Redheads more sensitive to pain?

[alfredo]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/30/redhead.pain.dentist/index.html


New research published in this month's Journal of American Dental Association found that painful experiences at the dentist might cause more anxiety for men and women with red hair, who were twice as likely to avoid dental care than people with dark hair.

"Redheads are sensitive to pain," said Dr. Daniel Sessler, an Outcomes Research Department chair at The Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio, who is one of the authors.

"They require more generalized anesthesia, localized anesthesia. The conventional doses fail. They have bad experiences at the dentist and because of the bad experiences, they could avoid dental care."

Sessler, an anesthesiologist, began studying redheads' sensitivity to pain after hearing chatter from colleagues.

[mitchum]

1. So...that's whyJulianne Moore is always calling me up and crying!

[MineralMan]

9. Next time she calls, tell her I'm sorry for having hurt her by

leaving. :bounce:

[Lerkfish]

2. they don't know my wife, someone who refuses pain meds even when in extreme pain

I challenge them to give birth to an almost 10 pound baby naturally after 32 hours of labor, like my wife did .

[JayMusgrove]

3. We assume she's a redhead? n/t

[Lerkfish]

33. yeah, sorry, thought that was implied, she's a redhead.

[alfredo]

5. It appears that not all redheads are affected. Colonel Millet, a redhead

continued to charge enemy though wounded.

[Xipe Totec]

4. I'm no redhead

But I avoid dentists like the plague.

Anybody who has a monetary interest in drilling holes in your teeth is suspect.

By the way, I still have all my teeth, including wisdom teeth.

And I attribute my good fortune to staying away from dentists.

[alfredo]

6. Good diet and other factors make you a fortunate person.

[Xipe Totec]

10. That's true

I hate sweets.

Tart and bitter are the flavors I crave.

[alfredo]

12. I like a touch of bitterness in my beer.

[livetohike]

7. Dental work doesn't bother me, but when I dislocated my

shoulder I needed tons of morphine. The nurse told the doctor how much I had already had and he said to give me some more. (I hope I never do that again).

Then there are my migraines.....

[JVS]

8. Oh no! As if those poor step-children didn't have it bad enough!

:cry:

[rainbow4321]

47. My red headed daughter was making t shirt designs the other night

She designed one for herself that says "GINGER PRIDE" on the front.

Thought it was kinda funny cuz when she was in her midteens she was offended when anyone used the slang "ginger" when talking about her--I hadn't known it til she told me back then that it's a slang/nickname for redheads.
She takes it better now, obviously, since she made herself a tshirt with the saying and refers to her friends who are also redheads as "my ginger friend".

[conspirator]

11. I am extremely attracted to redheads. Not that anyone cares nt

[alfredo]

13. So was Charlie Brown.

[armyowalgreens]

34. I also have a thing for redheads.

[comrade snarky]

14. Sunburn pain

Yes

[johnaries]

15. As a male redhead....

who was very sensitive to pain growing up....

I can't say if I was "more" sensitive to pain than my non-redhead playmates, because I was not able to put myself in their shoes and feel what they felt. I can say that it seemed to me that I was more "aware" of pain, as evidenced by the many taunts I received as a child.

In a way, it was a great boon to me. I learned to endure great pain. Much more so than the ones who "taunted" me. But, at the same time, when I go to the doctor I can better explain my "symptoms".

Believe it or not, Pain is a good thing.

[KakistocracyHater]

17. The op describes redheads as needing heavier doses to knock them out

regular dosages failed....So are you able to endure MORE pain, & do you have superior body awareness? My Mom was blondish/auburn & had 1 of those nightmare scenarios where she couldn't move but was awake for an operation, yet she can endure pain better than most anyone I know.

[johnaries]

26. Well, I can't say for sure since I haven't experieniced the pain they have

but I can say that I seem to have an unusual tolerance to alcohol. I know that when I go hiking in the woods I'm less likely to get tick bites because I "feel" them crawling. I know that when I talk to my doctor she seems to be able to give me good answers because I can describe my symptoms more accurately - even though I will admit somtimes they sound pretty "vague" to me.

So, I can't answer you honestly. But I believe that for SOME reason I am a little more "attuned" or more sensitive to my body. But, at the same time, I feel like I can "endure" more than the average person. Although, I will admit that my "endurance" is a result of my own stubborness and the influence of others - aka, not wanting to soubnd like a "whiney baby".

I can't confirm or deny your OP. But it would explain a lot of things.

PS, although High Blood Pressure is known as the "silent killer" because the symptoms are so subtle, I went to the doctor for symptoms that were diagnosed as High Blood Pressure. When I had a Sonigram to explore my arteries (I didn't even know they could do that!), one of the comments was that although one of the chambers was slightly enlarged, it wasn't nearly as much as normally expected with Hypertension and therefore I must have caught it "very early".

Unusual for the general public. Whether it's because of the same genetic traits that gave me reddish "strawberry-blonde" hair? Could be! I'd love to hear about more studies.

[WillyT]

16. As Someone Who Has Dated Four Of Them In My Life...

I know I am... now...

:evilgrin:

[Generator]

18. That and we are uppity

Don't mess with the scotch irish if you don't want to never hear it end. Because we NEVER forget.

[cliffordu]

19. I know from personal experience that redheads inflict better pain than

almost anyone....

[alfredo]

29. You must be a 2nd Lieutenant

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

20. Everything written in the Op is true, I vouch for all of it.

When I went back for followup after having my wisdom teeth extracted, the oral surgeon looked at my chart and whispered to his assistant, "Why did we give her so much?" and the assistant said "We had to."

[Sheltiemama]

21. My redheaded mother thinks so.

Her dentist told her that it takes more to numb his redheaded patients. And she does need more.

[JI7]

22. that's why redheads tend to be liberal

[Missy Vixen]

23. I was born a redhead

My hair turned blonde when I was two. I have been a bottle redhead for about the past ten years.

I'm one of those weirdos who takes half the regular dose of aspirin for a headache, but I ask the dentist for the "numbing gel" when I'm getting my teeth cleaned...

:woohoo:

[LostInAnomie]

24. I wonder if their sensitivity has anything to do with...

... why they are dynamite in the sack. Just sayin'.

[AzNick]

25. So why are they so much into spanking?

Ok, sorry, I just wanted to get reactions.

But it's true, in my experience.

[erinlough]

27. This fits my experience

The most painful thing a dentist can do to me is clean my teeth. I have to admit I do avoid it, although I eventually go, and I actually have them give me novacain to clean my teeth. There is no way I could do it otherwise. Oh, and I am a redhead.

OTOH I can tolerate pain in any other area to a great degree.

[alfredo]

28. NO2 is an alternative to the needle.

[dysfunctional press]

30. they're the devil's spawn...

[lumberjack_jeff]

31. That's why this redhead considers DU therapeutic.

It raises my pain tolerance.

That which does not kill a man makes him stronger.

[1]

32. redheads? special properties. as an engineering grad, the "rch" is the finest point of measurement..

can i get a witness?

[TexasObserver]

35. That sure helps explain Carrot Top.

[proud patriot]

36. I'm a redhead and I find myself more sensitive to palin

I can only stand about 30 seconds

[WillyT]

45. LOL !!!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

:applause:

:hi:

[proud patriot]

56. Thank You ! I'm here all week

I'm having a BBQ this coming Saturday .. Bring Mom ...

How was your trip ? I hope it went well .

[colinmom71]

37. Interesting. I have a red haired son who actually has a higher tolerance to pain...

than most kids his age. I'm the same way, but I'm a brunette. But yeah, even for me it takes larger doses of certain types of meds to get me to respond, particularly anesthesia and pain meds.

So far, DS seems the same way particularly with drugs often used for sedation. He seems to down-cycle those meds as quickly as I do. A drug that should last for 4-6 hours is usually beginning to wear off at about 3 hours for us. It made oxycodone a baffling experience for me. I got the pain relief but no sense of "high" or "euphoria", so I don't understand it's appeal as a recreational drug.

[dddem]

38. I dont' know about that, although I avoided the dentist for too many years,

But when I had my first child, the nurse said they had to keep a close eye on me because redheads tend to bleed more than others. Interesting.

[Honeycombe8]

39. Interesting. I wonder why that is. There are biological differences among different-hair-colored

people, of course. That's why they have different hair coloring.

I wonder if it has something to do with the vascular system. Or maybe their willingness to show pain and other emotions more than others.

Interesting.

[alfredo]

40. That's not all the bad news about Redheads. They are headed for extinction.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22289183-2,00.html

REDHEADS are becoming rarer and could be extinct in 100 years, according to genetic scientists.

The current National Geographic magazine reports that less than two per cent of the world's population has natural red hair, created by a mutation in northern Europe thousands of years ago.

Global intermingling, which broadens the availability of possible partners, has reduced the chances of redheads meeting and producing little redheads of their own.

[Honeycombe8]

41. Of course, as long as there's one bottle of red dye in the country, we won't be lacking for redheads

:)

[alfredo]

42. A fake redhead can be outed easily.

Sit them out in the noon day sun for fifteen minutes.

[rainbow4321]

48. LOLOL! How true!

I swear my daughter gets a sun burn if she so much as THINKS about the sun.
We were outside for a few hours at a political rally a few years back..it was a few days before the November general election day so not exactly the time of year that someone really has to worry about getting a sunburn (yeah we are in TX, but still..). Sure enough, after being outside for a couple hours she comes home with a sunburn! In Novemeber.

Worst part is that there is never a leftover "tan" to make up for the burn. She goes from bright red to pale white again. Nothing in between.

[JerseygirlCT]

49. Not really red-headed

(some red in there, however), but fair-haired and skin enough to sympathize. Tanning doesn't really happen.

The good part of that is that I gave up those teen-aged quests for a tan (using baby oil and the like) early. Which means my skin hasn't endured nearly the damage it could have.

[alfredo]

50. I ran across a strawberry blond hitchhiking across Africa. He was

bright red. I commented on his burn and he said "without gin life would be unbearable." He had just got back from visiting the Masai, where he picked up a case of the clap.

[Honeycombe8]

55. Wow...sounds like a great guy who will make a wonderful husband one day!

Not!

[alfredo]

57. Understand that if you are a guest with some tribes, you are offered an

unmarried woman to keep you company for the night. Some societies are free love societies. The Maasai have some interesting customs. According to Jean Pierre Hallet, unmarried individuals can have sex with any unmarried individual, but they can't have sex with a married individual.

If that guy didn't partake, that could be seen as an insult. That depends on the customs of the individual society, but why risk it. They might have seen him as less a man, or the girl unworthy.

If you are offered food or drink, you don't refuse. The worst thing you can do is appear to be "above" them. When you are traveling you are always at the mercy of the kindness of strangers. The people always try to make more food than they can eat in case someone comes over. Generosity goes well beyond what you'd expect here in the US.

Jean-Pierre Hallet, is a very interesting man. If you can find "Congo Kitabu" read it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_Hallet

[MrScorpio]

43. For power exchange play, this bit of news comes in handy

Thanks

[alfredo]

44. Are redheads less susceptible to alcohol?

[rainbow4321]

46. Eh, my daughter's a redhead and she didn't even flinch

when she has had to have an IV or blood drawn.(in 2nd grade and as a teenager). At all.
Same thing when she had to have an ingrown toenail removed..twice.
She'll have random bruises on her that I'll notice and when I point them out to her, she'll have no clue when they happened. Never felt pain from the impact that caused the bruise. Of course, she is really, really light skinned so any little bumping into anything causes her to get a black and blue mark.

[aroach]

51. I am a redhead and had a horrific experience

I had a spinal block that did not work for a c-section. Trouble is that for some reason I could not move or speak to tell them that I could still feel everything.

Somehow they figured it out and put me under a general anesthesia but it was pretty awful thinking they were going to cut me wide open while I lay there feeling everything.

[alfredo]

54. It's better than not being sensitive to pain. Pain is our early warning system.

My dad died of cancer because he had a very high threshold to pain. It didn't hurt, so it didn't matter. He didn't need morphine until his last day alive.

It's better to feel pain than feel nothing.

[DailyGrind51]

52. Is that why Lucille Ball always cried? "Wa-a--a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a!"

[LT TX]

53. Read this article on CNN yesterday

and sent it to my mother. Whenever we go and get dental work done it always takes more shots than "normal." It makes sense now, though. We are freckled and pale. My parents have red hair and I am blonde. I had a great fear of dentists for a long time and am paying for that now. I have slowly been trying to get my teeth fixed (when funds allow!) and I have found a dentist that works well with me.