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The thin pig has many names “from the people” – dunyasha, pig’s ear, filly, barn, pig, solokha. Around it, for quite a long time, disputes have not subsided – whether this mushroom is edible or dangerous to humans. Until the early 80s of the last century, the thin pig was considered absolutely safe to eat, it was a frequent guest on the tables in the form of pickles, as part of soups, sauces and side dishes. After 1981, as a result of lengthy research, doctors and nutritionists found that some substances contained in the mushroom can accumulate in the body and cause serious damage to it. In 1993, the mushroom was classified as poisonous and inedible. However, some mushroom pickers, even experienced and seasoned ones, continue to collect and cook thin pork, eat it and share recipes.
The mushroom is very common, and its “appearance” sometimes misleads even experienced mushroom pickers, as it looks like some types of edible mushrooms suitable for salting.
Places of growth and appearance of a poisonous pig
The thin pig is an inhabitant of deciduous and coniferous forests, often found in birch and oak thickets, in shrubs. It also grows along the outskirts of swamps and ravines, on the edges, in moss near the base of firs and pines, on the roots of fallen trees. The fungus loves moist soil and is more commonly found growing in groups. It is characterized by high fecundity during the entire harvest season, which lasts from July to October.
The difficulty in recognizing a thin pig is that the mushroom is very similar to its edible relatives, and to some other safe species.
A characteristic distinguishing feature of the pig is a fleshy thick hat, with a diameter of 10 to 20 cm. Its shape varies depending on the age of the fungus. In any case, it has curved edges, in young specimens the cap is slightly convex, with time it becomes flat and slightly depressed in the center, and in old mushrooms it is funnel-shaped. The edge is unevenly velvety to the touch. The color of the cap can be olive-brown or more brown, ocher – this also depends on how long the mushroom has been growing. If in dry weather the cap of the mushroom is dry and fleecy, then after the rain it becomes sticky and slippery.
The cap plates have a shape descending along the stem and a yellowish-brown color. They are thick, rare, contain spores – brown, smooth, ellipsoidal in shape.
The leg of the pig is thin and short – no more than 10 cm, about 1,5-2 cm thick, the colors are usually the same as the hat. Inside it is not hollow, more often it has a cylindrical shape, sometimes it becomes thinner from below.
Checking the look and smell of mushroom pulp is a sure way to find out how safe it is. When broken or cut, the flesh darkens from contact with air, it has a characteristic dark brown color and an unpleasant smell of rotting wood – this difference often makes it possible to identify inedible specimens. Usually, in mature and old specimens, the inside is devoured by parasites and insects.
The mushroom got its name precisely because it looks like a pig’s ear: due to the fact that the leg is not located in the center of the cap, but is slightly shifted to the edge, it does not have the correct round shape.
Influence on the body, the consequences of eating a thin pig
Until 1993, the mushroom was considered conditionally edible, it was collected and fried, boiled, salted. After the 93rd, it was classified as poisonous, but many mushroom pickers, out of habit and their own carelessness, still continue to collect and prepare this toxic “bomb”. The mechanism of its action is somewhat similar to the effect of radiation exposure: negative consequences most often do not immediately appear, but have a cumulative effect, that is, poisoning with these mushrooms can be chronic. This is probably why people continue to use pig’s ear, naively believing that if the alarming symptoms do not appear immediately, then everything is fine. This misconception is very dangerous for several reasons:
- the mushroom contains hemolysin, hemoglutin, lectin, muscarine – toxic substances, while the last two of them are not destroyed during heat treatment;
- toxic and harmful substances that are in the fungus are not excreted from the body in the process of life;
- in people suffering from kidney failure, dishes from thin pigs can cause severe poisoning with a fatal outcome.
Due to the content of the poison muscarine, pig’s ear is compared to fly agaric. The difference is that if you eat fly agaric, the symptoms of poisoning and death will occur within a day, and the results of eating pigs will appear much later.
A thin pig causes a strong allergic reaction in the body. As a result of the use of the fungus, irreversible changes occur in the blood: antibodies to their own red blood cells begin to be produced. Erythrocytes are destroyed, anemia and kidney failure begin. In the future, the onset of a heart attack, stroke or thrombosis is possible.
Thin pigs have strong absorbing properties: they, like a sponge, absorb salts of heavy metals, radioactive isotopes of cesium and copper from the environment. Collected near roads, factories, nuclear power plants, these mushrooms become even more harmful and dangerous. For chronic poisoning, it is enough to periodically consume small amounts of pig’s ear, for example, in a salted form. In the period from 2-3 months to several years, the first health problems may appear.
The above does not mean that the fungus cannot cause acute poisoning immediately after eating. The risk group includes children, the elderly, as well as those who suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. For them, eating a mushroom dish 30-40 minutes after eating can cause the following symptoms:
- acute pain in the peritoneum;
- diarrhea;
- nausea and vomiting;
- jaundice;
- pallor;
- increased separation of saliva;
- sweating;
- weakness, impaired coordination;
- hypotension.
In the event that a large amount of toxin has entered the body, then edema of the tissues of the brain and lungs occurs, and as a result, death occurs.
First aid for the manifestation of poisoning
Mushroom poisoning is considered one of the most dangerous. If any suspicious symptoms appear after eating thin pigs, you must immediately call an ambulance or take the victim to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. Before a person with poisoning falls into the hands of specialists, gastric lavage will be useful. It is necessary to drink warm boiled water, and then induce vomiting until the outgoing contents become clean, without food debris. You can use activated charcoal in large quantities. However, only doctors can provide full-fledged qualified assistance, therefore self-treatment is unacceptable, and the hospital should be contacted in any case, even if these first aid measures have alleviated the symptoms.
Chronic poisoning is dangerous because there is no antidote for them – you can only minimize the consequences with the help of plasmapheresis and hemodialysis procedures, and remove the allergic reaction through the use of antihistamines.
The pig is thin – a dangerous inhabitant of forests. Taking advantage of its resemblance to some other edible mushrooms, as well as the fact that some mushroom lovers rely on what “maybe it will carry”, it penetrates into the baskets of mushroom pickers, and then, ready-made, on dining tables.
The use of this mushroom is akin to Russian roulette – poisoning can occur at any time, because it is impossible to predict how many toxins and poisons will become fatal for the body.
Even if there are no problems immediately after eating, over time, the consequences of exposure to poisons on the body will make themselves felt by the deterioration of well-being and health problems. The accumulative properties of harmful substances in the pig’s ear negatively affect the functioning of the kidneys, the state of the blood, and the cardiovascular system.
Therefore, doctors, nutritionists, and more experienced mushroom pickers advise choosing other, edible and safe mushrooms for picking and cooking.