Gingers get a lot of grief about being different but is it true that redheads feel pain differently too?\u00a0 Having red hair is not common.\u00a0 Statistics say that only about 2% of the population is naturally redheaded.\u00a0 That’s about the same number of people that have bipolar disorder. Even though they are small in numbers, a lot of redheads do seem to be able to tolerate and process pain differently than their dark haired counter parts.<\/p>\n
It’s common myth that most people born with red hair have heard.\u00a0 According to the rumors, redheads feel pain differently and are also much more sensitive to pain medications. Like many old sayings, this one has been taken with a grain of salt until researchers proved that redheads may feel pain differently.\u00a0 \u00a0Studies show that there is truth to the old rumor and the reason why is hidden in the genes that make redheads redheaded.<\/p>\n
The redhead gene is not a myth.\u00a0 Scientists actually know exactly what mutation in genes occur to produce a red-headed person.\u00a0 According to them, both parents must pass along a genetic trait for their kid to be redheaded.\u00a0 This causes a mutation of the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R).\u00a0 When this mutation happens, the person can not produce average amounts of melanin.\u00a0 How much melanin our body produces contributes to the color of our hair, skin tone and eyes.\u00a0 But what does melanin have to do with pain?<\/p>\n
Why do redheads feel pain differently?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s actually the malanocortin 1 receptor that has do with pain and not the melanin itself.\u00a0 The gene that mutates to create red hair is also responsible for the functionality in the mid-brain that responds to pain.\u00a0 Many studies have concluded that redheads perceive pain differently than other people. No one believes this more than anesthesiologists and other medical professionals who have seen the differences in pain perception first hand.<\/p>\n Medical professionals have proven that many people with red hair also require additional anesthesia to keep them from feeling pain.\u00a0 It has also been well documented that redheads need nearly double the dose of local anesthetics to block the pain.\u00a0 Not only do red heads need more pain blocking medications to undergo surgeries and other procedures but they also seem to respond differently to medications prescribed to treat pain.<\/p>\n Sources say that redheads who are prescribed analgesics (or medications for pain) were very sensitive to their effects. According to some doctors people who have red hair are usually unaware that they don’t need the normal dose of a pain medication and not all professionals are in the know either.\u00a0 This means that redheads need to be really proactive and mindful about taking pain medications so they don’t overdo it.\u00a0 \u00a0Redheads have been know to be especially sensitive to high powered pain killers like opioids.<\/p>\n It may seem far fetched to think that a gene can have control over both hair color and pain response.\u00a0 Redheads do feel pain differently and it’s because their unique genetic makeup.\u00a0 That same genetic makeup is responsible for many other traits often attributed to gingers but none is more controversial than the idea that redheads feel pain differently.\u00a0 In spite of the controversy, it seems this rumor is actually fact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gingers get a lot of grief about being different but is it true that redheads feel pain differently too?\u00a0 Having red hair is not common.\u00a0 Statistics say that only about 2% of the population is naturally redheaded.\u00a0 That’s about the same number of people that have bipolar disorder. Even though they are small in numbers, a lot of redheads do seem to be able to tolerate and process pain differently than their dark haired counter parts. It’s common myth that most people born with red hair have heard.\u00a0 According to the rumors, redheads feel pain differently and are also much more sensitive to pain medications. Like many old sayings, this one has been taken with a grain of salt until researchers proved that redheads may feel pain differently.\u00a0 \u00a0Studies show that there is truth to the old rumor and the reason why is hidden in the genes that make redheads redheaded. The redhead gene is not a myth.\u00a0 Scientists actually know exactly what mutation in genes occur to produce a red-headed person.\u00a0 According to them, both parents must pass along a genetic trait for their kid to be redheaded.\u00a0 This causes a mutation of the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R).\u00a0 When this mutation happens, the person can not produce average amounts of melanin.\u00a0 How much melanin our body produces contributes to the color of our hair, skin tone and eyes.\u00a0 But what does melanin have to do with pain? Why do redheads feel pain differently?\u00a0 It’s actually the malanocortin 1 receptor that has do with pain and not the melanin itself.\u00a0 The gene that mutates to create red hair is also responsible for the functionality in the mid-brain that responds to pain.\u00a0 Many studies have concluded that redheads perceive pain differently than other people. No one believes this more than anesthesiologists and other medical professionals who have seen the differences in pain perception first hand. Medical professionals have proven that many people with red hair also require additional anesthesia to keep them from feeling pain.\u00a0 It has also been well documented that redheads need nearly double the dose of local anesthetics to block the pain.\u00a0 Not only do red heads need more pain blocking medications to undergo surgeries and other procedures but they also seem to respond differently to medications prescribed to treat pain. Sources say that redheads who are prescribed analgesics (or medications for pain) were very sensitive to their effects. According to some doctors people who have red hair are usually unaware that they don’t need the normal dose of a pain medication and not all professionals are in the know either.\u00a0 This means that redheads need to be really proactive and mindful about taking pain medications so they don’t overdo it.\u00a0 \u00a0Redheads have been know to be especially sensitive to high powered pain killers like opioids. It may seem far fetched to think that a gene can have control over both hair color and pain response.\u00a0 Redheads do feel pain differently and it’s because their unique genetic makeup.\u00a0 That same genetic makeup is responsible for many other traits often attributed to gingers but none is more controversial than the idea that redheads feel pain differently.\u00a0 In spite of the controversy, it seems this rumor is actually fact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lifestyle","category-myths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":525,"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions\/525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}