Do Red Heads Respond Differently to Pain? Why?
Do you know only 2% of the entire world population are redheads? This makes them different from others. But that's not the only distinctive characteristic of these people. Redheads respond to pain differently. This may sound weird but there are some convincing researches. Not just that, their sensitivity to pain medication is also distinct from their dark-haired counterparts. In this article, we will clear all the myths by explaining the difference between a redhead and a dark head for pain tolerance.
What is Pain?
Pain is an uncomfortable sensation indicating that something is wrong with the body. It negatively influences your ability and capability to perform everyday tasks. Sometimes, pain is the signal generated by brain warning you about a health condition such as injury or infection. When your body nerves detect tissue damage, they send signals to the brain through neuroreceptors. Pain may vary due to numerous factors such as intensity, cause, and tolerance level of the person. Furthermore, pain could be acute or chronic.
When it comes to pain tolerance level in Red heads, you may find various views and researches conflicting with each other. In following context, we will understand whether red heads experience pain differently or this is just a myth. Keep in mind that with so many rumors and limited researches, it is hard to understand the reaction of redheads for all types of pain. Other than pain, there are rumors that red heads have different tolerance level of hot and cold environment. Below, we will try to clear all the doubts about pain tolerance level in red heads.
What is the Science Behind Redheads Responding Differently?
Red hair is common in the western and northern countries of Europe, especially around the United Kingdom. For instance, in Ireland, more than 10% population consists of red head. However, more than 6% of people in Scotland are born with natural red hair. Still, having natural red color hair is quite rare. Now you may wonder why people born with red hair are different and do they feel pain differently? Below, we will go deeper and clearly understand this phenomenon:
MC1R
Many studies about this mutation suggest that the presence of MC1R, an additional protein-coupled receptor, is responsible for red hair. The receptor regulates melanoma risk, UV responses, and skin pigmentation. MC1R produces brown-black melanin pigment referred to as eumelanin and the amount of this pigment defines the color of the hair. The more production of eumelanin by MC1R indicates blacker and darker hair. The major reason why redhead and dark head perceive pain differently is because of MC1R. This receptor is similar to other protein-based receptors. In 2% redheads, MC1R produces red pheomelanin pigment. Redheads cannot naturally produce eumelanin because of the mutation. As a result, the reddish-toned pheomelanin is the dominant pigment influencing the skin tone and eye color as well. Similarly, MC1R is responsible for pain stimulation as well.
This mechanism also links with the secretion of hormones including endorphins. Endorphins work as sedatives and help minimize the perception of pain. Your body produces these hormones in different parts of the body including the spinal cord and brain. When you experience pain, the neurotransmitters, transmit the information to the brain. In response, your brain releases these hormones for pain relief and pleasure. Today, researchers are confident that MC1R genes are directly related to pain responses.
Redheads and Pain Response
For a long time, people believed that redheads have different response systems for pain. But, the evidence to prove this phenomenon was insufficient. With time, the researcher found that the MC1R gene influences the midbrain function and regulates the pain response. This brings us on the track that there is some mechanism that is impacting the responses of discomfort and injury in red-haired people. In the last 20 years, researchers conducted some small researches to understand how and why redheads respond to pain differently. Unfortunately, there are immense differences and conflicts between those researches. Let’s understand the contradiction with these two examples:
In 2004, a study conducted on female redheads suggested that the tolerance level for inhaled anesthesia is higher than among them. For sedation, they need more anesthesia than dark hair. Apart from that, redheads find lidocaine injections less effective.
Another research contradicts the 2004 study by suggesting that redheads find less morphine to decrease their while black and brown heads need more. The participants in this research involved both males and females. Even during labor, redhead women require fewer opioids to ease the pain than dark-haired women.
What is the Tolerance Level of Redheads?
There isn’t a simple answer to this question. Accumulating the results from different researches we can say that:
Redheads require approximately 20% more anesthesia than dark heads.
Their tolerance level for local anesthesia including novocaine and lidocaine is higher.
In contrast, they have high sensitivity to painkillers including opioids. Therefore, they require low doses. Additionally, they are less sensitive to needle pricks, electric shock, and other stinging-type pain. Also, when it comes to weather, their body detects changes faster than others.
Different Types of Pain
This does not end here as the number of studies also suggests that redheads may react differently to different types of pain. It depends on how their body reacts with and perceives the pain. The result of these researches implies that:
Redheads cannot tolerate cold.
Their body is less responsive to anesthesia.
They are at higher risk of developing endometriosis and sclerosis.
They are afraid of dentists and feel higher pain from toothaches.
There are some studies, which indicate that redheads are likely to get sick more often. This may be true because redheads stay out of the sun exposure. Therefore, they lack vitamins resulting in vitamin deficiency. You may have heard the rumor that doctors are being hesitant to perform surgeries on redheads as they bleed more than dark heads. However, recent studies showed that redheads do not bleed more. Furthermore, doctors never refused to perform surgery for people with red hair.
Read Heads are Surprisingly Tough
Numerous researches on female mice and redheaded women claimed that they perceive the pain differently. They are tougher than most blackheads. Even though the participants for the researchers were female, it is understood that the same concept will work for the men too. Evidence is declaring that redheads can tolerate stinging pain better than others.
Researchers injected capsaicin into the body of some redhead. Capsaicin is a chili substance and has the same effects either you orally consume it or inject it into your body. After injecting this chili, researchers concluded that redheads are not that sensitive as dark heads.
Opioid Sensitivity Among Redheads
The dependency level and susceptibility of redheads for pain depend on the painkillers such as opioids. Some researches about opioid abusers showed that twins are likely to become addicted to opioids. This suggests that there is a relationship between genes and vulnerability to addiction. However, there aren’t enough researches about the influence of MC1R on addiction to drugs. Some of these researches for redheads contradict others.
For instance, one researcher indicates that redheads have lower dependency level and they require less dosage for pain management. On contrary, another researcher found that redheads are at high risk of developing drug abuse. He claimed that if redheads are pain sensitive, they need more opioids to cope up with the sensation.
Prevention against Pain
Redheads in general are less sensitive to pain. However, it depends on the type of pain. Also, they have a high tolerance level while anesthetized. As a result, doctors should increase the dosage of anesthesia in redheads.
Many physicians from different medical fields are unaware of the fact that redheads require more dosage of pain medication. Therefore, red headers need to communicate your dosage before surgery or other procedures that require pain medication. If you are a red header, you need to remind the anesthesiologist, surgeons, and dentists that you are highly sensitive to opioids. Also when a physician prescribes pain medication, you need to discuss the dosage beforehand. Because of your sensitivity, you need fewer doses of opioids. Additional dosage may lead to drug abuse and addiction.
Conclusion
Redheads have a different way to perceive pain than others because of their genetic composition. The result from various studies about pain sensitivity in redheads suggests that redheads have a different response to a different type of pain. For instance, they have a low tolerance level to the change in temperature. If the temperature is cold, they are likely to get sick than dark heads. Also, their body requires more anesthetic dosage.
Moreover, their body is less sensitive to spicy food, electric shocks, and has a greater risk of developing different diseases such as endometriosis and sclerosis. In contrast, their body is more sensitive to painkillers. Apart from pain sensation, redheads produce abundant natural vitamin D.