Icecream and Headaches

[hedge]

Why is it when you eat icecream really quickly you end up getting a headache?
Thanks Hedge

[whiskeysheri]

Only if you let it touch the roof of your mouth. Try it... :)

[Treegirl]

Scientifically, I believe the reason is something like:
Too much cold in the area where the olfactory nerves run, which is along the top of your mouth (just above your hard palate), causes this painful effect in the area where these nerves terminate: your olfactory bulbs (around/above/near your sinuses).
So, I guess the stimulation of these neurons in your mouth by physical rather than chemical input causes pain at the nerves' other endings (in your forehead), much the same as it can on nerves in other parts of our bodies, I guess.