mushroom poisoning

mushroom poisoning, fungal poisoning caused by ingestion of certain mushrooms (fungal organisms), most commonly Amanita phalloides and Amanita muscaria and related species. Symptoms, caused by toxic peptides, may include severe abdominal pain, vomiting, cold sweat, diarrhea, and excessive thirst; they appear 8 to 12 hours after ingestion. Damage occurs largely in the liver and kidneys. Some mushrooms contain substances that produce hallucinatory states, e.g., Psilocybe mexicana (see hallucinogenic drug; ergot). Occasional outbreaks of poisoning from eating canned mushrooms are not caused by poisonous mushrooms but by botulism resulting from improper canning methods.

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mushroom poisoning

 or toadstool poisoning

Sometimes fatal effect of eating any of the 70–80 species of poisonous mushrooms, or toadstools. Many contain toxic alkaloids. The most deadly, Amanita phalloides (“death cup”), causes violent abdominal pain, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. Severe liver, kidney, and central-nervous-system damage lead to coma. Over half the victims die. Treatment with thioctic acid, glucose, and penicillin or by filtering the blood with charcoal may be effective. A. muscaria causes vomiting, diarrhea, excessive perspiration, and confusion, with recovery within 24 hours. Gyromitra esculenta toxin is usually destroyed by cooking, but in susceptible people it affects the central nervous system and breaks down blood cells, causing jaundice. Some poisonous mushrooms resemble harmless ones, so extreme caution is needed in wild-mushroom gathering.