Poisoning with false mushrooms: symptoms, treatment and consequences

Honey mushrooms are a real gift of nature, which is highly valued by many mushroom pickers for its excellent taste and useful trace elements. However, along with the benefits, these fruiting bodies can also be fraught with high danger.

Severe mushroom poisoning is quite rare, but despite this, mushroom harvesting should not be taken lightly. To claim that mushrooms do not bring any harm is the same as to assure others of the edibility of fly agaric or pale grebe. The main and most important cause of mushroom poisoning with mushrooms are false twins. Due to their inexperience, a mushroom picker can confuse them with edible species and put them in his basket, thereby endangering himself and his family. Therefore, before heading into the forest in search of a mushroom harvest, it is imperative to study the differences between edible mushrooms and inedible mushrooms. It is best to seek advice from an experienced mushroom picker and visit the place of “silent hunting” with him.

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Causes of poisoning with autumn mushrooms

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However, it should be remembered that in a certain situation, even harmless autumn mushrooms can lead to poisoning. It is known that mushrooms, like sponges, absorb salts of heavy metals, such as zinc, cobalt, mercury and lead. Such intoxication with fruiting bodies occurs if they grow near industrial enterprises and factories, as well as along highways. In this case, mushrooms can accumulate a lot of dangerous substances, and when eaten, they will be harmful to health. Therefore, it is highly recommended to avoid such areas and collect mushrooms in an ecologically clean area. In addition, long storage and improper heat treatment of mushrooms can also cause poisoning.

But everything is not as scary as it seems at first glance. If you know how to distinguish edible types of mushrooms, and also strictly adhere to the rules for their collection, storage and heat treatment, then you can be sure that you will not be disturbed by the symptoms of mushroom poisoning, and no one will have to provide first aid.

Symptoms and signs of mushroom poisoning with false mushrooms

Symptoms and signs of poisoning with false mushrooms will depend on the specific type of fungus, as well as on the individual characteristics of the human body. So, although some representatives of this family are called false, they still belong to the category of conditionally edible. This means that during long-term heat treatment they can be eaten. Some types of false mushrooms, entering the body, cause only mild poisoning, while others can even lead to death. The latter include the false honeycomb gray-lamellar and brick-red. In particular, the severity of the symptoms and signs of honey mushroom poisoning will depend on the amount eaten. Unfortunately, no one is immune from such unpleasant phenomena, so you should definitely “arm yourself” with relevant information that allows you to identify poisoning at an early stage and provide timely assistance.

To protect yourself from the serious consequences of poisoning with false mushrooms, you need to be able to correctly identify the first signs. Most often, acute gastroenteritis is observed, as a result of which the body begins to dehydrate. In case of the slightest suspicion of poisoning, it is very difficult to determine the degree of intoxication. This should be done by a doctor who will prescribe the correct treatment.

The first signs of poisoning with false mushrooms are marked by a deterioration in the general condition of the patient. Nausea, diarrhea, and spasmodic pains spread throughout the abdominal part appear. If the poisoning is more serious, then the symptoms do not end there. New signs appear: vomiting, weakness, chills, cooling and moisture of the extremities, pallor of the skin. The patient begins to complain of dizziness and acute headache.

In rare cases, more serious ones are added to the first signs of mushroom poisoning: a weakening of the heart rate, as a result of which heart failure develops, blood pressure drops, there is a lack of air, and the skin and mucous membranes acquire a bluish tint.

In even rarer situations, delusions and hallucinations may occur. The patient plunges into a state bordering on insanity.

How long does it take for the symptoms of poisoning by false mushrooms to appear, and what happens on the 3rd day?

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How long does it take for symptoms of poisoning with false mushrooms to appear? It is very important to know the answer to this question, because it will help to provide the patient with timely assistance, preventing serious consequences. So, the first signs are observed already 30-50 minutes after eating the fruiting bodies. However, if we take into account the degree of intoxication and the individual characteristics of the organism, then here the first symptoms may appear after 2-6 hours.

And what happens after poisoning with mushrooms on day 3? If you consult a doctor in time and provide the patient with the right help, then the symptoms of intoxication disappear without a trace. Otherwise, self-medicating, you can get serious complications on the internal organs, even death, in a few days. If you do not make timely attempts to receive high-quality treatment, you can subsequently disrupt the functioning of the kidneys, liver, heart, and gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms of poisoning with salted and pickled mushrooms

Sometimes there is poisoning with salted mushrooms, as well as pickled and frozen ones. Toxic substances are not destroyed even during heat treatment or shock freezing. Therefore, it is very important to monitor each collected mushroom in the forest, so as not to accidentally take false (poisonous) mushrooms.

In addition, canned fruiting bodies can also be dangerous, causing botulism. And for this it is not necessary to roll a couple of false mushrooms into a jar. With insufficient heat treatment of edible mushrooms, the causative agent of this disease does not die, but continues to multiply in a closed container. At the same time, it is impossible to determine the presence of botulism in a jar by external signs, so it is better not to spare any effort for preliminary boiling. Symptoms of poisoning with pickled mushrooms are the same as with intoxication caused by eating fresh mushrooms.

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What to do with symptoms of poisoning with false mushrooms: first aid and treatment

What should be done in case of poisoning with false mushrooms? If it is reliably known that the patient ate mushrooms the day before, then an ambulance should be called immediately. In particular, this applies to those people whose nervous system is very sensitive to the effects of toxic substances – children and the elderly.

Before the arrival of the ambulance, it is necessary to wash the patient’s stomach and give him activated charcoal. Traditionally, gastric lavage proceeds as follows: the patient is given to drink several glasses of warm boiled water at once to provoke a gag reflex. It is necessary to give liquid every 15 minutes until the vomit begins to depart in the form of ordinary water. In addition, to reduce the risk of the consequences of poisoning, you can cleanse the intestines with enemas and laxatives.

Important! If several people have eaten poisonous mushrooms, and only one has symptoms of poisoning, everyone needs to do a gastric lavage without exception. In no case do not try to cope on your own, attributing poor health to household poisoning with ordinary food!

With symptoms of poisoning with false mushrooms, treatment and further preventive measures are determined by a qualified doctor. However, if it is not possible to get to the hospital in the next hour or two, the following measures can be taken, in addition to gastric lavage:

• continue to give 0,5 tbsp. boiled water every 20-30 minutes in order to protect the body from dehydration;
• if vomiting is over, you can give warm, slightly sweetened black tea;
• wrap the patient with a blanket or overlay heating pads, which can also be replaced with hot water.

Further treatment for honey mushroom poisoning will be quick and effective for the patient if signs of intoxication are recognized in time and appropriate assistance is provided.

At the end, the patient is wrapped in a blanket or covered with heating pads, bottles of hot water.