Among the doctors, the saying is popular: "Fear red and your own." Doctors are sure that red -haired people have a low pain threshold, so they need a higher dose of anesthesia, and they are more prone to bleeding during and after operations. We decided to check if such a superstition has scientific justifications.

Many experts are talking about fear of red -haired patients. “Each ophthalmologist, especially operating, faces complications of postoperative treatment. And most often we are afraid to treat doctors and redheads. After all, red hair is an indicator of mutations hidden in the 16th chromosome. The owners of the fiery hair are inherited by unusual health and are in a special account with doctors, ” - Recognized In the material of the Moscow Komsomolets, Svetlana Diordiychuk from the Central Military Clinical Hospital named after Mandryka, which is part of the structure of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Obstetrician-gynecologist Stas Ivaha in the publication Life.ru tellsthat if the operating room is in the operating room, the red -haired patient is, he first clarifies whether her hair color is natural: “The thing is that the redheads are much more prone to bleeding. I can confirm this unequivocally. It is rare when everything goes smoothly in a red -haired patient. They really blood, which cause a lot of inconvenience during surgery. ” At the same time, as the doctor notes, “redheads are not afraid of injections,” since “sensitivity from such unpleasant procedures is reduced”. "Russian BBC Service" reports: “Doctors know: if a patient with red hair is on duty, then even if he is not very difficult, the doctor tries to look more often and look more at him. His reaction to medicine can be completely unpredictable and inexplicable. It can lose consciousness from a little pain. ” In the publication of the publication "Belarus Today" It is saidthat "anesthesia and analgesics on the redheads act through time," which is why "an anesthesiologist needs to sweat great, and dentists should use very strong painkillers." About the tendency of red -haired patients to bleeding during surgical intervention Writes and "notebook".

Natural red hair have approximately 1-2% of the world's population. It turns out when the body produces a lot of the red pigment Feomlanin and the little dark pigment of Emlanin. For a long time it was believed that Ryzhin was responsible for the exceptionally specific variation of the MC1R gene encoding the production protein-receptor of the 1st type of melanocortine. However, how showed The study of 2018, in fact, this characteristic is determined by eight other genes.

However, MC1R really has the most powerful effect. This gene, located On the long shoulder of the 16th chromosome, it is also allegedly associated with susceptibility to pain and sensitivity to analgesics (drugs that relieve pain) and anesthetics (medicines that provide local or general insensitivity). Back in 2003, scientists from Canadian University McGill Spent The test of the narcotic analgesics of pentazocin on mutant mice with variation of MC1R, similar to variation in red -haired people. It turned out that such mice responded better to pain relief, that is, to achieve the desired effect, they needed a lesser dose of the drug than ordinary rodents from the control group. Then the researchers tested an analgesic on men and women with different hair color. It turned out that the red -haired women answered the drug best, and the red -haired men did not observe such an effect - they needed the same dose as blondes or brunettes. Scientists have suggested that the variation of MC1R, which gives the hair red color, is somehow connected with the Cappa-Opioid receptors, on which the drug they checked just acted. However, the researchers found it difficult to describe the exact mechanism of influence.

In 2021, an explanation of increased sensitivity of red -haired to opioid analgesics Offered David Fisher from the Massachusetts Hospital of the General Profile. He found that the “red” variation of the MC1R gene in mice leads to the fact that their melanocytes produce fewer popiimalanocortin molecules (POMC). Those, in turn, are split into hormones, some of which can affect opioid receptors and thereby suppress pain. Accordingly, the smaller the POMC body, the more sensitive opioid receptors become.

In 2004, American researchers CheckedAs the inhalation form of the desonfluran anesthetic, the drug used to introduce the patient into anesthesia and/or maintain this condition, acts. The experiment was attended by ten red -haired women and ten brunettes. The depth of anesthesia was evaluated through stimulation using intradermal needles. It turned out that to maintain anesthesia, the red -haired needle needed almost 20% more the drug than brunettes.

In 2005, the same group of scientists Tested Another popular anesthetic is lidocaine, which is widely used in dentistry, ophthalmology, gynecology and cosmetology. It turned out that women with red hair are more susceptible to low and high temperatures, which people with a different hair color feel as tolerant, and the use of subcutaneous ledocaine injection for them is almost twice less effective in terms of pain relief. Researchers Explained This is the fact that the receptors of the 1st melanocortine are located not only on the surface of melanocytes, where they affect pigmentation, but also in the glial cells of the brain, as well as in the pre-war-wires-areas responsible for the transmission of pain signals to the central nervous system. A lower pain threshold in relation to cold stimuli in red -haired women also noted In 2022, researchers who analyzed a sample of more than 25,000 people.

Another group of American scientists in 2004 I studied The influence of midazolam - a sedative effect of a substance from a class of benzodiazepines, which is used to prepare for anesthesia for surgical interventions. Also, the drug causes anterograd amnesia, which allows you to remove unpleasant memories associated with the procedure in patients. 20 red -haired men and women, as well as 19 people with a different hair color, acted as volunteers in the experiment. Researchers introduced the subject by the drug by infusion and evaluated their behavior. It was found that in patients with red hair, the sedative effect of midazolam was much less pronounced.

In 2011, Danish scientists notedthat red -haired and fair -skinned women have a higher pain threshold regarding some incentives. Researchers invited 40 volunteers: 20 red -haired women and 20 with light or dark hair. The pain sensitivity was tested in two ways: they applied cream with 0.075% capsaicin (alkaloid, which is found in acute pepper and causes a burning sensation) and pricked with pins. It turned out that according to the results of both tests, red -haired women experienced less discomfort.

The results of other studies, however, do not indicate any differences in the tolerance to the pain between red-haired and other people. In 2012, Australian scientists Studied Reports on operations on 468 patients, of which 32 were red -haired. Some of them, noteworthy, received the already mentioned Desfluran for anesthesia. Researchers did not find any connection between the color of the hair, the amount of the drug necessary for anesthesia and the level of pain felt after surgery. To similar conclusions They came And scientists from the University of Washington in St. Louis, analyzing the sample of 1914 patients, 319 of which were red-haired.

The risk of bleeding in red -haired ones, as the studies show, is not higher than the average in the population. In 2004, American pediatricians Analyzed Protocols on the removal of tonsils in 589 children. The amount of postoperative bleeding in red -haired ones was the same as in patients with a different hair color. In 2006, scientists from the University of Louisville (USA) invited 25 red -haired women and 26 dark -haired for survey about the experience of bleeding and donating blood tests. Although respondents with red hair reported a much larger number of bruises after minor damage, scientists did not find any significant features in their analyzes. In 2011, Dutch scientists Analyzed Blood samples 3957 volunteers, 104 of which were red -haired. The authors of the study were interested in the level of the von Villebrand factor - glycoprotein, which is responsible for attaching platelets to the damaged area of the vessel. Lack or defects of this protein increase the risk of bleeding. Scientists found no pattern between hair color and the level of von Villebrand factor.

Thus, the fear of surgeons and anesthesiologists to red -haired patients is not worth the fear of empty superstitions. People with this color hair are more sensitive to one type of pain and less sensitive to others. As for the influence of anesthetics and analgesics on such patients, the research results vary. But the increased risk of bleeding, apparently, does not have red -haired people.

Image on the cover: Image by Mohamed Chermiti from Pixabay