Man Issues Warning After Collapsing From 'Drinking Ice Cold Water'

I don't know if anyone's noticed, but it's been pretty warm lately.

And in this uncharacteristic blistering heat we've been experiencing across the UK for the past few weeks, there's a huge temptation to get inside and see off a nice cold drink after even a short period outside exposed to the heat.

Well, this guy has a warning that would definitely make you think twice about that - based on his own experience of doing exactly what most people would.

In a post on his Facebook account, Adam Schaub, from Houston, Texas, said he was working outside with his dad in scorching 37C heat when his face started to go a little pink - as you might expect.

His dad told him to take a quick break, so he grabbed a bottle of cold water and drank it. Then, after going back to work for a short while, he went and got in his truck to stick the air conditioning on and see off another bottle of cold water - and almost immediately started feeling 'strange'.

Facebook / Adam Schaub

"I started seeing spots, my stomach got extremely nauseous and my hands and feet started tingling," Adam said.

"I felt like I was going to throw up so I opened the truck door and the next thing I know I'm face first in the ground and my dad's rolling me over and wiping off my face. He said my eyes had rolled back a bit and I didn't come to for a few minutes."

The paramedic arrived and instantly knew what had happened, and told Adam exactly what had caused his seemingly harmless bottle of water to leave him looking like he'd taken a punch from Mike Tyson.

He said downing a bottle of cold water when the body is too hot can send it into shock. It thinks the stomach is too cold so it sends the warmer blood down there, potentially causing a loss of consciousness.

However, GP Dr Sarah Jarvis, director of patient.info, told The Sun this was likely to be an extreme case of 'ice cream head'.

"If you drink something very cold, very quickly, the cold on the roof of your mouth stimulates the nerves around there," she said.

"That in turn leads to rapid contraction, then expanding of the tiny blood vessels in your sinuses.

"The brain interrupts the messages from these nerves as coming from your forehead, because the same nerve supplies your forehead.

"You usually get a sudden pain, but it can make you feel lightheaded.

"All the symptoms he's describing sounds like the run-up to a fainting episode, which is often due to a lack of blood in the brain.

"Regardless of the cause, I do see people who feel unwell due to drinking cold fluids too quickly, so I certainly don't recommend it."

Adam said his paramedic told him cold water was fine but only in sips - room temperature water is better for when quick re-hydration is needed.

He added: "Summer's just around the corner. Stay cool.

"I wish I had learned this a long time ago."

Water's definitely important with the weather so hot so stay hydrated - but it's certainly not cool to get knocked out by a brain freeze.

Topics: Water, heatwave, Community, Weird, Health, hot weather

Mischa Pearlmen

Mischa is a freelance journalist usually based in either New York or London. He has written for Kerrang!, Record Collector, NME, the New York Observer and FLOOD magazine, among others. Contact him at [email protected]