An anesthesiologist with the nickname Apollo2068, commenting on a discussion on Reddit, explained how anesthesia actually affects people with red hair. The occasion was the widespread belief that such patients supposedly always require a higher dosage of medications to induce anesthesia.
According to the doctor, red-haired individuals do indeed tend to have a higher resistance to opioid analgesics. In some cases, this may mean the need for an increased dosage. However, in real clinical practice, the specialist emphasized, medications are always tailored individually, so hair color alone does not create serious difficulties for the anesthesiologist.
The physician also noted that some patients with red hair may regain consciousness faster after anesthesia. Nevertheless, the record for the fastest awakening, according to his observations, belongs to individuals with chronic alcoholism — they are the ones who most often emerge from anesthesia earlier than others.
Furthermore, the increased resistance to anesthetic agents is linked not only to physical characteristics. A similar effect, he stated, is observed in patients who abuse psychoactive substances, including narcotic drugs. In such cases, the body's reaction to anesthesia may also differ from the average.
Leave a comment