Abstract
A 12-year-old boy, without atopic antecedents, had an attack of dyspnoe and hives after eating cotton seed nuts. Epicutaneous tests were performed with the cotton seeds, extracts prepared from them, commercial extracts of cotton linters and cotton clothes (made by the Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Tokyo) and cotton seed oil. A 20 minutes closed patch test showed negative with the whole materials. However, scratch tests revealed a marked uricarial response with a water-extract of the cotton seed nuts, moderate urticaria with the ethanolic and acetone extracts, and no response with cotton seed oil and extracts of cotton linters and clothes. Intrdermal tests also displayed negative reactions with extracts of the linters and clothes.
There are few chances to eat cotton seed nuts in Japan, because the Department of Health and Welfare prohibits the import of edible cotton seeds. Our case had an anaphylactoid shock at the first opportunity to eat the cotton seed nuts. Thus, it is presumed that they were imported in a form of mixed nuts or cook ies inspite of the regulation.
