Ask A Scientist General Science Archive

Author:     ranger
Text:       Can anyone explain why we get headache-like symptoms when we eat 
ice cream too fast?

Response #:  1 of 2
Author:      Ronald Winther
Text:        I have had this happen many times; the pain is a lot like a 
migraine (except it goes away in a few seconds, quite unlike migraines!).  
That is the only clue (and possibly it is a false lead) on which I can base a 
guess, so here goes:  the cold from the ice cream in the throat chills the 
blood in the nearby carotid arteries, which feed into the brain. This cooled 
blood causes the brain arteries carrying it to constrict (as is believed to 
occur in migraines) and HOW! After a few seconds, as normal temperature blood 
rewarms those arteries, they relax and the pain goes away.

Response #:  2 of 2
Author:      Robert Topper
Text:        You might look in the archives of the biology section.  I think 
this question was answered in gory detail last year.