Is it possible to get poisoned with champignons: symptoms and signs of poisoning, first aid

Poisoning from champignons is rare, but it remains quite real. Even perfectly edible healthy mushrooms can be dangerous to the body. You need to know in which cases champignons can cause poisoning, and what to do in such a situation.

What are champignons

In general, champignons that fall on the dining table can be divided into several types:

1. Forest. These are edible mushrooms, collected independently in the forest, peeled and cooked at home. Forest fruit bodies are not harmful to health if they are collected in a clean area and if they are not confused with another inedible species during the collection process.
2. Shop. Often champignons are purchased in stores – these are the most popular mushrooms that can be found on supermarket shelves. Mushrooms for sale are grown on special farms, and if they are fresh and stored according to all the rules, then it is quite safe to eat them. Stores sell both raw and canned fruit bodies.
3. False. Poisoning with false champignon is especially dangerous. You cannot find such mushrooms in the store, but they often come across in the forest or in spontaneous markets. False champignons are very similar in appearance to real ones and may belong to the same family, but they cannot be eaten. False mushrooms include red, yellow-skinned and flat-cap champignons, as well as very poisonous pale grebes.

Even harmless champignons can cause poisoning

In addition, false twins usually give off an unpleasant odor of iodine or carbolic acid.

Is it possible to get poisoned with champignon mushrooms

Although champignons are considered one of the safest mushrooms, even if they are used, poisoning is not excluded. In this case, poisoning can occur in almost any situation, regardless of the form in which the fruiting bodies hit the table.

What champignons can be poisoned

The greatest danger in terms of poisoning is represented by mushrooms independently collected in the forest. Theoretically, you can eat them in raw form, but you can easily get poisoned by raw champignons, in practice they often do harm than good.

During their growth, fruiting bodies accumulate many toxic substances in the pulp – this is true even for mushrooms collected in an ecologically clean forest. Even more harmful compounds contain fruiting bodies that grew near roads, industrial zones or large settlements. That is why it is recommended to boil or fry fruiting bodies before use, in which case most of the toxins will be destroyed by high temperature.

You can get poisoned with fried champignons, despite the heat treatment. This happens most often when using false mushrooms, accidentally confused with true ones. But boiled or fried fruit bodies can also lead to poisoning if they are processed incorrectly or eaten when they have already begun to deteriorate.

Is it possible to get poisoned by store-bought champignons

Mushrooms grown for sale on special farms are in many ways safer than fruiting bodies brought from the forest. They definitely do not contain harmful toxins in their pulp, because they grow on a clean substrate and do not receive any toxic substances from either the soil or water.

Mushrooms from the store are not always fresh and safe

But, nevertheless, you can be poisoned by store-bought champignons – the symptoms will be the same as with wild mushroom intoxication. The greatest danger is represented by fruiting bodies that are too stale on the supermarket shelf. If there are spots on the hats, or the plates on the underside have darkened, then you should not buy the product.

Often, poisoning occurs due to canned mushrooms from the store. If you can see that the liquid inside the jar is too cloudy, the mushroom bodies are very dark, and the lid itself on the container is swollen, this indicates that the canned food is spoiled and cannot be bought.

Why you can get poisoned with champignons

Among the causes of poisoning with edible mushrooms, there are several main ones:

1. During self-collection, the fruiting bodies were confused with twins, and thus, poisoning from false champignon occurred.
2. The fruiting bodies collected in the forest grew on unfavorable soils and managed to accumulate many toxic substances in their pulp.
3. Shop mushrooms were stored incorrectly or lay on the shelf for too long, which caused them to deteriorate.
4. Canned fruit bodies were prepared in violation of the technology, or the tightness of the jar was broken during storage.
5. Fried or boiled fresh mushrooms have been left at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a long time, causing them to spoil and become toxic.

You can get poisoned by fried and pickled fruit bodies

Symptoms and signs of mushroom poisoning

Symptoms of poisoning differ little from standard signs. If a person is poisoned by champignons, then intoxication develops on average 2-6 hours after the use of the fruiting bodies, and is manifested by the following symptoms:

• nausea and vomiting;
• severe cramps and pain in the abdomen;
• weakness and cold sweat;
• dizziness and headache;
• recurring diarrhea.

In rare cases, yellowness of the skin may occur, this happens if poisoning has led to toxic damage to the liver.

The danger of mushroom poisoning with champignons

At first glance, harmless mushrooms can lead to very unpleasant consequences when poisoned. Against the background of intoxication often develop:

• dehydration – with severe diarrhea and vomiting, the body loses a large amount of fluid, the process is accompanied by a drop in blood pressure and heart rhythm disturbances;
• acute gastritis – with severe poisoning, the mucous membranes of the stomach become inflamed, and if intoxication is not treated, then gastritis can become chronic;
• acute pancreatitis – you can get poisoned with fresh champignons in such a way that it provokes inflammation of the pancreas, which is accompanied by acute pain and fever.

Canned mushrooms are especially dangerous when poisoned

One of the most dangerous consequences of poisoning is botulism – a toxic lesion of the nervous system, which develops mainly against the background of the use of spoiled canned mushrooms.

Treatment for champignon poisoning

First aid for intoxication with edible mushrooms includes several standard measures:

1. In case of poisoning, it is necessary to induce vomiting and empty the stomach. To do this, drink at least 5 glasses of water one after another, and then empty the stomach artificially, preferably several times in a row.
2. Toxins that have entered the intestines must be bound and removed from the body, for this you should take activated charcoal or Smecta, and then wait for the bowels to empty. You can also use a laxative.
3. When poisoning with mushrooms, you need to drink plenty of fluids – this will prevent the onset of dehydration.

In case of mushroom poisoning, it is necessary to remove toxins from the body as soon as possible.

When should I see a doctor?

In general, for any mushroom poisoning, it is recommended to call an ambulance. However, many people prefer not to go to the doctor in case of champignon intoxication. Since mushrooms are not poisonous, at first glance it seems that poisoning cannot lead to serious consequences.

However, it is imperative to see a doctor if:

• poisoning was caused by canned mushrooms, it can lead to the development of deadly botulism;
• symptoms of poisoning do not go away for 2 days or more;
• intoxication is accompanied by a pronounced breakdown, palpitations and dizziness;
• poisoning occurred in a pregnant woman, a teenager or a person with chronic diseases of the digestive system.

If too many toxic substances enter the body during poisoning, then even champignons will begin to pose a serious threat to human health and life.

Preventive measures

As practice shows, you can get poisoned by champignons, and signs of intoxication will be very noticeable. But the situation can be prevented if you follow a few simple recommendations:

1. When picking mushrooms in the forest, only those fruiting bodies should be put in the basket, the edibility of which is beyond doubt. Preference should be given to young champignons.
2. Mushrooms should be cooked immediately after harvest, observing all the rules of cleaning and heat treatment.
3. In the store, you need to evaluate the appearance of the mushrooms, the color of the cap and lower plates, and also look at the expiration dates.
4. If mushrooms are bought canned, you need to take champignons in glass jars and check the transparency of the brine and the color of the fruiting bodies inside the jar, and also see if the lid is swollen.

It is recommended to buy champignons only in trusted stores. It is better not to buy mushrooms in the markets and from unfamiliar sellers.

In order not to be poisoned by champignons, care must be taken when collecting or buying

Conclusion

Mushroom poisoning rarely leads to serious consequences, however, these mushrooms can also cause significant harm to health. Before using a mushroom product, you need to carefully check it for quality, and with symptoms of intoxication, try to quickly remove toxins from the body.