Why Do Ice Cream Headaches Happen So Fast? | RapidSmartFacts

Ice cream headaches hit suddenly — one bite of something cold, and boom,

your forehead hurts. But why does it happen so fast? When something very

cold touches the roof of your mouth, it rapidly cools the blood vessels

there. Your body reacts instantly by widening those blood vessels. This sudden widening

increases blood flow to the brain area behind your forehead. That surge triggers

the trigeminal nerve — a major pain-signaling nerve in your face. The nerve can’t

always pinpoint where the cold signal came from… …so it sends the pain to

your forehead instead. That’s called “ referred pain.” Because the nerves react instantly,