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

Post by packetlost » Wed, May 20, 2026, 4:01 PM UTC

BobaFloutist wrote: post #130

packetlost wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Post by bobthepanda » Wed, May 20, 2026, 4:02 PM UTC

mathieuh wrote: post #40

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

It’s known that repeated exposure to allergens can cause allergic symptoms in people previously without them. For example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_fancier%27s_lung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer%27s_lung I actually seemed to grow out of hay fever when I was in my early 20s. Perhaps coincidentally this is also around the time I developed an allergy to cannabis from overuse. Wonder if they’re related so…

Post by criddell » Wed, May 20, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC

INTPenis wrote: post #59

reeredfdfdf wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably we can blame higher hygiene standards, or some other environmental factor for it. Forests haven't changed much in past decades. Here in Finland I've never been affected by any kind of tree pollen at all, but somehow timothy grass pollen gives me horrible symptoms, forcing me to take antihistamine most of the summer. I lived my childhood near farmland and forests, so definitely got exposed to both forms of po…

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…

Post by dranudin » Wed, May 20, 2026, 4:37 PM UTC

markus_zhang wrote: post #67

INTPenis wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pollen allergies have definitely skyrocketed in Sweden. We used to be able to sit in an office and work all year without hearing people sniffle and sneeze. Now it's like an epidemic, at least half the office is affected.

I kinda suspect it was the Covid. I didn’t have allergic reactions until I was infected with Covid. I don’t have proof though.

Post by markus_zhang » Wed, May 20, 2026, 4:51 PM UTC

dranudin wrote: post #137

markus_zhang wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I kinda suspect it was the Covid. I didn’t have allergic reactions until I was infected with Covid. I don’t have proof though.

I got a dustmite allergy directly after a Covid infection. Also, I got no proof but it made me suspicious if there could have been a connection..