Rebecca Sager, senior vice president of development at HealthyWomen, was in the hospital prep room preparing to give birth to her first child when the nurse came in and asked her an odd question: “Are you really a redhead?”
“You’ll find out in a minute,” Sager joked, knowing the nurse was there to see how dilated she was. Sager is, in fact, a real redhead. Or as she put it, the carpet matches the curtains.
Natural redheads are rare — less than 2 percent of the population. Was the nurse so fascinated by Sager’s fiery mane that she wanted to know if it was real? Probably. But she also asked because if Sager’s hair color was natural, it meant she might need more pain treatment during labor.
“I’d never heard that before,” Sager said.
Do redheads have a higher pain tolerance?
There is a growing number of investigation This shows that people with red hair experience pain differently than people with other hair colors. It is not yet known what causes this, but one theory has to do with the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene.
All redheads are born with a mutation of the MC1R gene. Not only does that give them reddish-brown locks of hair, but according to a 2021 study, study, also reduces gene function. And those changes affect the balance between sensitivity and pain tolerance.
In general, research on redheads supports the apparent contradiction that they have a higher pain tolerance in general, but have a higher sensitivity to certain types of pain.
For example, one study He found that red-haired women were more sensitive to temperature-related pain compared to dark-haired women. But another study They found that people with red hair were less sensitive to pain caused by electric shocks.
The differences don’t end with how redheads perceive pain. They also respond differently to pain relievers. Given the range of pain sensitivity and different types of pain, pain management can present challenges for redheads. Studies People with red hair may need higher doses of some types of non-opioid painkillers. However, the 2021 study mentioned above found that redheads may be more sensitive to opioids and need less medication to stop the pain.
Opioid sensitivity may be even more pronounced in women. study They found that women with two parents with red hair (meaning they have two variant MC1R genes) had significantly higher pain tolerance and significantly higher sensitivity to opioids.
Rebecca Sager, showing off her red hair, 2023
Do redheads need more anesthesia?
Research on whether redheads need more anesthesia is limited, but if you talk to redheaded women, you might hear anecdotal evidence that they need more anesthesia. Why? The theory goes back to the MC1R gene mutation, which leads to a reduced response to anesthesia, so more of it is needed. One study found that red-haired women required almost 20% more anesthesia for sedation compared to dark-haired women.
Della Lin, MDanesthesiologist and secretary of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, noted that the research on redheads and more anesthesia comes from smaller studies, so it may not be something your healthcare provider (HCP) thinks about immediately.
Lin encourages redheads, and everyone else, to raise any concerns about anesthesia or pain management before the procedure. “I could keep that thought in the back of my mind [that you have red hair]”But I’m not going to increase anything by default,” Lin said. “So it’s good to know if you’ve noticed that you’re sensitive to opioids… because everyone’s a little bit different.”
Jackie Wexler, a high school teacher with curly scarlet-red hair, said she had no idea her hair color was related to her reaction to medications. But looking back, regular over-the-counter pain relievers haven’t done much for her period cramps or headache attacks. “Now I have the worst migraine attacks and nothing helps me,” she said.
Read: 8 types of migraine attacks >>
To her, it makes sense that a high tolerance for pain and certain painkillers is genetic. She said her sister, who is also a redhead, needed more painkillers than she was given when she gave birth.
Sager is now aware of her true redhead status and tries to get her healthcare professionals to agree on any pain medication or anesthesia she may need. However, some professionals do not believe the connection between redhead and pain is true. When Sager went to have a colonoscopy, she told her anesthesiologist that she needed a higher dose. He pointed to his head. He told her no. So when the nurse came in and asked why she was still coherent and sitting up, Sager didn’t mince her words. “I’m a redhead. I’m different.”
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