Rebecca Sager, senior vice chairman of growth for HealthyWomen, was within the prep room on the hospital on the brink of ship her first youngster when the nurse got here in and requested her an odd query. “Are you an actual redhead?”
“You’re going to search out out in a minute,” Sager quipped, figuring out the nurse was there to see how dilated she was. Sager is, in truth, an actual redhead. Or as she put it, the carpet matches the drapes.
Pure redheads are uncommon — lower than 2% of the inhabitants. Was the nurse so taken by Sager’s firey mane that she needed to know if it was actual? In all probability. However she additionally requested as a result of, if Sager’s hair shade was pure, it meant she might have extra ache administration throughout labor.
“I’d by no means heard that earlier than,” Sager stated.
Do redheads have the next ache tolerance?
There is a rising physique of analysis that reveals that individuals with crimson hair expertise ache in another way in comparison with folks of different hair colours. The jury’s nonetheless out as to why this can be, however one concept has to do with the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene.
All folks with crimson hair are born with a mutation of the MC1R gene. That is not solely what provides them flaming locks of auburn hair, however, based on a 2021 examine, it additionally reduces the operate of the gene. And people adjustments have an effect on the stability between ache sensitivity and tolerance.
Total, analysis on redheads helps the seeming contradiction that they’ve the next tolerance for ache normally, however they’ve elevated sensitivity to sure forms of ache.
For instance, one examine discovered ladies with crimson hair have been extra delicate to temperature-related ache in comparison with ladies with darkish hair. However one other examine discovered that individuals with crimson hair have been much less delicate to ache by electrical shocks.
The variations do not cease on the method redheads understand ache. Additionally they reply to ache medicine in another way. Given the vary of ache sensitivity and various kinds of ache, ache administration can current challenges for folks with crimson hair. Research present redheads might require larger doses of some forms of non-opioid ache relievers. However, the 2021 examine talked about above discovered that redheads could also be extra delicate to opioids and wish much less medicine to cease ache.
The sensitivity to opioids could also be much more pronounced in ladies. One examine discovered that ladies with two dad and mom who’ve learn hair — that means they’ve two variant MC1R genes — had considerably larger ache tolerance and considerably larger sensitivity to opioids.
Rebecca Sager, rocking her crimson locks, 2023
Do redheads want extra anesthesia?
The analysis on whether or not redheads want extra anesthesia is proscribed, however in case you speak to ladies with crimson hair, chances are you’ll hear anecdotal proof that they require extra anesthesia. Why? The speculation is again to the MC1R gene mutation, which results in a lowered response to anesthesia, so extra is required. One examine discovered that ladies with crimson hair required nearly 20% extra anesthesia for sedation in comparison with ladies with darkish hair.
Della Lin, M.D., an anesthesiologist and secretary of the Anesthesia Affected person Security Basis, famous that the analysis relating to redheads and extra anesthesia comes from smaller research, so it is probably not one thing your healthcare supplier (HCP) thinks about straight away.
Lin encourages folks with crimson hair — and everybody else — to deliver up any considerations about anesthesia or ache administration earlier than the process. “I’d maintain that thought in the best way again of my thoughts [that you have red hair], however I am not going to extend something by default,” Lin stated. “So it is good to know in case you’ve observed that you simply’re delicate to opioids … as a result of everyone seems to be slightly bit totally different.”
Jackie Wexler, a center faculty instructor with curly scarlet-red hair, stated she had no clue her hair shade was tied to her response to drugs. However trying again, common OTC ache drugs have not executed a lot for her menstrual cramps or her headache assaults. “Now I’ve the worst migraine assaults and nothing helps,” she stated.
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It is smart to her that the excessive ache tolerance and excessive tolerance to sure painkillers is genetic. She stated her sister, who additionally has crimson hair, wanted extra ache medicine than they might give her when she gave delivery.
Sager is now aware of her actual redhead standing and tries to get her HCPs on the identical web page relating to any ache medicine or anesthesia she might have. Nonetheless, some suppliers do not suppose the connection between redheads and ache is true. When Sager went in for a colonoscopy, she instructed her anesthesiologist that she wanted the next dose. She pointed to her head. He stated she did not. So when the nurse got here in and requested why she was nonetheless coherent and sitting up, Sager did not mince phrases. “I am a redhead. I am totally different.”
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