According to a report to the American Society of Anaesthesiologists, natural redheads (yup, like me) have a higher sensitivity to pain.
People with natural red hair need about 20 percent more anesthesia than people with other hair colors, they told a meeting of anesthesiologists. The unexpected finding not only suggests that redheads are more sensitive to pain, but offers insights into how anesthesia works in people.
“Red hair is the first visible human trait, or phenotype, that is linked to anesthetic requirement,” Dr. Edwin Liem of the University of Louisville in Kentucky said in a statement.
“In a nutshell, redheads are likely to experience more pain from a given stimulus and therefore require more anesthesia to alleviate that pain,” he added.
So hey, I’ve got an excuse for wimping out now, right?
Ow.
Quit it.
Ow.
Quit it.
Thanks to /. — there’s some more interesting info on redheaded genetic quirks in the comments, too!