Is it possible to get poisoned with oyster mushrooms: symptoms, reviews

It is impossible to get poisoned with oyster mushrooms if you follow the technology of their collection and preparation. However, we must remember that mushrooms are difficult for the digestive system. They can harm the body of the elderly and children, as well as any person with unlimited use.

Is it possible to get poisoned by oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms are considered edible mushrooms. Experienced mushroom pickers can eat the fruiting body even raw without any special consequences. If considered in general, then even bread can be poisoned if it is used improperly. As for oyster mushrooms, the main problem is the difficulty of digestion by the gastrointestinal tract. In other words, mushrooms create heaviness in the stomach when consumed in excess. Oyster mushrooms will cause intoxication in people with chronic liver or gastrointestinal disease.

Oyster mushrooms grown on a substrate are considered the safest.

Oyster mushrooms grown independently from mycelium on a clean substrate are considered the safest. However, even such mushrooms can be poisoned in the following cases:

1. Broken cultivation technology. When using contaminated material to prepare the substrate, oyster mushrooms will absorb all harmful substances. Caution should be taken when fruiting bodies are treated with pesticides.
2. Cultivation in not environmentally friendly conditions. If the shed where oyster mushrooms are grown is located near a highway, production, or another chemical industry facility, then the mushrooms will absorb the fumes of toxic substances.
3. Non-compliance with the rules of conservation. Most often, they are pickled with canned mushrooms, which were stored in the basement for a long time, were rolled up in violation of the recipe, with weak heat treatment.

Canned mushrooms carry a lot of danger if they were seamed in violation of the recipe

Oyster mushrooms can not only be grown, but also collected in the forest. The probability of poisoning by wild fruiting bodies increases. Oyster mushroom can grow on any single tree or stump. The crop cannot be harvested near roads, industrial enterprises. The further into the forest, the cleaner the mushrooms will be.

Another danger is the haste or inexperience of the mushroom picker. A poisonous mushroom that looks like an oyster mushroom may mistakenly get into the basket. If it is not detected during sorting, poisoning is guaranteed.

Symptoms of oyster mushroom poisoning

With oyster mushroom poisoning, symptoms and signs can be different. It all depends on what caused the intoxication. If the poisoning occurred with preservation prepared in violation of the recipe, then a person may experience:

• a sharp increase in temperature;
• bouts of nausea, vomiting;
• indigestion accompanied by frequent visits to the toilet;
• impaired coordination, the appearance of convulsions, temporary loss of consciousness.

The weakening of the body comes from dehydration due to frequent vomiting.

Poisoning may be accompanied by choking, nausea, painful swallowing

Preservation is capable of fraught with a greater danger than just bacteria that cause poisoning. With long-term storage and violation of the canning recipe inside cans with mushrooms, botulism is born. You can recognize it by the following features:

• acute abdominal pain in the navel;
• about 30 minutes after the onset of pain syndromes, vomiting opens;
• the clarity of vision decreases, objects in the eyes “float”;
• there is pain in the joints and muscles;
• there is suffocation, pain in swallowing.

The danger of botulism lies in the fact that with untimely assistance, a fatal outcome can occur. If similar symptoms begin to appear, you should immediately call a doctor.

The symptoms of poisoning with oyster mushrooms collected in contaminated areas will be slightly different. The person will have:

• nausea with manifestation of vomiting;
• lethargy, tendency to sleep;
• heaviness in the back of the head;
• recurrent or persistent headache.

The safest poisoning is considered when a person simply overate mushrooms grown in compliance with the technology on an environmentally friendly substrate. Usually such a nuisance ends with heaviness in the stomach. Sometimes there may be gastrointestinal disorders.

First aid for oyster mushroom poisoning

Even if a doctor is called to the patient in case of poisoning, he is not able to instantly reach his destination. The injured person must be given first aid. It is aimed at cleansing the digestive tract from toxins. The faster this is done, the less toxic substances will spread throughout the body.

Absorbents – the first helpers in case of poisoning

When signs of poisoning appear, the following steps must be taken:

1. The victim is given to drink up to 1,5 liters of warm boiled water. It is possible to dissolve several crystals of manganese in a liquid. Pressing on the root of the tongue causes an emetic effect. The procedure will help clear the stomach. Washing is done at least 2-3 times. The action is stopped when the exiting liquid is transparent in color.
2. After washing the stomach, the patient is given absorbents. Any drug that is available in the home first aid kit will do. Most often there is activated carbon, but the best effect will be from Smecta or Enterosgel.
3. The process of gastric lavage from poisoning was accompanied by vomiting. The body of the victim is dehydrated. The patient needs frequent drinking, but in small portions. Well helps reception of 2 tbsp. l. every 15 minutes boiled water, compote without sugar from dried fruits. When soldering with plain water, you can add lemon juice with honey or Regidron preparation to it.
4. When the symptoms of poisoning did not appear immediately, and after eating the mushrooms more than two hours have passed, gastric lavage will not be enough. Toxins will have time to penetrate the intestinal tract. To remove them, the victim will have to put an enema.
   
   

   At elevated temperatures, the victim is given Nurofen or another antipyretic

5. When the body begins to fight the infection, a person’s temperature rises. The patient is given any antipyretic drug available in the medicine cabinet.

Timely first aid for mushroom poisoning will help to quickly put the victim on his feet. If intoxication was caused by simple overeating or toxins could be quickly removed from the body, then on the second day the restoration of strength will begin. The gastrointestinal tract normalizes its work. More severe poisoning can leave serious consequences:

1. If you managed to get poisoned by forest oyster mushrooms, among which an inedible mushroom was caught, then the consequences will depend on the degree of its toxicity. Perhaps even the appearance of jaundice pancreatitis.
2. The most difficult consequences will be when the body has undergone botulism poisoning. The potent toxin affects the kidneys, heart, and liver.

The manifestation of symptoms of poisoning should be felt by the person who consumes oyster mushrooms. If the first bell appears, do not hesitate. It is better to prevent intoxication in advance than to undergo a long course of rehabilitation later.

Prevention of oyster mushroom poisoning

If you follow the rules for collecting, growing, canning, cooking oyster mushrooms, then the probability of poisoning with edible mushrooms is reduced to zero. Every mushroom picker must learn 4 important rules:

1. You can not collect fruiting bodies on trees growing near roads, enterprises, landfills. Mushrooms absorb toxins using the sponge method. For oyster mushrooms, you need to go deep into the forest or grow it yourself.
2. It is important to follow the recipe for cooking. Despite the belonging of oyster mushrooms to edible mushrooms, they must be boiled before cooking.
3. When harvesting in the forest, you need to watch carefully so that a poisonous mushroom does not get into the basket. Upon arrival home, the crop must be sorted again.
4. It is better to refuse to buy mushrooms on the market. It is not known where they were collected. Dried fruiting bodies are especially dangerous. Among them, it is impossible to accurately determine whether another poisonous mushroom has been caught.

Oyster mushrooms must be preserved with strict adherence to the recipe

So that the botulism bacterium does not appear in a jar of oyster mushrooms, it is necessary to carry out a thorough heat treatment. Do not reduce the amount of salt and vinegar indicated in the recipe. Canned oyster mushrooms keep up to 1 year. Even if the preservation looks attractive after the expiration of the shelf life, it is better not to risk it and get rid of it.

See the video for more information about oyster mushrooms:

Conclusion

You can get poisoned with oyster mushrooms only through your own negligence. If this happens, you need not to get lost and provide assistance in a timely manner.

Reviews of oyster mushroom poisoning