Mushroom picking is no longer just a task for experts.
In recent years, more and more average people have taken up this hobby, enjoying the fresh nature and even getting exercise while foraging for mushrooms.
But the rise of this obscure niche proved dangerous.
Between January and October 2023, US poison centers saw an 11 percent increase in mushroom poisoning reports compared to all of 2022.
A total of 7,250 of these calls were made.
Ingesting the wrong mushroom can cause symptoms ranging from mild stomach discomfort and vomiting to liver failure, neurological deficits and even death.
People who misidentified mushrooms have had to undergo organ transplants, and a child in California even suffered permanent neurological damage.
There are more than 5,000 species of mushrooms. Of these, about 50 are toxic to humans
Jonathan Colvin, director of the Ohio Drug & Poison Information Center, told CNN that poison control centers in Ohio have received more than 260 mushroom-related calls as of October 2023.
Of the callers, 45 percent went to the emergency room and 33 people were hospitalized.
He said calls about possible poisonings are up 25 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Although it is not always clear whether the poison call is linked to mushroom picking, Mr. Colvin said that the people who needed the most serious treatment for liver and kidney damage reported eating mushrooms they found in the wild and mistakenly identifying them as edible. .
Mushroom hunting, also known as mushroom hunting, mushroom picking or mushroom picking, is when people search for and collect mushrooms in the wild.
The trend is increasing in popularity and there are many guides for beginners. But experts stress that it’s important to work with an expert who can identify mushrooms that are safe to eat and mushrooms that are potentially deadly.
While technology has been developed for collectors that allows people to take a photo with their phone, upload it to an app and identify the species, the technology is not always foolproof.
Most mushroom poisonings happen because a person or application has determined that a type of mushroom is safe to eat, when in fact it can be deadly.
There are more than 5,000 species of mushrooms. Of these, about 50 are toxic to humans. Death caps and similar varieties containing the same poison are responsible for the majority of mushroom poisoning deaths.
These are different from the usual mushrooms found on supermarket shelves, including button mushrooms, cremini, portobello and porcini mushrooms.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented 14 death shell-related poisoning cases.
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Dr. Kathy LeSaint, an emergency physician in San Francisco, wrote an article for the CDC detailing the cases.
Eleven of the patients recovered and three required a liver transplant because the fungi had irreversibly damaged the organ.
One of the liver recipients was a child who also suffered from permanent neurological problems.
The CDC article states: “Wild-picked mushrooms should be examined by a trained mycologist before consumption. “Inexperienced foragers should be strongly discouraged from eating wild mushrooms.”
Death cap mushrooms, scientifically called Amanita phalloides, belong to the Phalloideae division of the Amanita mushroom family and are responsible for the majority of deaths worldwide from the consumption of cultivated mushrooms.
Symptoms of mushroom toxicity include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, wheezing, difficulty breathing, high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythm and hallucinations.
This can lead to liver failure, kidney failure, neurological problems and death.
The poisonous mushrooms differ from the so-called “magic mushrooms”, which contain the hallucinogen psilocybin.
Magic mushrooms occur naturally and are consumed for their psychedelic effects.
Dr. LeSaint told CNN, “We don’t want to tell them not to do it [mushroom forage]However, we always recommend that people contact someone knowledgeable about mushroom identification.
“Mistakes can happen and the consequences can be fatal.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
