The Least Useful Guide to Fukuoka

I might be behind the current trend talking about hey fever. Now drugstores are fully summery with heaps of sunscreens and antiperspirants.

Apart from floating pollens, which have died down recently, there is another substance that makes my eyes itchy and watery, and my nose blocked: sand storms from East Asian deserts, called Asian dust.

Now I am busy washing cars, windows, and some parts of the body that I don’t usually pay any attention to wash down the unpleasant grits.

I am an absolute beginner to fight against the dust. I haven’t had any reaction to either sand or dust. Like other beginner dust fighters, I rushed into local chemists and supermarkets to get my defence staff against the irritants. To be honest I used to laugh at those product for their absurd naming, so I felt a little embarrased with asking the shopassistant  if they stock certain products. ButI couldn't be self-conscious in front of such a powerful enemy.

First of all, I got a bottle of eye-washing liquid

JPY 678 (at a local chemist)

I think this is so far a good find. I don’t know whether the washing solution or washing eyeballs itself has worked, but this has dramatically eased my eye itch that eye drops couldn’t help.

Also, the attached ‘eye-basin’ worked well. It clings around my eye and didn’t let one drop of the solution leak from the edge.

Then, nasal-washing liquid

JPY 798 (at another local chemist)

It seems to take time to get used to the nose-washing system. The mechanism of this is; 1. pour the solution into a nostril, 2. the solution flows into your month after washing the inside of your nose, 3. spit the solution.
I can’t do the second step. The solution stays in the nasal cavity giving me a bit of headache.

But it did clear up the stuffed nose, and I think it was nice to came to know there is an idea of washing one’s nose.

And yoghurt as a snack

Price varied (this one with the cute illustration on the package cost JPY198 for six-80ml tubs)

Someone told me that gut-friendly bacteria in yoghurt will strengthen immune system and would help me get over the symptom.

I haven’t made a verdict about this. I guess it also takes time to see whether yoghurt does its job. It is said that if you wish yoghurt to improve your immune system, you should have it 3 month prior to the target date. So it may be too late…

At the moment I could say that having yoghurt as a replacement of cakes certainly makes your evacuation smoother.