ASK JiMMY ThE BuG?

Hey, Bug, Sophie F., age 8, wants to know: What causes brain freeze when you eat something cold like ice cream?

On a hot summer day you buy a Popsicle that looks like a frozen rocket. You bite off the nose cone and let it melt in your mouth. Suddenly a sharp pain blasts through your forehead. One thought orbits your brain: Make it stop! Fortunately, less than two minutes later, the pain is gone.

About one in three people gets this type of pain, known as an "ice cream headache" or "brain freeze." When you gobble up ice cream, Popsicles, or slushy drinks, nerves in the back and roof of your mouth detect the difference-as much as a hundred degrees Fahrenheit or more-between the temperature of your mouth and the temperature of the frozen treat. This extreme, rapid drop in temperature causes the blood vessels in your head to swell up quickly with blood, which makes your head ache.

WHeW!

Ice cream headaches are harmless and go away by themselves. To speed relief, drink a glass of warm water or press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. To avoid getting brain freeze in the first place, slow down when you slurp your Slurpee.

Hey kids/

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