Red Heads

Yes!!! I have always been fascinated by red heads.. Here is an article about the pain.. Did you also know less than 3% of the entire worlds population are natural redheads?

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/the-pain-of-bein...

I have read that about anesthesia and in my particular case it has been true. Novacaine has never worked that well for me and the epidural did absolutely zero for me when I was in labor.

I have also heard that redheads are more prone to hernias, which I have also experienced. No clue why any of this is the case. Nonetheless, I was always happy to be a redhead. Guys go bonkers for redheads! ;)

This is so interesting! I know that Asians and blacks also respond to some chemo and medical treatments differently as well and their cancers tend to spread more rapidly in many cases. Inuits and Mongolians have shorter and stockier bodies to maintain body heat in cold weather, there are tons of fascinating examples of these things. We are very biologically different, so it makes sense that redheads could also fall into this category, this is due to genetic differences that not only effect hair color, but other bodily functions and mutations in hormone receptors etc. Redheads also are more prone to skin cancer, and have different reactions to pain among other things.

I know this is just a wiki article, but highly informative with many credited resources that explains it in a little more depth, especially in the "medical implications" section:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair

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Wow, thanks for sharing this. My dad and my oldest son are redheads. My dad has paranoia when given gas at the dentist.
I have actually thought my son was faking pain before! I have such a high tolerance.
Also, he and my younger son, a blonde, had their wisdom teeth out at the same time. My redhead was completely awake immediately after the procedure and my blonde was out of it for hours.

I've heard that, and had an experience that seems to suggest the connection (I'm a natural redhead). I actually woke up during abdominal surgery when I was 31. The young anesthesiologist was totally taken by surprise.

An alternative health professional told me that in his experience, redheads have more sensitivities in many ways, from having skin that scars more easily to having a more sensitive immune and nervous systems. He said it's as if we "wear our nervous systems on the outside of our skins." But it's hard to really know, since none of us can be in another's skin.

I had read the medical study about the fact natural redheads need more anesthesia as well.

Cultural stereotypes in almost any culture globally seems to have a love/hate relationship. They are considered witches in most cultures whereas also seem to be 'bewitching' and alluring at the same time as reviled as witches.

I CHOOSE to be red, my natural color is dark blonde.

Lol! Well, if you want to get down to it all the different people groups are different! People of Asian decent have 90% of them are allergic to milk, of those of african decent, 70% are allergic to milk, if you are color blind, you have a 99% chance of one of your parents having some white in them...

Everyone has something!

The anesthesia thing is true for some redheads. After having multiple failed epidurals, the anesthesiologist asked me if I was a natural redhead because sometimes they require more. He also said redheads have a higher pain tolerance. Whether this is folklore or scientifically based, I'm, unsure. He seemed to think it was true.

I do require extra anesthesia when having dental procedures and I do have a high threshold for pain, but so does my mother and she has brown hair. My hair is auburn, not orange or true red.

Yes, it's a study done at the University of Louisville. You can google it.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/surgeries-proced...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/dentists-trea...

There are some significant flaws in their research... most notably their study was only a small pool of redheads and a small pool of control (non-redheads). So, hardly something upon which to base all future medical decisions... but definitely interesting and worthy of some follow up research.

Funny, Novocain has never worked for me and I am a natural redhead. I also read the redheads have differences, but I read this a long time ago. I do have weird health issues but just ignore them as being part of me!

I am a natural redhead. My father and grandfather were as well. My 18 yr old daughter is too. All of us do (or did) require additional anestesia when we needed to be put under for anything, however I did not have issues during my c sections. We have very high pain tolerences. (I went home the day after both c sections and was cleaning house) LOL! Another funny fact is that redheads tend to have or develop more earwax than other people. Not sure why, but it has held true for all of us and all who I have known. None of us, with the exception of my daughter since she is young and we don't know yet, have ever had a grey hair. We do get white ones that appear blonde and blend in with the others. They are not blonde though, because they have the thicker more dense feel like a grey hair would. (and also don't always cooperate with the rest) :) As far as being anxious or nervous more than others, well, I am not sure about that. My father and grandfather were worriers, but that seems to be a "family" trait, not so much a redhead one. I am not terribly anxious or nervous over anything, and my daughter did have panic disorder that she had to be medicated for all during middle school, but I don't think it was due to her hair color. Very interesting question though. :)

Yep, I'm a natural redhead (strawberry blondish), green eyes but not super pale.

I know the diameter of red hair is smaller than blond, brunette and black hair....I remember recreating the experiment in school.

I need to read the links but I know for me it takes approximately 3X the average Novocaine for dental treatments.

I hated it when I was younger but can't imagine myself any other way now :)

im a natural red head. my dad was. and my great grandma was from ireland. when i had my son the epidural worked a little too good if anything and when i had surgery to remove an iud it worked JUST fine lol. and at the dentist the laughing gas took me for a ride lol. so i guess im the odd one out. BUT my nurse from when i delivered my son told me redheads bleed more..crazy!!

I am not a fiery, orange redhead, but I have auburn hair- it was very copper when I was little and has gotten darker as I've gotten older. I've never had any issues with anesthesia and have never heard of such a thing. But, maybe I am not a "true" redhead.

my son needed more. When he was going to have work done on a tooth, they put the little ones out so its not as scary ( and they don't have to put then in a papoose so they don't move and get hurt) they gave him the normal for his weight, and they needed to give him more.

My husband said that he always needed more also when he was little. He's not sure if its the same now or not being an adult. He hasn't needed anything done to him. Also when he was 18 his hair turned from the beautiful copper color my son has to dark brown/ black. ( not going to wish to rush time.. But Im interested to see if it will hold the same with my son, or if he will always have the red hair)

I have read ( I wish I could remember where) that with people with red hair they have a mutant gene that everyone of them carries.

Both of my kiddos are red heads (and funny, neither myself nor my husband are - we just have it on both sides of the extended family). So far, I haven't experienced any issues with additional anesthesia, but neither of my kids thankfully have had to be under anesthesia. My daughter was having a cavity filled and didn't even use laughing gas - she tolerated it perfectly.

I have background of working in the medical field (ems and nursing as well as just working in different doctors' offices) and i have not observed what you describe.

but perhaps whichever group they sampled in the study or wherever indicated this trend, so i'd probably evaluate that part of the puzzle before jumping to conclusions that may or may not actually exist.

My mom is a redhead. When I was young, I had my 1 & only cavity filled, it took 5 shots to numb me up. The dentist mentioned , it was my moms fault b/c she's a redhead. I thought he was just being funny ( he was a family friend). Seeing your question & looking back, maybe there is some science behind it. Now, I'm curious & will have to ask, next time I go.

Redhair, green eyes here. I have a very low tolerance to anesthesia. I think it has more to do with your body than your hair color. But very facinating! Redheads have gotten a raw deal!

ok here is the trick question. Which ethnic group has the most redheads?

Jews at 4%. They've been studied and their genetic make up too as they are a distinct group with Middle Eastern genes and look like everyone everywhere.
Do they have more need for anesthesia....no.
The redheads are a much maligned group in every portion of society. They aren't more tempermental, nor are they more sensitive.
Redheads burn more easily. So do light skinned blondes.
My daughter got invited to a redhead's convention where they did a pants check to see if you were a real redhead or one of the multitude of bottle induced redheads.
When she found out about the pants check she decided not to go. She's a natural but the idea of a pants check was too invasive for her.
We have looked into lots of redhead lore over the years so here's another one for you.
Natural redheads do not turn gray. They just get white hair that replaces the red ones.

I'm a redhead and have not needed extra anesthesia, although anesthesia is rough on me and I tend to throw up afterward. I did super with an epidural, though.

I have no anxiety when it comes to going to the dentist.

The only way I see us as being any different biologically is that we can hardly be in the sun without getting burned.

I hate reading things like this that try to make redheads as something stranger than the general public. Bad enough we were suspected of being witches ages ago and killed for it.

I just think of myself as being like everyone else.

Can you husband provide you with the documentation he's talking about?