From: Jackson Subject: Cotton/Dirt Shot causes? Date: 1996/10/25 newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard I have had many dirt or cotton shots through out my Active addiction.I have heard contradictory statements as to what causes it From That Dirt in the Mexican dope,to using cigarette filters instead of natural cotton. I have had them with all filters and all dope including a nasty one over adecade ago on Tylox. When I say cotton shot I mean High Fever,Miraine and usually Nausea along with chills and Tremors.I have seen it in others too.And most Dope Fiends know what a dirt shot is. Can anyone give the real cause of a Dirt/Cotton Shot?? Jackson ==================================================================== From: peter@petermc.demon.co.uk (Peter McDermott) Subject: Re: Dirt/Cotton Shot? Date: 1996/10/25 newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard >So does anyone know what really causes A Dirt or Cotton Shot?? Jackson Yeah, it's all the same shit. An impure foreign body entering the bloodstream. It could be a speck of dirt, a piece of cotton, a fibre of paper, etc. etc. The shit can be small enough to be invisible to the naked eye and it will still get you. Last time I had one, three of us all got one off the same bag of dope. ==================================================================== From: Samson Subject: Re: Cotton Fever? Date: 17 Apr 2000 Newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard In article , fenrislupus@hotmail[NOSPAM].com wrote: > I've heard people talk of an illness called Cotton Fever from I > supposed bad shots containing perhaps stray strands of cotton or other > impurities... is there truth to this illness? If so what are the > specifics? Thanks. From Ferguson et al. (1993) "Enterobacter agglomerans: Associated cotton fever." Arch Intern Med, 153, 2381- 2382: "Cotton fever is generally perceived as a benign syndrome with a self-limted clinical course. Causes invoked to explain the pathogenesis of this syndrome have included pharmacologic, immunologic, and endotoxin-mediated mechanisms. "Pharmacologic theories sugges there is a chemical cotton extract that contains water-soluble, dialyzable, heat-stable substances with pyrogenic activity and leukocytic action. immunologic studies are inconclusive but attempt to show there is immunoreactivity to skin testing with cotton extracts. "Gram-negative endotoxin is perhaps the most feasible theory. Neal et al. reported an association between gram-negative bacterial contamination and cotton dust as early as 1942. Rylander and Ludholm demonstrated that cotton and cotton plants are heavily colonized with gram-negative bacteria, especially E. Agglomerans, whose endotoxin may activate pulmonary macrophage and recruit neutrophils resulting in fever, chest tighteness and bronchconstriction in cotton workers. "[This] case report suggests that the causal aggent in cotton fever is probably E. Agglomerans. Intravenously injected endotoxin in the drug abuser acts like the inhaled endotoxin in cotton workers to produce a febrile leukocytic reaction." (The study reports the case of a 28-year-old man, presenting with fever, chills, and shorteness of breath after shooting dope. Blood cultures were positive for E. agglomerans, as were cotton filters obtained on a "home visit". His elevated white blood cell count ('leukocytosis') was treated -- flounderingly -- with various antibiotics, until a literature search revealed that E. Agglomerans was resistant to what had been tried. Treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole "cured" the leukocytosis. So the authors liked to believe, anyway. The syndrome typically resolves without treatment, as most who have experienced it know, and is probably just as well 'treated' with another shot to reduce the symptoms.)