Desperate Fight Against Pollinosis?
It is reported that about ten to 30 times as much pollen will spread in the air this year. Thus, pollinosis, also known as hay fever, is intimidating many Japanese. The amount of pollen is expected to peak in the middle of March. People who usually are bothered with a runny nose, sneezes, itchy eyes must be scared at this moment. Also, some are making money by pushing such popular items as face masks, air purifiers, goggles, humidifiers that are supposed to protect us. All are desperately trying to fight off pollen, to brush it off our clothes, and not to inhale it somehow.

What Causes Hay Fever?
Having said the above, I would like to remind you that there are people who suffer from hay fever and those who do not. Generally, it is said that the current hay fever can be traced back to the middle of 1950s when cedars were planted aplenty and began to blossom out about a decade later. Or some say that it is caused by the histamine born from the reaction between pollen and the mast cell of white corpuscles. I do not disagree with these opinions, but they all blame pollen as the sole root cause of hay fever.
Oriental medicine, on the other hand, seeks the root cause in the human body itself and regards pollen only as a trigger. In other words, in the view of Oriental medicine, the incidence of hay fever depends on the physical constitution of a person and affects the eyes, nose (sneeze), or the skin, etc. as the case may be. The differences between all cases are clearly elucidated.

The Relationship Between Body and Season:
Among the members of Hokushin-kai, which is an acupuncture research group represented by my mentor Dr. Rempu Fujimoto, study sessions called “Meteorological Research Workshop” are held under the leadership of Instructor Koichi Hashimoto.
Some days ago, we studied about the “mechanism” of pollinosis and I would like to briefly introduce part of the project centering on the functions of the liver.
In spring, when the temperature rises, the human mood tends to rise higher than usual. With this rise of the mood in general, it is quite normal that the season brings an atmosphere in which we assume a forward-looking stance about many things. Oriental medicine, however, attaches importance to sustaining proper balance between “excess” and “lack” in the mood. Thus, if one keeps oneself in an excessively stressful mental condition, one is likely to get easily irritated, have stiff shoulders, dizziness, headaches or ringing ears. The excessively excited mood in spring exacerbates the symptom. Such cases of “excess” are termed by Oriental medicine “Kanki Jogyaku (excessively buoyant mood).”

Pollinosis Comes from Excessively Buoyant Mood:
Depending upon the buoyancy of the mood, pollinosis or hay fever affects different parts of our body. For instance, those who tend to be bothered with boils or to have frequent mosquito bites are likely to have the effect of hay fever on the skin and suffer from itchy skins or red puffy eyelids. Those who tend to suffer from stress and strain due to excessive rise in the mood are affected in the eyes with tears flowing. Also, troubles in the spleen, stomach and intestines cause dysfunctional water metabolism. Exacerbated by the excessively excited mood, bodily water rises high and causes a runny nose.

Cool Head and Warm Feet:
If the physical condition described in the previous paragraph becomes chronic, nasal obstruction follows and the mucus turns yellow, and a quick recovery of the normal state is delayed. Cold feet invite excessive rise in the mood. Today, an innumerable number of people keep their heads warm and feet cold. The well-balanced bodily condition is effected by “Cold Head and Warm Feet.” If this order is reversed by the “Excessive Rise in the Mood,” people with a weak lower half of the body involving such organs as the kidneys or the urinary bladder are likely to have problems such as lower-back pain during the season now being discussed.
We hear about people who have successfully overcome cases of constipation or severe hay fever by doing good exercise and switching from fatty food to plain Japanese style food containing little fat. This is clear evidence that we should not blame pollen alone as the cause of pollinosis. Those who are habitually affected by hay fever are advised not to rely only on medication but to understand their own physical constitution and alter their lifestyle in order to prevent excessive rise in the mood.
Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment serves to maintain excellent balance all around and to help overcome not only pollinosis but also many other physical problems.

Books related to this subject:
Rempu Fujimoto, Try to Cure Allergies with Acupuncture (Futaba-Sha)
Koichi Hashimoto, An Introduction to Meteorology – Yellow Emperor’s Medical Canon Revived
(Midori Shobo)
Rempu Fujimoto, The Law of Up and Down; Left and Right; Front and Rear
(Medical Yukon-Sha)