It is believed that excess of anything is bad, including laughter. This quote now literally holds true for the Hyderabad man, whose hearty chuckle almost costed him his life.
Recently, a 53-year-old man while enjoying his relaxing evening with family were watching a comedy show in television. The man found the show so funny, that he started laughing. Normally, man continued to laugh heartily for minutes until he fainted.
Also, the daughter observed the abrupt motions of his hands. Thus, taking him to hospital.
After clinically examining the patient, the neurologist at Apollo Hospitals Dr Sudhir Kumar, concluded, that the patient is suffering from laughter-induced syncope.
Taking to X, Dr Kumar while talking about this rare condition and the incident revealed, ‘I listened to the entire history and clinically examined him. He had no history of any medical illness, and he was not on any medications. The diagnosis was clear to me. The diagnosis was: laughter-induced syncope.’
Laughter is the best medicine, however, in case of a 53-year-old, laughter resulted in a visit to emergency department
53-year-old Mr Shyam (name changed) was enjoying a nice evening with his family over a cup of tea. They were watching a popular comedy show on TV. Mr Shyam… pic.twitter.com/TZJAM45QpC
— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) May 29, 2024
According to Cleveland Clinic, Laughter-induced syncope refers to a rare condition, where excessive laughter can sometimes cause temporary loss of consciousness because of a sudden decrease in blood flow to the brain, though this blackout is brief.
Explaining this rare disease, Dr Ashray V of Aster Whitefield Hospital, Bengaluru to India Today said,
‘Just consider this: While laughing heavily, you feel the pressure inside your chest increase. Sometimes this can momentarily reduce cerebral perfusion leading to light-headedness and occasionally syncope.’
Usually, this disease mainly affects the cardiovascular and nervous systems, which results in a loss of consciousness.
Interestingly, Dr Kumar while talking about this similar incident revealed, that after that man got cured of this disease, the latter confessed, that he has no memory of what happened that time.
‘The Hyderabad man who fainted suffering from the same condition was taken to the hospital, but he recovered fully on the way. He later confessed that he had no memory of what had just transpired’ added Dr Kumar.
According to Healthline, syncope is usually characterized by a short period of unconsciousness and temporary fainting but are preceded by warning signs that one should be aware of.
Notably, symptoms such as nausea, slurred speech, a weak pulse, sudden changes in body temperature leading to flushing or chills, followed by sweating, blurred vision, Lack of balance, lightheadedness, rapid heartbeat, body weakness, and headaches are indicative of syncope.
As per Dr Ather Pasha of CARE Hospitals, Hyderabad, told Indian Express, that Vasovagal, cardiac, situational, and neurologic syncope are among the types of syncope that share similarities with laughter-induced syncope.
According to Dr. Kumar, there is no definitive cure for laughter-induced syncope. But its triggers can be easily avoided.
Like for managing this syncope, management techniques such as adjusting one’s lifestyle to avoid situations or activities that trigger laughter can be beneficial, particularly for individuals who have experienced prior episodes of syncope.
‘There is no definitive cure for laughter-induced syncope. It is important to avoid its triggers that could cause fainting episodes, including prolonged standing, excessive physical exertion, and even intense laughter,’ said Dr Kumar.
In addition, different strategies such as tensing leg muscles or crossing legs when feeling lightheaded and educating oneself about this condition can also help patients.
Meanwhile, Dr Kumar later advised the man to stay more hydrated and said
‘I asked him to lie down, if he felt dizzy or if he had a sense of blacking out (symptoms of pre-syncope), so that the blood flow to brain would not reduce (in case of reduction in blood pressure)’.