Pollenfiend
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(Story) A Medical Crisis
🕑 Added 2024-07-08 04:44:59 +0000 UTCHello! I wrote up this mini-fic to go along with the new image set I made featuring Naoko, the young Japanese woman suffering from severe hay fever in the woods. I also added more images to round out the story. Some interesting bits of research I thought I’d share in building the concept for this story:
Somehow her appearance in the images comes across as a journalist or researcher. I settled on journalist so she’s based out of Tokyo for a major news publication
Over the last few years there have been reports of severe shortages of doctors going to work in rural communities in Japan
According to an actual news report (I’ll pretend Naoko wrote it) many prefectures are affected, including Yamaguchi near the west coast of the country
Yamaguchi also typically has very severe hay fever seasons, specifically kafunsho due to cedar and cypress pollen from February to April when pollen levels can reach into ‘extreme’ levels triggering particularly severe symptoms for those allergic to the pollen
So with that background, here is a brief fic about Naoko’s struggles while trying to research a story for her paper in pollen-ridden Yamaguchi prefecture. Note, DALL-E isn’t great at consistency between images so sometimes her hair or attire develops some changes. Hope you enjoy.
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It wasn’t off to a good start.
Her nose was already starting to itch, and each rub seemed to be making the itching worse. She could also feel the first trickles of watery mucus threaten to seep out her nostrils. As Naoko fished in her bag to retrieve her travel pack of tissues, she caught herself sniffling. The journalist had come prepared, with tissues and antihistamines, but it sprang to her conscious awareness that each sniffle would only bring more cedar and cypress pollen into her nose, worsening her symptoms.
“Eeegh… hehh!-.. Hhek-tchhhieeh!” she sneezed, before she could get her tissues out. The watery expulsion of mucus made her nose instinctively sniffle yet again. Just great…
Now in her early 30s, Naoko was no stranger to her allergies. Afflicted with kafunsho since she was young, she had ways of managing. However with her assignment taking her to Yamaguchi prefecture she was facing off against the height of kafunsho season in one of the worst-hit areas of Japan. The warm west coast climate and the surrounding landscapes full of cedar and cypress trees would soon make the day hell for her. But, she had a job to do.
Finally taking out a tissue and pressing it to her wet, itching nostrils, she walked a little more briskly to the first rural village on her well-researched path. Communities across the countryside were suffering from an increasingly severe shortage of doctors and it was becoming a medical crisis.
“Hehh… hih-hehhh-…” To get to her first meeting point for an interview, Naoko had to trek down a path flanked by thick woods on either side.
“Hahh-… Haaah!-…” her nose was getting so itchy. The pollen must have been tremendous, and there was absolutely no escape. For appearances, she couldn’t wear a mask, and though she took her antihistamines already, they barely seemed to offer any defense against the extreme pollen count.
“Heeahk-SCHHIIeeagh!!” she sneezed. She sneezed as she walked through the woods, she sneezed as neared the clinic where her interview was scheduled, she sneezed as she shakily hurried to open the door, desperately needing to get inside away from the pollen.
“HEE-KEEAASSCHHHIIUuugh!!”
Even once inside, Naoko struggled to get through the interview. She hoped she didn’t seem anxious or rushed but it took all her willpower to look cheerful and professional without devolving into a fit of allergic sneezes. Her entire nose felt like it was swarming with tickly pollen grains. She discreetly sniffled and wiped at her nose and hoped her makeup was enough to conceal the redness. Likely not.
The moment she left the clinic and re-emerged outside the pollen hit her again full force. “Aagh!- hehh!-..” the pollen grains immediately caused the entirety of her nose to surge with itchy irritation, the urge to sneeze spreading from deep within her nasal passages radiating to the tip of her reddening nose and the edges of her twitching, flaring nostrils. “HEEHH!-.. HEEGH-KIEEEASSCHHHuugh!!! HEK-KEEASCHHHUUH!! HIHK-KIIEESSCHHHUHH!”
It was rapidly becoming the worst allergy attack she had ever experienced. She took out a tissue, blew into it, only to have the action cause a particularly itchy and messy sneeze.
“HEEH-HEAAAAHHH!-...” she heard herself gasp uncontrollably, the allergy sneeze seizing her entire body.
She pressed the sodden tissue desperately over her nose and mouth, barely suppressing the mess or the force. “HIIK-GGHSHCHMHPPFFHHH!!!” She blew her very runny nose and put the spent tissue away, sniffling hard as she felt the watery mucus of her severe hay fever persistently trickle down her upper lip while walking to the next interview location. She sniffled, whimpered, and struggled to keep from sneezing yet again.
And so the day wore on, minute after grueling minute of worsening hay fever hell. Before long, her appearance could no longer be hidden or mitigated. People made polite and concerned comments about her health and how bad the pollen was this year. They thanked her for coming to write about the lack of doctors and the medical crisis.
Naoko replied by sneezing. “HEEK-KIIIEEASSCHHUUGH!!!” she was in the middle of her own medical crisis. “Snnffl… SSNNRRFF!... Hihh-HEHH!-... iiigh…”
Looking at the expanse of cedar and cypress trees around her, she felt as if every single grain of pollen was trained on her glassy irritated eyes and her fiery red, drippy, itchy nose, intentionally tormenting her and making her job near impossible to finish.
“Huuhh-.. HHUUHH!... HEE-EEAAHHSSSCHHHUUUGH!!!”
In fact, not just near impossible. It was actually impossible. Inarguably, completely impossible. There was no way she would be able to finish her assignment in her state. The pollenating trees were everywhere, and they were relentless.
Her nose was so runny, and so itchy. Her antihistamines were entirely no use, and her tissues were unable to keep up with the torrential profusion of hay fever mess desperately trying to flush out all that awful pollen. “Haaah-..” She had to sneeze…
“HAAAH!-...” For all her desperate pleading, she just couldn’t stop.
“HAAK-KIIEEAASSCHHHUUUHHH!!!”
It was absolutely miserable. Her allergies had never been worse. She didn’t think they could even get any worse. With tears rolling down her cheeks and watery mucus trickling out her intensely itching nose, Naoko surrendered to her hay fever and the dense forests all around her. She knew she could fight it no longer.
She scrambled to return to her car though it seemed an eternity away, through the forest path she wound through when she first arrived. She had to leave. She had to get back to her hotel and wash off all the pollen. She had to stop sneezing!
“HIIG-GIIIEEASSCHHUUGH!! HAAA-KUUSSHHUUUGH!!! HEEEII-IIEEAAHAASSCHHHHUGH!!!”
During the entire time she remained outside and exposed to the extreme pollen count, she couldn’t stop. She felt utterly ruined by her hay fever and disappointed she couldn’t finish her assignment in this rural village. But she had to leave, and hope that tomorrow’s pollen count would be more tolerable.
