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Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

bbc.com

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Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#121

Post by packetlost »

saltybytes wrote: post #107

I was surprised to not find anything about possible cures or treatments in the article. I had bad allergies myself in my teenage years - unable to sleep for weeks - I finally sought help. The western medicine offers protein shots (similar treatment as to food allergies) but I heard good things about acupuncture. First, I was very skeptical about how needles could "help" with allergies. But about 2 months into the tre…

My understanding is allergies can be partially managed with placebo affect (as can mild colds!) and that is likely the reason it appears to work.

Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#122

Post by amake »

saltybytes wrote: post #107

I was surprised to not find anything about possible cures or treatments in the article. I had bad allergies myself in my teenage years - unable to sleep for weeks - I finally sought help. The western medicine offers protein shots (similar treatment as to food allergies) but I heard good things about acupuncture. First, I was very skeptical about how needles could "help" with allergies. But about 2 months into the tre…

I live in Japan and developed an allergy to cedar pollen after I came. I started sublingual immunotherapy (a pill of concentrated pollen you dissolve under your tongue) three years ago and now can make it through the pollen season symptom-free. Supposedly you even keep the immunity after stopping the medication, though I have not tested that yet.

Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#123

Post by ac29 »

the_af wrote: post #85
INTPenis wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes timotej is my allergy as well. And I got it as an adult, in 2009. So 26 years without any allergies, then suddenly, one summer in Helsingborg, the air was thick with pollen. I remember the smell was like cheese doodles in the air, musty. Once I got back from an errand in the city my face was leaking, I walked to the pharmacy with blurry vision to get my first antihistamines. Ever since then every year june is a n…

Once you get sensitized, it gets worse every year, right? Since my teenage years I was mildly allergic to pollen, and now in my adulthood it seems to be getting progressively worse. Each spring is worse than the previous one, and the antihistamines do less effect (or so I subjectively feel).

I've had seasonal allergies for decades and haven't seen them trend more intense, though some years have more allergens than others.

Personally I only take allergy medication maybe 50-100 days a year, and usually just a half dose. I have definitely heard from people with worse symptoms that they get a tolerance to medications so it may help to switch between them if you take them year round.

Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#124

Post by MyHonestOpinon »

niemandhier wrote: post #54

“Arboreal sexism” is a similar phenomenon: We prefer male trees in cities since they do not produce fruit that drop on the streets. The result is a much higher pollen load.

TIL. Trees have (biological) sex. This just blew my head. I must have been too sleepy when we saw that in high school.

Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#125

Post by Izkata »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #60
efesak wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The spruce and other local conifers (I live by the Bohemian Forest/Bayerischer Wald) have pollen that seems to be low allergenic by design. I know a lot of people who are allergic to birch or weed pollen, but not to spruce.

By design? Who designed the pollen in those trees?

I assume they meant the people who planted those "tree farms", that they chose trees people were less allergic to.

Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#126

Post by cratermoon »

The silver lining: hinoki wood has a pleasant scent and makes high quality timber. The cost is lower now with the excess coming to market. Oddly, Wikipedia calls it “slow growing”, contradicting the claim in the story it being planted to help rapidly reforest Japan.

Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#128

Post by cratermoon »

xchip wrote: post #38

This article could have been summarized in three paragraphs. I'm really hating this trend of diluting content by giving useless testimonials, random anecdotes and delaying the resolution of the subject as much as possible.

Here, have a summary of In Search of Lost Time, courtesy of Wikipedia: The novel recounts the experiences of the Narrator (who is never definitively named) while he is growing up, learning about art, participating in society, and falling in love.

Hope you enjoyed it, no need to thank me.

Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#129

Post by themaninthedark »

hastily3114 wrote: post #3

Interesting. I noticed that many people have hay fever in Japan, but I always just assumed it was genetic or something. I wonder if living there for a long time will make you more sensitive to pollen

Sample size of 1, for a couple years in Japan had no issue but then hit like a truck.

I have allergies to ragweed and didn't have spring allergies before that. Now back in the US and have spring allergies as well.

Re: Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

#130

Post by BobaFloutist »

packetlost wrote: post #121
saltybytes wrote: post #107

I was surprised to not find anything about possible cures or treatments in the article. I had bad allergies myself in my teenage years - unable to sleep for weeks - I finally sought help. The western medicine offers protein shots (similar treatment as to food allergies) but I heard good things about acupuncture. First, I was very skeptical about how needles could "help" with allergies. But about 2 months into the tre…

My understanding is allergies can be partially managed with placebo affect (as can mild colds!) and that is likely the reason it appears to work.

I also understand that weight lifting can help reduce allergies, since the immune system is kind of a "luxury" system that cedes resources when the body is recovering from injury, and weightlifting is deliberate minor injury.

Maybe acupuncture could work through the same mechanism?

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