NO. 10 COCKROACHES—ROTH AND WILLIS 29 
properties to the cuticular grease or to a discharge from the mouths of 
the cockroaches. 
Simons (1952) indicated that certain linear dermatoses in the 
Tropics are caused by secretions left on the skin by crawling in- 
sects and that cockroach dermatitis is one of these. An edema of 
the eyelids is also attributed to the cockroach. Simons (1952) also 
noted that in the Tropics, both East and West, a type of urticaria or 
edema is frequently attributed to the bite of the cockroach. 
A recent personal communication from Mary F. Lerner, M.D., of 
Brooklyn, N. Y., is of interest. Dr. Lerner treated a patient who had 
severe generalized hives. The clinical history of this case follows: 
“In September, 1943, ... 1 had occasion to move some cartons 
which had been there for over a year. An army of cockroaches ap- 
peared and I started to stamp on them. Two days later I started to 
itch all over and was covered with hives. Bathing in bicarbonate only 
exacerbated the condition. The doctor gave me adrenalin and that 
helped for four hours. No other medications seemed to help. This 
lasted four days. Then, when I started to get dressed it started all 
over again. When I removed my shoes and peds (which were the 
sames ones I had worn) the itch disappeared. The doctor told me 
to discard these shoes and peds and I never had a recurrence.” Dr. 
Lerner stated that the hives and itching were controlled by the ad- 
ministration of adrenalin every four hours and a mixture of ephedrine 
and sedation repeatedly ; the situation was not controlled until it was 
realized that putting on the shoes and peds, which the patient had 
worn while crushing the cockroaches, caused a recurrence of the 
hives and itching. 
Certain species of cockroaches produce secretions which are stored 
in quantity in specialized glands and which may be irritating to man. 
For example, the adults of Eurycotis floridana, when disturbed, eject 
an aldehyde, 2-hexenal. This secretion is irritating to sensitive areas 
of the skin of some individuals (Roth et al., 1956). Recently, William 
and Anne Bunting of Yorkshire, England, experienced poisoning 
while cleaning out a culture container in which they kept Ewrycotis 
decipiens (Kirby) from Trinidad. He (p.c.) wrote, “We both suf- 
fered from vertigo, running eyes, nausea; we were unable to face any 
food that day, and our tongues were yellow for twenty-four hours.” 
He also observed that this cockroach is capable of ejecting the secre- 
tion a distance up to 3 feet. 
Pavlovskii and Shtein (1931), in studying the effects of the bite of 
Blatta orientalis on human skin, noticed a degeneration of epithelial 
cells, necrosis, and inflammation which they attributed to a toxic 
