No laughing matter for asthmatics

MORE than half of people with asthma have symptoms that are triggered by laughter, according to new study findings presented this week.

Laughter is “one more trigger in a long list of triggers” for asthma, study author Dr Stuart Garay of the New York University Medical Centre in New York said.

However, among people with symptoms brought on by laughter, nearly half said they could laugh attack-free when their asthma was under better control. To Dr Garay, this suggests that people who get asthma symptoms from laughing should consider tweaking their medicine to improve control of their condition.