Abstract
Laughter is a well-known phenomenon in encounters between patients and health care personnel, and when stories about such encounters are told. The present paper intends to show that some of this laughter is non-humorous, and should be interpreted as intended actions to make encounters come off, or as strategies to deal with adversity. Laughter leads attention towards difficulties in hitting the right note, when the patient's life, health and body are subject to unwanted exposure and health care personnel's assessments and judgments. This may cause embarrassment on both parties' behalf. Embarrassment is a signal of prosociality, and a signal of recognition of incompatible social expectations. Laughing is one way of dealing with embarrassment to keep the interaction on track, and may be interpreted as an expression of adversity rather than humor.