HEALTH: We all scream after ice cream

The most common cause of headaches is not stress, hangovers or migraine. It is ice cream, according to research published in the British Medical Journal yesterday. A third of people have suffered "brain freeze" caused by cold food or drink, writes Professor Joseph Hulihan, of Temple University, Philadelphia.

The condition is characterised by a stabbing or aching pain which begins a few seconds after eating ice cream and peaks in 30 to 60 seconds. Experiments to induce the effect by applying crushed ice to the palate have shown that it cannot be reproduced in cold weather.

Research had indicated that ice cream headache was a referred pain. It bore a similarity to migraine in that both involved reaction to sensory stimuli.

Professor Hulihan wrote: "No treatment is usually required, and sufferers rarely seek medical attention. Since the posterior aspect of the palate is most likely to produce the referred pain of ice cream headache, avoiding contact of the cold food with this area can effectively eliminate the symptoms."