EEL Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Does anyone know the physiological reason why it seems it is only after you are up that the ice cream headache hits? It does not seem to be a function of time as I can chest scull with my head underwater till i need air and no problem until I'm back up, then blam...ouch..ouch. I really noticed this big time today. Enough so I think I'm done with practice until pool sessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I don't know what you are complaining about, Ed; I LOVE ice-cream! In a perfect world, I might live on it and little else... What <are> you talking about? Headaches from ice-cream? Most weird... Actually, of course I know what it is you refer to and it has been covered here before: apparently the thing to do is to cover your mug with silicone jelly/cream; but I cannot remember where to buy same in adequate quantity. Those surfing twins know the answer, though. As long as your roll is half-decent (which I know it is), I cannot think of any reason why a sane person might subject themself to such seasonal torture! Isn't it something like riding the proverbial bicycle? Happy New Year, mate, to you and your partner-in-crime! Oops: I don't <know> the answer to your original question, obviously! Ha ha... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnHuth Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I got my silicon grease in a diving shop. As far as the original question - I don't know. BUT...maybe this is an idea - when my fingers or toes get numb from the cold, I know that it hurts by far the most when they warm up. So, maybe it's the feeling of blood returning to parts of your head that are painful. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 John, I have not yet found a dive shop that sells silicone grease in the quantities that I have in mind (I'm not talking about tiny pots of the grease with enough in the container to lube two or three air-tank gaskets). I mean those big tubs of the stuff that Sing has found online at bulk prices! Hence my reference to the twins. This is somewhere in the archives... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Does anyone know the physiological reason why it seems it is only after you are up that the ice cream headache hits? It does not seem to be a function of time as I can chest scull with my head underwater till i need air and no problem until I'm back up, then blam...ouch..ouch. I really noticed this big time today. Enough so I think I'm done with practice until pool sessions. I *think* when you are in extremely cold water your blood vessels constrict and slow you down as a survival mechanism (remember how with hypothermia no one is dead until they are WARM and dead) and then suddenly go back to normal again when you are suddenly out of the cold, like having cold ice cream suddenly in your mouth and then gone. So I think it's the suddenly gone part, the sudden loosening of the constricted blood that actually hurts, kind of like when it hurts to have the blood rush into a limb you've been sitting on. I don't really think you want to learn to roll up in slow motion while your face adapts, so probably other than avoiding unnecessary rolling in the cold the only helpful thing is probably covering as much of the exposed area so it's not having as extreme a change... --b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob budd Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 "Ice cream headache" is caused by the dilation of blood vessels in the bodies attempt to warm the brain. It may be delayed when capsized because the nerve center that excites the reaction is located inside the mouth. Once normal breathing resumes the (cold) airflow triggers the dilation of blood vessels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyfoley Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 I watched a TV show on cold water immersion that talked about "ice cream" headaches. The nerve center is inside your mouth as Bob mentioned. One way they talked about reducing the ice cream headache is to push your tongue against the roof of your mouth, where the nerve center is, warming it immediately with your tongue. I tried it and it works. The ice cream headache is relieved almost immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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