Kendra Harvey* is no stranger to pain. She needs twice as much numbing meds as other patients when she sees the dentist, and the usual pain-management treatments failed when she gave birth to her son in 2019. ?My epidural didn?t really work,? she says. ?Neither did gas and air [laughing gas] or the intravenous medicine during labour.?
The reason behind her muted response to these pain interventions may be linked to a surprising source: her red hair.
Midwives and medical professionals have long suspected that red-heads experience pain differently than others, and some say red-heads are more prone to heavy bleeding and hemorrhage as well. But what does science say about these claims and, more importantly, do expectant gingers need to be concerned" Although there are many anecdotal reports of increased bleeding in red-heads?everything from nosebleeds in children to post-labour hemorrhaging?there?s nothing in medical research that proves people with red hair bleed more than anyone else. In fact, about a decade ago, British researchers reviewed all the existing medical literature on the subject and found no evidence to substantiate increased bleeding in red-heads.
Research does, however, indicate a difference in the way red-heads experience pain. A 2004 study, for example, found red-heads needed about 20 percent more general anaesthetic than dark-haired test subjects to prevent them from moving in response to pain, and a 2005 paper showed that the numbing effect of local an...