Photo/Illutration Products to alleviate hay fever on display at a drugstore in Tokyo’s Kita Ward on Feb. 5 (Hiroshi Nakano)

Hay fever season has arrived. I was awakened by my own sneeze in the early morning.

This year, throat irritation added to the usual runny nose and itchy eyes. As a quick fix, I took a prescription antihistamine, applied eye drops and used a nasal spray.

Nowadays, “I’ve got hay fever” is all you have to say when explaining your bloodshot eyes and nasal voice to someone. But getting here was a long journey.

I learned of the hardships of early hay fever sufferers from “Sugi Kafunsho Yobo to Saishin Chiryoho” (Cedar pollen allergy: Prevention and the latest treatments), a book published 40 years ago by Ichiro Furuuchi, an otolaryngology researcher and an authority on nasal allergies.

The first case of cedar pollen allergy in Japan was reported in 1964, but the condition remained unrecognized by society for many years, according to Furuuchi.

Unkind things were said to sufferers’ faces: “What do you think you are doing, blowing your nose non-stop like that?” and “You have this condition because you are just a dithering slacker.”

The allergy finally came to be understood properly, largely thanks to a dramatic surge in cases in 1979.

In April of that year, The Asahi Shimbun reported on an abnormally heavy pollen generation and how a group of long-standing sufferers got together and established a mutual-help organization.

The story’s headline went to the effect, “Call It ‘Laziness Disease’? How Utterly Wrong and Insulting.” This suggested society’s atmosphere of the time.

Going through the “latest treatments” introduced by Furuuchi, I don’t see any essential differences from what we have today.

There is, however, mention of one sufferer’s desperate effort to control their symptoms by standing on their hands. Unfortunately, nothing is said of the outcome of this therapy.

It appears that if you want fundamental treatment, ultimately the most effective way is to start immunotherapy before the season begins, and just stay in it.

I fully understand this. But alas, once my sneezes have stopped, I forget.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 1

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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