Poisoning with false mushrooms: symptoms and prevention of poisoning

Mushrooms are one of the most diverse groups of living organisms, numbering about 3,000 cap species. Among the huge species diversity of this kingdom of living nature, not every representative is beneficial. One of the common oversights of mushroom pickers is poisoning with false mushrooms. The symptoms of an eating disorder and the rules for providing assistance to the victim will be discussed in this article.

Classification of mushrooms

All mushrooms known to science are divided into several categories, due to the degree of edibility.

Table 1. Classification of mushrooms

View	Characteristic	Popular representatives
Edible	They are used without preliminary heat treatment. Eaten raw does not harm the body.	Boletus, Polish, white, mushrooms, oak, chanterelles, champignons.
Conditionally edible	All mushrooms contain bitter white juice in the pulp. Forbidden to consume raw. To prepare them, you must use one of the following methods: soaking, drying, frying or boiling. This measure is needed to remove toxic substances.	Pigs, blackies, false mushrooms, milk mushrooms, tinder fungus, oak trees, umbrellas.
Inedible	Not used for culinary purposes due to their taste, hard texture or small size. Some are poisonous and hallucinogenic.	Pale toadstools, gall and satanic mushrooms, fly agaric.

Only 400 varieties of mushrooms are edible, all the rest are life-threatening. The venom of the pale toadstool, for example, is so strong that it does not break down even when exposed to high temperatures. Therefore, when collecting or buying this product, you should carefully study the features of the appearance and avoid interaction with poisonous specimens.

Characteristics of honey agarics

Translated from Latin, the name of this mushroom is translated as "bracelet". Such an epithet was not chosen by chance: growing on a stump, the commonwealth of mushrooms resembles a ring in shape.

The appearance of a real mushroom:

• thin, elongated leg, up to 15 cm long, decorated with a ring-shaped skirt;
• a hemispherical hat with mandatory rounding at the edges;
• color range - from honey to dark brown.

In young specimens, the cap is covered with small scales, but as it “matures” it becomes smooth.

Despite its high nutritional value and gastronomic value, this "vegetable meat" can be harmful to humans.

There are several types of false agarics.

Table 2. A kind of false honey agarics

View	Photo	Description	Place of growth
Sulfur yellow		In appearance, it is closest to edible. However, this specimen has a brighter hat, painted in a rich yellow or scarlet color. There are no scales on its surface. If a real mushroom has a whitish film connecting the trunk and the cap, the poisonous one does not. Another difference lies in the color of the area under the cap: in the imaginary one it is brown-brown, and in the “original” one it is beige. The false mushroom has a bitter taste.	Rotten trees and stumps in the forest
Brick red		The hat is painted in the appropriate color, the plates under the "headdress" - in yellow or light olive. In addition to an unpleasant taste, it has a fetid odor.	In the forest next to the stumps
Candol's False Honey		Compared to the present, it is smaller. The hat has a loose, watery consistency. Decorated with light hanging elements at the edges. The plates are dark purple and or pinkish gray. The leg is thin and silky to the touch.	Deciduous tree bark

In the pulp of false honey agarics there is a white liquid that resembles burning juice.

Video - False mushrooms

Poisoning reasons

Mushrooms are considered indigestible. The main cause of poisoning is the inability to distinguish edible from the rest or improper preparation of mushroom dishes. You can get poisoned not only with fried or boiled mushrooms, but also salted and pickled ones. With insufficient heat treatment, toxic substances are not destroyed and are absorbed by the circulatory system.

Mushrooms actively absorb heavy metal salts. Compared to other representatives of their kingdom, honey mushrooms accumulate much more cobalt and zinc. If they grow near industrial areas and highways, the percentage of harmful elements in the pulp increases. In case of poisoning, death is rare, but leads to severe eating disorder.

Poisoning symptoms

Despite the small percentage of deaths due to poisoning with false mushrooms, the use of this product is fraught with dehydration or the appearance of gastroenteritis.

Toxic substances that enter the body along with fungi are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. Then they start "processing" the organs, causing special damage to the gastrointestinal tract. Harmful compounds and salts destroy cell membranes and destabilize physicochemical reactions.

The conditionally edible category implies the use of the product for food, provided that the correct heat treatment is applied. Some varieties of false mushrooms lead to mild eating disorders, and such as brick-red false foam can be fatal. The severity of physical damage depends on the number of specimens eaten.

False mushroom poisoning can resemble both normal food intoxication and pale toadstool poisoning. The main difference is that toxic hepatitis is not observed when grebes are consumed.

The first symptoms of poisoning:

• a sharp deterioration in health;
• weakness;
• cramping pain in the abdominal region;
• nausea turning into vomiting;
• diarrhea;
• bloating.

The first manifestations are similar to any food poisoning.

Next stage:

• pallor of the skin;
• chills;
• moisturizing the limbs.

Dangerous stage:

• heart failure;
• lack of air;
• lowering blood pressure;
• blue discoloration of the skin and outer mucous membranes.

In rare cases, hallucinations occur, and the poisoned patient begins to delirium, plunging into a state bordering on insanity.

After getting false mushrooms in the stomach, the first symptoms appear from 1 to 5 hours. If the quantity eaten was insignificant, recovery occurs in a few days. Symptoms of pickled mushroom poisoning are no different from intoxication that occurs after eating a fresh product.

If, after a feast with the presence of mushrooms, malfunctions of the central nervous system occur, manifested through a strong desire to sleep and dizziness, an ambulance should be called immediately medical care.

Scheme of actions in case of poisoning

Treatment of intoxication, first of all, should be directed to the elimination of dehydration of the body that occurs as a result of poisoning. The main symptom of a lack of water is the dark color of urine.

What you can do at home:

1. First of all, you need to clear the stomach and intestines.Give the patient at least 1 liter of warm drinking water and induce a gag reflex. This activity must be repeated until a clear liquid comes out of the patient, indicating a cleared stomach. If the victim has natural vomiting, additional coercion is not required. If a person is unconscious, you need to put him on his side and fix the tongue in a position that does not allow him to fall inside the esophagus.
2. After the rinsing procedure, it is important to take an absorbent preparation, which is ideally suited for activated charcoal.The dosage is 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight. The medicine should be crushed for faster dissolution in the body and washed down with water. If there is no coal in the medicine cabinet, you can replace it with a similar drug and take it according to the instructions.
3. Next, you need to replenish the body's water balance.For this purpose, the victim should drink 100 g of warm or still mineral water every 15 minutes. You can also give a weak black tea. To cope with possible bouts of nausea, the liquid must be taken slowly, in small sips.
4. After water procedures, the patient is wrapped in a blanket and a heating pad is applied to the body, which, if necessary, can be replaced with bottles filled with hot water.

Taking any painkillers at this stage is categorically contraindicated. This will preserve the overall picture of the patient's physical condition and make it easier for doctors to provide competent first aid.

Measures to stabilize the body

Since after bouts of vomiting, appetite disappears, and the body's need for food "fuel" remains relevant, broth will be the best solution to the problem. Warm meat broths will help quench your thirst and at the same time nourish with useful elements.

In the post-traumatic period, the following recommendations should be adhered to:

1. Due to the fact that diarrhea promotes the removal of toxic substances from the body, you do not need to take drugs that stop diarrhea.
2. Due to the fact that the body loses most of the fluid during vigorous exertion, it is important to avoid excessive physical activity and devote a lot of time to sleep. This will help the patient recover faster.
3. To conserve water balance, it is not advisable to be exposed to open sunlight, leading to loss of fluid. It is preferable to stay in a cool darkened room.

A state of complete rest for 3 days is the best help to the body in this situation.

Prevention of poisoning

To avoid the unpleasant consequences of eating the delicious gifts of the forest, first of all, it is necessary to abandon the preparation of mushrooms growing in unfavorable zones.

It is dangerous to pick mushrooms near the following objects:

• highways and parking lots;
• operating railways;
• industrial production;
• places where toxic waste is released;
• garbage dumps.

It is not advisable to buy mushrooms in any form from unfamiliar sales representatives.

Rules for handling mushroom products:

• multiple rinsing before cooking. It is advisable to place the mushrooms in a container of water for several hours;
• before canning, the product should be soaked for 3 days, changing the water periodically;
• store in an earthenware or aluminum container.

If you follow all directions, you can minimize the risk of food poisoning.

Despite the ability to cope with the consequences of poisoning at home, when the first signs of intoxication appear, you should immediately call an ambulance. Self-medication in this situation can lead to sad consequences. At the slightest delay, poisonous elements enter the liver, having a destructive effect on the organ. It must be remembered that the burning juice of false honey agaric is harmful to humans in any dose.