Asthma Relief Articles - Article #7

Asthma No Laughing Matter

While laughter may make many of us feel better, for people with asthma, the effects are no joke. In fact, a new study has found that laughter can induce asthma attacks.

More than half of people with asthma say their symptoms can be triggered by laughter, a survey reveals. A team of researchers followed the progress of 235 patients with asthma. They found that over half - 56% - experienced laughter-induced asthma attacks.

Asthma that was triggered by laughter did not seem to cause more asthma flare-ups requiring emergency room visits or hospitalisations compared with other types of asthma. However laughter-induced attacks, are equally if not more common than attacks caused by triggers such as pollen and dust mites. Laughter is not as well recognised as a trigger as factors such as pollen, fumes and dust mites, even though it is equally or more common than these.

Nobody knows how laughter brings on asthma, but it might involve hyperventilating. Laughter, similar to exercise involves breathing a larger quantity of air. This may cause cooling and dehydration of the airways. The sad thing is that children and adults who mouth breathe are seldom told to nasal breathe. Nasal breathing for asthma is the first step to correcting hyperventilation.

If you experience a laughter-induced asthma attack on a regular basis, this may be a sign that your asthma is not well controlled.

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