As great as the appreciation is that the edible mushroom receives from many people, but so great is the rejection of others, whether out of ignorance, or fear of poisoning. If the mushrooms are often called “meat of the forest”, this is, from the point of view of the mushroom picker and somewhat exaggerated.
Recognize poisonous mushrooms
The most dangerous of all poisonous mushrooms in Germany are the green and white tuberous-leaf mushrooms, which are often confused with mushrooms. The pure nutritional value of mushrooms is not too high and also varies quite a bit depending on the type and age of the mushrooms. They do contain vitamins, but only in modest amounts. What is most appreciated about mushrooms is their high taste value. Unfortunately, apart from the precise knowledge of mushrooms, there is no means to recognize poisonous mushrooms. Neither the coloration when cut nor milky juice or a milder or sharper taste are markers of edible or poisonous mushrooms. Also feeding spots of snails are no proof for their edibility, least of all the sample with onion and silver spoon. Just the most poisonous of all mushrooms would pass this test brilliantly. There is only one way to protect yourself from mushroom poisoning:
One may collect only such mushrooms, which one knows completely exactly! Only disregarding this rule can cause mushroom poisoning.We take it for granted that bad, old, rotten mushrooms should be sorted out from the beginning, and the perfect mushrooms should be processed as soon as possible, because the protein of mushrooms is easily perishable.
The most dangerous poisonous mushrooms in Germany
The most dangerous of all poisonous mushrooms in Germany are the green and white tuberous-leaf mushrooms, which are often confused with mushrooms, although the differences are obvious enough. The tuberous-leaf mushroom develops from an egg-shaped tuber whose epidermis bursts as the mushroom grows, eventually leaving a lobed-edged sheath in the soil that is easily overlooked during collection. In the young tuberous-leaved mushroom, the cap edge and stalk are joined by a veil, similar to the mushroom. In the adult mushroom, when this veil has burst, the remnants still hang from the stem as a fine, matured cuff. The main difference from all mushroom species, however, is the color of the lamellae, the “leaves”, of the underside of the cap. They are always and without exception white in the tuberous-leaved mushroom, slightly grayish-pink in the young mushroom, but soon become strong pink and finally chocolate-brown. In addition, the mushroom has at most a very indistinct tuberous thickening on the stalk, but this never settles as a sheath. The tuberous-leaved mushroom is found only near oaks or beeches, not in open cattle paddocks and meadows. It is exceptionally poisonous; a single specimen, even half a specimen, can be fatal. Numerically frequent are also poisonings by the panther mushroom. It also develops from an egg-shaped tuber, but this tuber remains better preserved than in the case of the tuberous-leaved mushroom. It looks as if the stalk has been pressed into the tuber. The panther mushroom has a lighter or darker brown cap that is distinctly ridged at the edge in mature specimens. Similar to the toadstool, its cap is covered with white pustules. When the veil separates from the cap rim in the adult mushroom, the remnants still hang from the stem as an indistinct cuff, but they are smooth and never grooved. The stipe is whitish.
Poisonous mushrooms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The panther mushroom is very often confused with the edible pearl mushroom, which is of similar shape and has the same pustules, but they can be washed off when it rains. The panther mushroom is very often confused with the edible pearl mushroom, which is of similar shape and has the same pustules, but they can also be washed off when it rains. The cap color is light red-brown to wine red, but often quite pale. In contrast to the panther mushroom, its cap edge is not grooved, but the cuff adjacent to the stem has a distinct, fine grooving. The most important characteristic, besides the grooved cuff, is the wine-red coloration, especially on the lower part of the stalk, as well as the same coloration at snail feeding sites and maggot galleries. Rarer, but very dangerous, are poisonings with crack fungi. Especially the brick-red crack fungus has led to many deaths. The individual species are difficult to distinguish. However, all are more or less poisonous and therefore to be avoided.The mushrooms are easily recognized by their conical hat shape with the hump in the middle. The color can vary from white, yellowish to brick red. Old mushrooms usually have multiple tears along the edge, hence the name. A very insidious mushroom is also the spring morel, which is also mistakenly called morel in many areas. In the past, it was believed that it was enough to drain off as much of the cooking water as possible to detoxify the mushroom. Unfortunately, despite this treatment, fatal poisonings have occurred. The real morels, on the other hand, are all good edible mushrooms and are very popular as the first mushrooms of the year in spring. The morel has no distinct cap, but a head of dark color consisting of irregular convolutions. The morel, on the other hand, has a flask- to cone-shaped cap with more or less regular pitted depressions, so that they resemble honeycombs. Their color is usually lighter. There are also mushrooms that are poisonous only in the raw state, but are harmless when cooked. As an example, the well-known Hallimasch is mentioned. This is even more true of the Krempling, which, enjoyed raw, has already led to many serious cases of poisoning and has therefore been excluded from sale. The still most frequent and at the same time most severe poisonings are caused by the tuberous leaf sponge, whose poisons are destroyed neither by drying nor by heat, but whose mushroom flesh is very tasty. Over 90 percent of all fatal mushroom poisonings are due to this fungus.
Symptoms, signs and symptoms
The time from eating the mushroom to the first symptoms of poisoning is generally 12 to 24 hours. The later the first symptoms appear, the more poison the body has absorbed and the more severe the complaints and symptoms. Poisoning usually begins with severe vomiting and colicky abdominal pain. The patient shows bluish discolored lips with bad breath. He makes a decayed, seriously ill impression, but is nevertheless remarkably conscious. As a result of the considerable loss of water and salt, the amount of urine decreases considerably, which can lead to the inability to urinate and finally to uremia. Often, jaundice appears in the course of the disease, which is to be regarded as a serious symptom of incipient liver damage. If the outcome is unfavorable, convulsive phenomena and unconsciousness then set in, and eventually death.
Causes and symptoms
Even at the first initial symptoms of mushroom poisoning, nausea, choking sensation in the throat, nausea, and the signs of illness described above, a hospital should be visited as soon as possible. The cause of this poisoning is always the fungal toxin amanitin, which leads to severe damage to the liver, kidneys and circulation. Similar to chloroform, arsenic and carbon tetrachloride, amanitin causes immediate damage to liver cells, which can often be so severe that recovery is no longer possible. Even at the first initial symptoms of mushroom poisoning, nausea, choking sensation in the throat, nausea, and the signs of illness described above, a hospital should be sought as quickly as possible, because only rapid medical intervention can still save the life of the seriously ill person. Even the slightest delay can only worsen these prospects, because it is never known in advance what amount of poison the patient has ingested. In addition to the malignant ones, there are also the so-called benign fungal poisonings, which proceed as gastroenteritic diseases, i.e., where the toxins only affect the gastrointestinal tract, similar to bacterial food poisoning. The signs of illness, which initially come on quite stormily and can assume a threatening magnitude, usually subside after a few hours, or by the next day at the latest, without the characteristic severe damage to the liver and other internal organs. Such and similar clinical pictures can be caused by the yellow-spotted mushroom, by the false Halli’s measles, by the potato puffball and by a number of other, in itself non-poisonous mushrooms. Usually, if hospitalized early, gastric lavage is sufficient to prevent further complications. Occasionally, although much less frequently, mild symptoms of poisoning develop after eating edible mushrooms. However, this is often due to the mushrooms having been kept raw or even cooked for too long. This leads to decomposition in the body, which in turn causes symptoms of poisoning.
Complications
Mushroom poisoning can cause very severe and serious complications for the patient. It is not uncommon for death to occur if the poisoning is not treated at all or not treated in time. For this reason, mushroom poisoning must always be treated by a doctor or by a hospital. As a rule, the symptoms appear only after about a day, so that the diagnosis is delayed. The symptoms are abdominal pain and nausea accompanied by vomiting. It is not uncommon for patients to also suffer from diarrhea. The lips turn blue and the affected person also shows increased bad breath, which cannot be eliminated by increased oral hygiene. As it progresses, fungal poisoning can lead to unconsciousness and jaundice. If left untreated, death will eventually occur within the next few hours. However, whether death actually occurs depends on the amount of poison ingested and the lethal dose. In serious cases, treatment takes place in a hospital. There are usually no complications if this is initiated early. However, symptoms may persist for several days. Life expectancy is not reduced if fungal poisoning is successfully controlled.
When should you go to the doctor?
Mushroom poisoning can manifest itself through a variety of symptoms. Therefore, a doctor should always be consulted as a precaution if health complaints occur after eating a mushroom dish. Often, digestive complaints such as nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea are in the foreground – even if these subside by themselves after two to three days, a medical clarification is recommended: In the case of poisoning by the highly toxic tuber leaf fungus, this first phase can be followed by a life-threatening destruction of the liver and kidneys after a temporary improvement. Other alarm signs that indicate mushroom poisoning may include dizziness, lightheadedness, visual disturbances, increased salivation and sweating. Circulatory problems, shortness of breath, balance problems and a greatly increased or decreased heartbeat must also be treated immediately by a doctor. Certain poisonous mushrooms cause states of intoxication, but also anxiety, aggression, depressive moods and hallucinations that can last for several hours: During this time, medical monitoring is advisable. Medical treatment is also necessary if severe thirst, constant urination, muscle pain, chills, and gastrointestinal discomfort occur up to two weeks after consuming a mushroom meal – these symptomatology may indicate the onset of kidney failure due to mushroom toxicity. When combined with alcohol, some types of fungus can cause palpitations, flushing of the skin, and nausea, but this usually does not require treatment.
Treatment and therapy
The first measure here is to administer emetics and laxatives. If there is no emetic in the house, an attempt must be made to induce vomiting artificially by drinking copious amounts of warm water or, better still, by tickling the uvula with a finger or a feather. The vomited stomach contents and the fungal residue should be saved for possible examination by an expert. Castor oil or Epsom salts or even strong acting laxative tea are recommended as laxatives. A good remedy is also animal charcoal, which has the ability to bind toxins. Instead of it, finely ground roasted coffee can also be taken. However, under no circumstances should alcoholic beverages be enjoyed, as some toxins are even more easily dissolved by alcohol and can thus enter the bloodstream. While the benign mushroom poisonings become noticeable already one hour to four hours after the consumption of mushrooms, the symptoms of malignant ones appear only after six to eight hours or even longer. As already mentioned, they always require immediate hospitalization. It is even better if everyone behaves during the mushroom season in such a way that poisoning cannot occur in the first place. Those who do not know the mushroom varieties very well must either not collect any or must visit the mushroom advisory centers, which exist in all larger towns and also already in many small communities. Here its mushrooms are examined by experts free of charge. The work of these people, who often work on a voluntary basis, has already saved many from mushroom poisoning.
Outlook and prognosis
Whether and how quickly a patient recovers after mushroom poisoning depends primarily on its causes. If mushrooms that are actually edible but spoiled or improperly prepared, as well as only slightly poisonous, were consumed, the prognosis for healthy adults is excellent. The symptoms associated with mushroom poisoning, which resemble gastrointestinal upset, can be treated very well and usually subside after only a few days without permanent impairment of health. Affected individuals without pre-existing conditions usually recover completely without medical assistance. In older patients and those with a weak general condition, convalescence can be protracted, but as a rule these patients also recover completely. On the other hand, severe, even permanent damage must be expected if a highly toxic mushroom, such as the green tuberous leaf fungus (Amanita phalloides), has been consumed. In these cases, liver and kidney failure and internal bleeding can occur, often leading to death. Surviving patients usually do not fully recover. Severe kidney damage can result in the patient being dependent on dialysis treatments for life. If the toxin destroys the liver, the patient can usually only be saved by an organ transplant.
Follow-up
Aftercare for mushroom poisoning is possible in only a few cases. Rather, the goal in mushroom poisoning is to mitigate the poisoning as quickly as possible and help the affected person with first aid measures. In mild cases of mushroom poisoning, no measures are necessary. As a rule, the symptoms disappear within hours or days. This applies, for example, to Coprinus syndrome or the effects of psilocybin. In contrast, in cases of severe poisoning by poisonous mushrooms, which also damage the internal organs – the kidneys in particular are often affected – comprehensive follow-up measures are necessary. There must be continued administration of antidotes, other toxin-removing agents, and nutrients even after emergency treatment. The patient must be stabilized, as the circulation is also often affected. Observation for days in the hospital follows the treatment. It is also necessary to monitor the functions of the internal organs after surviving mushroom poisoning. Damage can be detected early and medical intervention can be taken if necessary. Otherwise, further measures for aftercare result from damage caused to the kidneys, the liver and due to an abnormally altered blood count. In very severe cases, transplants are necessary.
What you can do yourself
The most important self-help measure for mushroom poisoning is prevention. Those who are unable to identify at least highly poisonous varieties should not eat mushrooms they have collected themselves under any circumstances. If symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, trembling or muscle cramps nevertheless occur after eating a mushroom dish, rapid action is required. Not in all cases there is a real mushroom poisoning, often edible mushrooms in and of themselves are only spoiled, which then equals a food poisoning. The latter is usually harmless. However, since real and fake mushroom poisoning show very similar symptoms at the beginning, caution is advised and a doctor should be consulted. It is essential to refrain from home remedies. In case of mild symptoms, the family doctor should be consulted. In the case of more severe symptoms, on the other hand, the nearest hospital must be visited immediately or the Poison Control Center must be informed. It is also important to secure leftovers of the mushroom dish and bring them with you to the hospital so that it can be determined by which toxin the patient was harmed. The Poison Control Center strongly advises against resorting to home remedies that are supposed to be effective or inducing vomiting in the patient. In acute cases of poisoning, the patient should instead be taken to hospital as quickly as possible.
