Laughter is the best medicine for dry eyes

Researchers have found that having a chuckle is just as effective as eye drops as a treatment for dry eye disease.

Experts in the UK and China assessed the effectiveness of laughter exercise in 283 people diagnosed with the disease – which causes red and itchy eyes – and found that those who underwent the treatment experienced less optical discomfort after an eight-week period.

Laughing has been linked to a variety of health benefits and experts think it could prescribed as an alternative treatment for sufferers of dry eye disease.

Scientists at Belfast University and Sun Yat-sen University wrote in the British Medical Journal (BMJ): "As a safe, environmentally friendly, and low-cost intervention, laughter exercise could serve as a first-line, home-based treatment for people with symptomatic dry eye disease and limited corneal staining."

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