Staff writer For the past 10 years, spring has been tough on Mari Koi, with her seasonal allergy leaving her with itchy, watery eyes and a runny nose from February through March. But this year, the 30-year-old Tokyo woman has been well so far -- possibly due to early preparation. "I have been taking calcium tablets, medicinal teas and candies since January to prepare my body for hay fever, and so far no symptoms have ailed me," she said. With the amount of cedar pollen in the atmosphere in eastern Japan projected to rise sharply from last year's levels, many hay fever sufferers have armored themselves early. At the Ginza outlet of the pharmacy chain Matsumoto Kiyoshi, special dietary packages are sold in a "hay fever corner," along with traditional antihistaminic medicines, nose sprays and eye drops. These packages, including medicinal tea products, tablets and candies containing "shiso" (beefsteak plants) or calcium, are believed to alleviate allergic reactions if they are taken before the spring hay fever season sets in. While they do not immediately cure the symptoms, they may allow users to depend less on antihistamines, which often induce sleepiness or dizziness. Tomomi Makiyama, a pharmacist at the Matsumoto Kiyoshi drugstore, said more people than usual have come to the store to buy the dietary packages this year. "With this year's pollen levels estimated to drastically increase from last year, more people seem to have been cautious and taken action before they actually began suffering," she said. Indeed, this year, the amount of pollen dispersed into the air from "sugi" (cedar) and "hinoki" (cypress) -- the most likely culprits for springtime allergies -- is projected to be much higher than in an average year. A report released by the Japan Weather Association estimates the amount to increase by two or three times in eastern Honshu, including the Tokai, Kanto, Hokuriku and Tohoku regions. Norio Sahashi, a professor of pharmaceutics at Toho University, predicts pollen levels in eastern Japan may come close to the record high set in 1995. "While the actual amount of pollen in the air largely depends on weather and wind conditions during the season, Tokyo, for example, will experience between 50 (percent) and 70 percent of what we had in 1995, when the capital suffered from pollen levels three times more than an average year," he said. Cedar flower buds develop in the summer, and the amount of cedar pollen is projected to increase this year because last summer had higher temperatures and more sunny days than average, according to Sahashi. He also attributed this projection to low pollen levels in 1999, noting that trees tend to release pollen in larger quantities when they were unable to create much pollen the previous year. The Japan Allergy Foundation estimates 12 million people, or 10 percent of Japan's population, suffer from spring hay fever. Allergic reactions to pollen are believed to be induced by such characteristics of modern-day life as air pollution, mental stress and gradual changes in diet, Sahashi said. He also said the amount of cedar pollen has consistently increased since World War II because the Forestry Agency encouraged the planting of cedar trees as the most convenient source of lumber for housing. Now that precautionary treatment for hay fever is covered by health insurance, medical experts emphasize the importance of early preparation to get through spring. Minoru Okuda, director of the Japan Allergy Foundation, said allergic reactions become harder to restrain once they begin, and he recommended taking medication several weeks before the symptoms actually appear. "Under the proper guidance of doctors specializing in allergies, the symptoms of spring allergy can effectively be contained for 90 percent of the patients if they start taking medication (early)," he said. Measures for combating hay fever these days include surgery to alter the mucous membrane in the nose so it will be less sensitive to pollen. According to Dr. Susumu Araki of Tokyo Medical University Hospital, 50 percent of hay fever patients at the hospital opt for the one-day surgery, which involves burning the surface of the mucous membrane with a laser beam. The surgery is covered by insurance and costs only 15,000 yen at the hospital, he said. Once burned, new mucous develops in a form less sensitive to pollen within three months, and 80 percent of those who go through the surgery no longer suffer allergic reactions, he said. "Once the symptoms start, patients have no option but to continuously take medicines to contain their allergic reactions until the pollen disappears," he said. "The earlier patients contact us, the better combinations of more diverse treatment options we can provide."
