Redheads a Tougher Breed

We are step-children no more

I admit I felt some satisfaction when I came across this headline over a news report: “Redheads a Tougher Breed.” And yesI’m a redhead (albeit somewhat enhanced). And yes, we are a tougher breed.

And I don’t just mean in that fiery way that we get labeled all the time. We are now scientifically proven to be able to handle pain better.

My personal proof: When I was a teenager I tore all the ligaments in my ankle. My doctor told me that he’d seen the same sort of injury in professional athletes who sat in his office and wept. He was amazed at my threshold for pain.

I’ve also noticed that I’m extra susceptible to pain killers. They seem to last in my system for days. And according to research from McGill University in Montreal, this may be because we redheads apparently have a mutant gene. (Sorry, guys – this gene is only mutated in females.)

In most people, a protein produced by the melanocortin-1 gene (Mc1r) cuts back on the painkilling effectiveness of opioid drugs. But for those of us women who have been called “Red” all our lives, the Mc1r is mutated and the opioid-blocking protein is poorly produced. As a result, painkillers kill more pain.

Further research will be required to figure out exactly how this ties in with the high pain threshold of redheads – and why it isn’t true for the guys. And that research is now underway in the UK where scientists with the Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh are recruiting a cohort of redheads – a bunch of tough cookies, I’m sure.

Sources:
“Redheaded Women Naturally Resistant to Pain” The Independent, 8/11/05, health.dailynewscentral.com