My wife's family has mild asthma. They like to make each other laugh - sometimes for fun, sometimes for cruelty. Every once in a while as kids they were sent to their rooms because everyone was getting completely cracked up to the point of breathing problems. At my wedding, one of these escalations resulted in my mother in law cracking a rib. Once it was known, it was absolutely forbidden to laugh around her. It got to the point where people would look at her and break sponteneously into howling laughter as they ran from the room as quickly as possible. The reception was, ummm, hilarious! Fortunately only close familiy and friends showed up, since it was 32 below zero and all of the roads around Calgary were closed. The next day we woke up in Florida. What a week!
My younger sister didn't get it, that I had a type of asthma. We'd all by laughing at SNL or some comedy when I was younger and I would have to cough and she would freak about why did I have to cough, it embarassed her if we were in public. She gets it now. I've never cracked a rib, though! Have pulled rib muscles, and boy is that painful! I can't imagine the broken rib pain! Is there nothing that can help? I find cold air or cough drops relieves the coughing. She must really have it bad.