Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a medical condition that contributes to cases of depression in winter. I put it to you that Rudolph was depressed as proven by his red nose.
Dedicated readers following the column may have waded through last month’s genetic snowstorm to appreciate that coat colour is, of course, determined by your genes. Obviously nose colour is no different and the same genes producing the melatonin pigment that makes hair black or not and therefore, pink make a Reindeer’s nose leather the same colour. Nose leather is the term for the specialised skin that makes the bumpy covering of the nose.
I conclude therefore, that Rudolph had snow nose not a red nose due to his high melatonin levels and was also suffering from seasonal affective disorder. Father Christmas was not using him as a flying deer headlamp for his sleigh but probably just trying to cheer him up. Ho! Ho! Ho!
Happy Xmas!
Ben Hynes is a veterinary surgeon at Abbey Vets, Abergavenny
