Kafunshou
The National Affliction Plaguing all of Japan
The cold wind that has been piercing your skin all winter is gradually becoming warmer, flowers are beginning to bud and people’s moods are getting brighter. However, this season is also one of hay fever, something that deflates the spirits of all throughout Japan. Your nose won’t stop running, you keep sneezing, your eyes are itchy, you have a headache and your whole body becomes heavy—these are the symptoms of hay fever. This is an allergy to the pollen from trees such as cedar and cypress. According to a survey carried out in Tokyo in 2006, it was estimated that 28.2% of the city’s population suffered from hay fever, a rate 1.5 times more than 10 years ago. During this season Tokyo is overflowing with people wearing masks to prevent hay fever, the appearance of which creates a slightly bizarre scene.
According to an announcement from the Japan Meteorological Agency, in 2009 dispersal of cedar pollen will begin about 10 days earlier than in a typical year. Also, according to the overall pollen dispersion forecast from the Japan Weather Association, this spring the cedar and cypress (in Hokkaido, white birch) pollen overall dispersion in northern Japan will be lighter than usual, but in the southern Kanto region and to the west it will be heavier. The amount of pollen dispersion within a day changes, so during this season television, newspapers and radio provide detailed information regarding this as if it were a weather report and encourage individuals to take the proper countermeasures for their own symptoms. For example, the time periods when pollen is dispersed greatest are around noon when it whirls about and evening when it falls on the ground. The weather that requires the most caution is days when there is strong wind to carry the pollen and the air is dry. On the other hand, rainy days or those with high humidity have a lower amount of pollen floating in the air and are therefore easier to get through.
Every year new goods to prevent and treat hay fever come out, but here, several that receive annual attention will be introduced. First of all there are the increasingly stylish “Hay Fever Prevention Glasses.” The types available up until now were more like goggles and unattractive, but new kinds look like regular glasses and are able to fit the curves of your face and prevent pollen from entering. If you wear glasses along with a mask your lenses will steam up, but a defogging feature enables you to wear both with no problem.
The next item is the “Nose Mask Pit” (see picture on bottom), which by just putting it in your nose you can discreetly protect this body part from pollen and dust. Like the glasses mentioned earlier, the special feature of this product is its inconspicuousness. Then there is the “Application Mask” which is different from a regular mask in that it allows you to prevent pollen and dust from entering your nasal cavity by simply applying it around your nose. The principle is that by applying this ointment around your nose you create a positive electrostatic field that stops the electrically-charged pollen from penetrating your nasal cavity. These are the ultimate invisible goods.
In addition, there are other new products appearing such as clothes that prevent static electricity, vacuum cleaners that purify the air as you clean with them and extracts that improve your allergic predisposition by just drinking them. Because the flight of pollen is a natural phenomenon, it can’t be stopped. In order to be able to spend hay fever season comfortably, using these goods to avoid direct contact with pollen, to get rid of pollen as soon as you come in from outside, and to remove pollen from your home as much as possible with something like an air purification system is important.
Nose mask pit effectively prevents pollen and dust
incoming as well as stopping runny nose.
———— Reported by Noriko Komura and translated by Stacy Smith
B-kyu Gourmet 
