Hay Fever

This week Hay Fever season kicked in at my office. I have been blown away by the percentage of my coworkers who are clearly suffering with the allergy. I sit at my desk listening to non-stop sniffling (nose blowing is considered rude in public, but sniffing is not), and find the locker room occupied by coworkers putting in eye drops. I met one sufferer in the locker room who complained that she had to wait over an hour to see the Doctor (which sounded like the norm to me, but apparently not in Japan) because of the volume of patients induced by the current pollen levels.

In researching Hay Fever in Japan, I found it interesting that the prevalence is often blamed on the government for the homogeneous cedar reforestation that occurred during WWII reconstruction.

I keep being asked if I suffer from Hay Fever I never have before, but just writing this has made my wonder if my eyes might be getting itchy and my throat a little scratchy – I’m sure I’ll be fine!