Ok, I was drinking a new dark cherry frapucinno today while picking up a gallon of milk at Target with the wifey when I realized I'd "partaken of that tasty beverage" with a bit too much gusto. All went cold, my chest and head started to sting and I'd realized that I'd sucked too quickly. "The dreaded Brain Freeze...! Ack!" I thought to myself.
See, I pride myself on my ability to NOT get brain freeze...I hate Brain Freeze...I'd worked hard to temper my suctioning of iced drinks to not get Ye Olde Chilly Bastard but the dark cherry frapucinno I'd purchased at Starbucks was just too tasty... I tried holding my hand to my head...tried robbing my chest...nothing.... Pain, pain, pain.... the dreaded "sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia."! [ok, I admit I had to look that up...pretty amazing that it has a name in latin.]
"Damn, Damn, Damn... I hate these...ouch..." I cursed to myself.
I began to think of the anatomy and physiology of the conundrum I was experiencing. Head hurts, chest hurts, caused by super cold drink...oohhh tasty... What if I lowered my head below my heart to increase the ease and speed of blood flow? Maybe that would work. I bent completely at the waist keeping my spine straight. I must have looked like a number seven....
Guess what? The pain went away instantly!
I stood up I caught the eye of my wife and the other onlookers who must of thought I was more than a bit bonkers. "It's gone! Brain Freeze is gone!" "Did you invent a cure for Brain Freeze?", she asked. "My husband! " "I might of....now I have to try to get it again to test it..." I declared.
Erika, like the trooper she is, decided to help out and quickly drank a good quarter of my Frapucinno. Looking back, I think she may have just been more interested in pilfering my drink rather than the science involved but it didn't matter, she did the job because within seconds she soon began to groan.
"Aggh...the Freeze" she gasped....
"Bend at the waist!" I explained... "No, straight back..."
I must admit, the people around us must have thought we were completely nuts. I'd just unfolded myself and now, the woman I was with, was bending over as well... Being tiny she almost completely disappeared....
But it didn't matter. After a second she unfolded and tossed me that special glimmer of admiration that she reserves for some of my most genius of statements and actions... She purred. "I can't believe it, it worked!".... "My man!"
So, here is my gift to the world. If you are suffering from a cold-stimulus headache quickly bend at the waist with a straight back and try to lower your head below your heart...and you'll be cured! :)
You can read more about Brain Freeze at the following Wiki:
Here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice-cream_headache
They do not have my cure, however, although I am considering adding it to the wiki. In the mean time I will continue to test the cure and will report back.
Also, did you know that some call Brain Freeze "Ice cream headache"? Weird.
