What's a headache?

The pain is usually felt in the face or in both temples, and in most cases it does not last more than five minutes.

The cause of this pain is controversial, but most experts believe that when a cold substance affects the upper mouth or back of the throat, it causes small blood vessels in those areas to narrow down and then expand very quickly.

Pain receptors near blood vessels feel discomfort and send messages through small nerve fibers to a larger nerve (trgeminal nerve), which then sends these messages to the brain. Trigeminal nerve also carries pain signals from the face. The brain reads the sensations of cold stimuli as coming from the head instead of the mouth, a phenomenon called the pain referred to.

Cold pain is common and occurs between 30% and 40% of people who usually have no headache. Symptoms are harmless and are no sign of a hidden disease, although many experts believe that these pain is more frequent in migraine sufferers.

Since headaches from the consumption of cold things are so short, they are difficult to study and there is no consensus on how to stop. Most people have their own methods - the most frequent of which is to spin the tongue and touch the lower part of the mouth.

The best way to prevent headaches is to consume cold foods very slowly.