Abstract
Pollinosis is a typical disease of allergic rhinitis and is a type I allergy. Pollinosis uses pollen as a cause antigen and no less than 60 different sorts of pollen have so far been reported as antigens. Its main symptoms are sneezing, water nasal mucus, and nasal obstruction. Japanese cedar pollinosis, whose morbidity is increasing gradually, is especially called “national disease”. According to two recent epidemiological investigations made nationwide, the morbidity of Japanese cedar pollinosis reaches about 15% on average, although some regional differences exist. As factors influencing the increase in morbidity, this paper enumerates the increase in the amount of pollen scattering, the enhancing effect of suspended particles, housing conditions, the westernization of eating habits, the unbalance of Th1 and Th2, and so on.
