvania, there were many Sunday afternoons when my parents would pack a picnic lunch and head down to Lancaster and the PA Dutch area. I have lived in at least 9 different states since then, but nothing is as green as those beautiful farms in the springtime!My sister and I loved seeing the horses and buggies, and especially the Amish children. As an adult, I so admire the quilting skills of the Amish women.( and wish I were so talented!)
When my mother moved to New England 12 years ago, she was just like the “Turkey Hill” saleswoman. She would march into the grocery stores here and demand that they carry a greater selection of your ice cream! Having lived away from PA for so many years, Turkey Hill was new to our family( and my husband was stuck on Breyers, having grown up in the Philadelphia area)
Well, he is a convert now, as is all of our family. Mom is 86 now, and living in Massachusetts, but she still has to have her Turkey Hill.(and PA pretzels, I might add!)Thanks for the memories, and your products. We still wish there were more of a selection of flavors here in Rhode Island, but we make do with what is here! And we don’t even care about the container size- every spoonful is worth it! Someday we hope to take a trip back-it will be like memory lane!
Thanks for a great website and a great product!
i,always,let my ice cream melt for 5 minutes(bowl is better than cone ) this forestalls the headache AND enhances the flavor ! !
Happy to say havent had a brain freeze in many years. Only really have it with a slurpee or similar thing. Ice cream, especially my Turkey Hill, is savored and I usually let it get soft so it goes in more slowly. The pain from a slurpee can be intense but when I get one its usually because I am so hot i needed it badly and dont really care!
This is very interesting to know…I wonder if hot fudge sauce on my Turkey Hill icecream would counteract any brain freeze?!? Guess I will have to test that out tonight! As always, thank you for the information…I enjoy reading your blog daily.
I can’t say that I ever had an ice cream brain freeze – not that that would stop me from eating Turkey Hill
Nobody likes brain freeze. Short of slowing down our eating a bit to savor all the delicous Turkey Hill ice cream flavors, maybe we just need to get your body in shape for this experience–train our bodies, so to speak, so that brain freeze doesn’t happen because we are in too good of shape.
If any research team wants to tackle this important hypothesis, I am willing to be a study volunteer!
Last night I had Banana Split ice cream, Wow! I ate it so fast – no brain freeze! Still looking for Junior Mint.
[...] SECOND SCOOP: WHAT CAUSES AN ICE CREAM HEADACHE (AND HOW TO CURE IT)Ice cream headaches (also known as “brain freeze”), happen when very cold items, like ice cream or slushy drinks, are consumed quickly. The scientific name is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgis – what a mouthful. When these items contact … [...]
Guess I’m one of the lucky ones who don’t get brain freeze. My nephew gets brain freeze, but he eats his TH at warp speed! He also is prone to migraines. Interesting info from the blog as usual!
Love your ice cream and this contest I hope I win????
I usually wait for the ice cream to melt a bit. Then I eat it quickly. No room for too much patience when it comes to Turkey Hill ice cream!
Your ice cream is the best. When my parents come from NY we always have to buy at least 6 half gallons of “the creamiest & best ice cream from Lancaster County”.
To get rid of a brain freeze from ice cream, an 83 yr old friend has told us to turn the spoon upside down in your mouth and eat ice cream that way- it even seems to work.
Thanks for this article – I can use the remedies often!