# Anyone with Red Hair...?



## SecretlyAnia

Hey everyone!

I promise this is related to l&d!

While I was giving birth I was given an Epidural - which was VERY patchy... They thought it had been placed wrong, so they redid it. By this time I was 7cm dilated. 

Again - it was patchy, and it didn't do as much.

So, they gave me a Combined Spinal. I think the doctor said this was like the c-section drug that would leave me pretty feelingless shoulders down. 

This was not the case as well though, as I still felt my arms, and contractions...It was only at the very end, when they had given me an extra dose of whatever medications used, I couldn't feel anything.

I was in so much pain, the baby was in the wrong position, my labour was like 30 hours long, I had like 3 and a half hours of pushing...

Anyhow, my baby doctor(Who was also a red head) had said the pain tolerance in red-heads is much lower than those without, but also resistance to medication is also a lot stronger....I was surprised, but I had remembered hearing this when I was 16 and had my gallbladder taken out....Morphine and other such drugs do not work on me....


Anyone else with red hair experience this?


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## Mommi2Be

I actually have heard that redheads do have a lower pain tolerance. I can't remember where I've read that, but I have heard it before.


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## GingerNut

I'm a redhead and my epidural worked perfectly. I don't see how it could be true, to be honest.


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## Sun_Flower

They examined this on Mythbusters and proved it to be false - in fact the redheads they tested tolerated pain for longer than the other people they tested. They also found that women who have gone through labour have MUCH higher pain tolerances than men, and women who haven't gone through labour :)


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## amerikiwi

I have spoken with an anasthegiolist who said that red-heads do tend to require more medicine to be effective as they tend to be drug resistant. Here's an article summarizing a study that found the same thing:

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/487261

As for pain tolerance, I've always heard the opposite--that redheads have a higher pain tolerance. (a quick search shows lots of studies on both sides so seems the jury is still out on this one). I have red hair and personally made it through labour/delivery without drugs but every labour is different and I'm not ruling anything out. 

At least second deliveries tend to be shorter and easier no matter what the hair colour. :thumbup:


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## SIEGAL

Im a readhead and the epidural worked fine for me....sorry you had such a rough time


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## XxChristinexX

Oh bloody hell, where is the hair dye?? hehe

I don`t think there is any truth in this, at least I HOPE NOT!


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## ljo1984

ive got red hair naturally (lol) and my epidural was fine. and i put up with a pitocin drip for quite a long time before giving in so i hope the high pain tolerance is more correct! i want a home birth with just gas and air this time! argh!


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## Nyn

wow never heard that! I've got red hair (strawberry blonde/red) and I had an epidural with my first.. worked perfectly!

Had my second naturally and if I have a low pain tolerance then I think I did pretty well :)

x


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## FeistyMom

My grandmother had red hair, and she had a HUGE tolerance for pain, which was good because none of the painkillers available at the time worked for her - novacaine, morphine, etc - they might as well have been water. So their might be some truth to it, they find odd genetic links to all kinds of things!


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## gingerclaire

Im a redhead
Im due in 3days with my 1st :haha:
so I will let you guys know :thumbup:


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## MegzyAngel

I've had red hair since the day I was born (Was an inch long hehe) and find some pains im able to cope with better than others.
I havn't been through labour yet so unable to comment that way, but heart burn i get sometimes is intollerable where as when i broke my collarbone when i was a kid i was still running around wrestling people (Was rather a tomboy growing up) and it didnt bother me.


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## Ali90

I am a red head and have two completely natural labours with absolutely no pain relief, not even gas and air. This was out of choice. I would say my pain threshold is much higher than even I had expected but this may only relate to labour, not sure how i'd cope with other sorts of pain.


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## AshleyNichole

im a redhead and my epi worked fine, they had to thread it twice, but it worked. too much actually. :flower:


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## nervouspains

Im a red head and had 2 epidurals they didnt touch me... I had a spinal block in the end as I had a c-sec and it worked straight away xx


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## SIEGAL

As red heads we often have extremely fair and sensitive skin. The worst part of the epidural is the rash I had when they took off the tape (they tape ur entire back) either from the chemicals or the ripping of the skin. Im serious it was the worst rash of my life, two dermatoligists and their nurses gasped when they saw it, it spread b/c i couldnt stop scratching it from my butt to my shoulders. I was miserable and crying for days as I couldnt sleep. I needed two rounds of steroids and steroid cream. I am telling you this so you can try to request some special tape perhaps or at least let your dr. know and the second u get rashy get the steriods quick.


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## NaturalMomma

I'm a blonde (but have a red-headed child) and my pain tolerance is low. So I think it is a person to person thing.


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## diz

I'm a redhead and I can't say about pain meds, but my pain threshold must be quite high as I gave birth without any medication...not even gas and air?


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## Jims_Girl

This made me giggle! :)
What does the colour of your hair have to do with tolerance to pain or the pharmacology of drugs??! 
I'm a red head - I'm pretty sure that my circulatory system and nervous system works in the same way as a blonde - or someone with brown eyes
I don't normally need pain relief... I have broken bones without needing drugs too... 
So I think your doctor might have been talking a bit of rubbish :) :)


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## cranberry987

ive not given birth but im a red head and have quite a high pain tolerance, my chiropractor can do anything which usually makes ppl whimper and im like ooh that feels a bit pokey maybe. hubby is also a ging and hes a total wimp tho, so there you go. proven and disproven!

i have heard theres some research out there about pain and redheads, can never remember which way round it fell tho


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## VintageEnvy

My mom is a nurse and I've heard natural redheads usually need more medication/anesthetic then people of a different hair color. Im a natural redhead so I think thats why I've heard it from a few nurses.


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## Leopard

I've always been led to believe red-heads had higher pain tolerance. I'm a blonde/red (it changes seasonally) and I have a huge pain tolerance. Maybe that is just me but my red head friends have high pain tolerance too! 

Oh well, maybe it varies in countries too haha


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## marley2580

I'm a red head and think I have a high pain tolerance. But I did have major pain involved with breastfeeding my first and I was told that red heads sometimes just experience pain with BF to begin with.


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## crazylilth1ng

I have red hair and my epidural over dd#1 was extremely patchy... however, I have had a general anesthetic before and that worked fine.


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## cowboys angel

I have coppery auburn hair, and I have a very high pain tolerance, but have always had trouble with pain meds not working properly


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## Tasha

What a load of rubbish, about the pain tolerance I was in established labour for 20 hours before I decided to have an epi with my first, my second I had no drugs, third despite them literally trying to ply me with drugs I had a paracetamol 12 minutes before she was born, fourth no drugs until I needed a section at 6cm's, and fifth no drugs again despite them trying to ply me with them. 

I hate sterotypes like this, I dont think it would be acceptable in other ways for a doctor to say oh you look like x so its a higher chance you will have a low pain tolerance. When I told a mw my stretch marks had gone from none to about thirty in one night, she blamed it on me being a readhead in doing so she ignore the fact that it was because I was massively swollen and had pre-eclampsia.


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## SIEGAL

Tasha said:


> What a load of rubbish, about the pain tolerance I was in established labour for 20 hours before I decided to have an epi with my first, my second I had no drugs, third despite them literally trying to ply me with drugs I had a paracetamol 12 minutes before she was born, fourth no drugs until I needed a section at 6cm's, and fifth no drugs again despite them trying to ply me with them.
> 
> I hate sterotypes like this, I dont think it would be acceptable in other ways for a doctor to say oh you look like x so its a higher chance you will have a low pain tolerance. When I told a mw my stretch marks had gone from none to about thirty in one night, she blamed it on me being a readhead in doing so she ignore the fact that it was because I was massively swollen and had pre-eclampsia.

I don't think its a stereotype. Us redheads have different genes, especially with skin (stretchmarks) - but that is because red heads are fair skinned so a fair skinned non-redhead would have same problem. Pain tolerance/anesthesia many dr.'s believe is fact, not stereotype. They have done studies but they are not conclusive. Its more of a hypothesis (Educated). 
I mean black skin is prone to keloidal scars, its not a stereotype its just different genetic make up of the skin.


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## nikkyx

I'm a red head and having my first in 25 days. I am praying there is truth behind this hehe. Saying that i have tattoos and piercing and I've never felt any of them. So who knows. Shall report back after the big day hehe :) xx


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## Jai_Jai

I have red hair and although I don't deal with pain very well I can overcome it - but morphine does not work on me - interesting to know that it is related to the colour of my hair :haha:


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## Tasha

SIEGAL said:


> I don't think its a stereotype. Us redheads have different genes, especially with skin (stretchmarks) - but that is because red heads are fair skinned so a fair skinned non-redhead would have same problem. Pain tolerance/anesthesia many dr.'s believe is fact, not stereotype. They have done studies but they are not conclusive. Its more of a hypothesis (Educated).
> I mean black skin is prone to keloidal scars, its not a stereotype its just different genetic make up of the skin.

Do you know where I can read about the evidence/studies into that redheads get more stretchmarks? Cos I was told by a doctor after the event that this was not true, and that they just tend to be more red than people with dark hair. 

And from what I have read they are unsure, some things redheads are more sensitive to pain with (thermal) and others we are less sensitive, so to put a blanket redheads are more sensitive to pain is wrong, because (as far as I can see) the evidence is not yet there. 

Another thing I have been told previously was that as a readhead I am more likely to hemorrage, again not true.

I just think it is imperative that each patient is treated as an individual, not seen oh she has x hair colour or is x size so this is going to happen because that can mean missing warning signs, like me they missed one of the warning signs of my pre-eclampsia just because I was a redhead and I could of died from that. Thinking that a redhead might not cope with pain as well, could make them miss the warning signs of say a ruptured uterus or a concealed placental abruption. And that is what I meant by the sterotype thing, I just dont like the idea of putting people in one box but couldnt word all of this last because I was tired.


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## SIEGAL

Tasha said:


> SIEGAL said:
> 
> 
> I don't think its a stereotype. Us redheads have different genes, especially with skin (stretchmarks) - but that is because red heads are fair skinned so a fair skinned non-redhead would have same problem. Pain tolerance/anesthesia many dr.'s believe is fact, not stereotype. They have done studies but they are not conclusive. Its more of a hypothesis (Educated).
> I mean black skin is prone to keloidal scars, its not a stereotype its just different genetic make up of the skin.
> 
> Do you know where I can read about the evidence/studies into that redheads get more stretchmarks? Cos I was told by a doctor after the event that this was not true, and that they just tend to be more red than people with dark hair.
> 
> And from what I have read they are unsure, some things redheads are more sensitive to pain with (thermal) and others we are less sensitive, so to put a blanket redheads are more sensitive to pain is wrong, because (as far as I can see) the evidence is not yet there.
> 
> Another thing I have been told previously was that as a readhead I am more likely to hemorrage, again not true.
> 
> I just think it is imperative that each patient is treated as an individual, not seen oh she has x hair colour or is x size so this is going to happen because that can mean missing warning signs, like me they missed one of the warning signs of my pre-eclampsia just because I was a redhead and I could of died from that. Thinking that a redhead might not cope with pain as well, could make them miss the warning signs of say a ruptured uterus or a concealed placental abruption. And that is what I meant by the sterotype thing, I just dont like the idea of putting people in one box but couldnt word all of this last because I was tired.Click to expand...

I think you can try your local medical/large library. I am all researched out. But if you ever need any legal research I'm your girl! 
And I believe a lot of life is psychological so if you have faith that you can overcome a challenge well you probably could/ You have good attitude towards birth: I am a redhead but It don't mean sh*t. haha!!! good luck.


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## gingerclaire

Im a redhead, I had our baby boy, with NO pain relief not even gas and air, wasnt by choose, had very quick labour start to finish 3hours, but the pain was not that bad, I just breathed through every contraction and I was fine


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