Community Chat

[Imadickens]

@PuppyLoverBob666  I suffered extreme migraines most of my life. I went to a major headache clinic in New England which really helped a lot. While there I saw the head neurologist and we talked about using cold. I told him cold always made my headaches worse. He smiled and told me he never believed that until a friend of his, a surgeon, told him the same thing! He swore heat was the only help for his migraines (as with mine). He told me he'd never have really listened to be before his friend told him the same thing. He learned there really are some cases that aren't standard! I love ice cream now when I'm headache free, though.

[Mindy D]

@PuppyLoverBob666 There are some nerves in the uppermost nasal passage between the eyes that might be stimulated by the cold of the ice cream. This is the same set of nerves  that are stimulated when you eat something freezing cold and you get a short lasting ice cream freeze headache. In your case the freeze might cause your headache to stop. 

Treatments have been tried to alleviate cluster headaches using either freezing cold in this area, capsaicin  (red pepper spray) spray applied to the area and lidocain. Electrical stimulation of these nerves has also been used to treat cluster and other headache pain disorders. 

My theory on why this is happening to you.

The sphenopalatine ganglion nerves are located behind the nose and are very sensitive to pain, usually causing pain when you eat something very cold, but they are thought to be so sensitive in order to protect the brain. In your case, these nerves, are responding to the cold, are being stimulated by the cold, but, instead of giving you a brain freeze headache, are alleviating your headache pain. 

[phoenixbrd]

My kind of ice cream.....bananas, frozen fruit, splash of plant milk in the vitamix....best ever!  You can customize with a spoon of peanut butter, cacao, nuts, etc.  i've never noticed anything about curing a headache (I very rarely get one)....but it sure  is a happy meal!  

[chrystaltree]

You should get your blood sugar checked.  Could be that when your blood sugar is low, you get a headache and the ice-cream gives you a quick blast of sugar.