Q: My five-year-old daughter always has headaches after eating ice cream. What does this mean? Mack, Kuala Lumpur

DR FOO: Your daughter appears to be having "ice cream headaches", which is basically a condition caused by eating cold food or drinking very cold drinks. When cold food comes in contact with the palate, (the roof of the mouth), the nerve endings in the palate send signals to the blood vessels in the head, causing them to dilate. Dilation of these blood vessels results in headaches.

About 30 per cent of the population experiences this condition. The good news is that this kind of headache typically goes away on its own within a minute or so and is completely harmless, so there is no need to stop eating ice cream! You can advise your daughter to eat the ice cream slowly or try warming it up a little by keeping it towards the front of her mouth before swallowing. Warming up the palate with her tongue or drinking warm fluids when the headaches occur will help relieve the symptoms. -NST