Interesting reading on mushroom poisonings

[Stick in Mud]

Here's a link to the 2009 toxicology report from the North American Mycological Society (that's the earliest one they've got on their HSOforum, unfortunately):

http://www.namyco.org/images/pdf_files/NAMA_Toxicology_Committee_Report_2009.pdf

I think it's interesting to see who's eating what, what's getting people sick, and what's killing people (there's one reported death where eating a leccinum was a contributing factor). My favorite entry in this report, though, is from May 9th, titled "Sick from Morels." The description of the incident reads as follows: "Sick from morels. Blood alcohol .4."

[pushbutton]

Well so much for cooking the "bad" out of muscaria. Liked the ...."fed to dog =sick dog" Who the heck would feed your dog muscaria ?!?! LOL. Must have been that dude in the bear suit drinking his own urine........

[teal50]

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting. There are other tox reports available through 2013. Morchella (morels) are frequently reported for GI distress and this confirms they should not be eaten raw.

Other "edible" species are also mentioned as causing toxicity. We are rapidly approaching "honey cap" season and a lot of people pick them. Make sure to parboil these before freezing them for future use or cook them before consumption. They can cause a most unpleasant GI distress, as a number of folks have found out.

[Stick in Mud]

Well so much for cooking the "bad" out of muscaria. Liked the ...."fed to dog =sick dog" Who the heck would feed your dog muscaria ?!?! LOL. Must have been that dude in the bear suit drinking his own urine........

LOL. And yet there are apparently quite a few people who have been eating muscaria for years without any ill effects. Except for that bear-suit guy....he's seen better days.

[Stick in Mud]

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting. There are other tox reports available through 2013. Morchella (morels) are frequently reported for GI distress and this confirms they should not be eaten raw.

Other "edible" species are also mentioned as causing toxicity. We are rapidly approaching "honey cap" season and a lot of people pick them. Make sure to parboil these before freezing them for future use or cook them before consumption. They can cause a most unpleasant GI distress, as a number of folks have found out.

Thanks for the info. I tried a quick google search and couldn't find any newer toxicology reports. Can you post or send me a link? I'd love to check them out.

As far as I understand (at least with NAMA), a lot of these reports are from people writing into the organization and self-describing symptoms and self-identifying the mushroom ID. Some are from more "official channels," too, like doctors and other medical professionals, but I often wonder what the *real* mushroom was in the incident at hand.

To wit, I once got into a discussion with someone I met at a happy hour who got very ill from eating chanterelles. I figured he was made the classic mistake of consuming jack-o-lanterns, but nope. From his description of what he ate, I'm 99% certain he ate a bunch of poisonous russulas. And yet he was quite certain that he had just got a "bad batch" of chants.

[teal50]

Here the link I used to find them. You will see a list by year...look under the 2013 NAMA Toxicology Committee Report for 2013, etc. Under 2009 there is also another interesting document labeled "Mushroom Mysteries:Was This a Mushroom Poisoning?"

These reports are quite interesting as you will see some common "edible" mushrooms mentioned. As you indicated, many of these could simply be mis-identification and probably are. Others look like individuals who developed true hypersensitivity reactions that they may have developed over time.

I am a bit concerned over the Leccinum mentions. Have eaten those for some time with no issues. May be dropping them, as there are plenty of others available.

[JP Z]

Here is the link to the file Linky

[JP Z]

my favorite part so far "One intrepid mushroom collector, determined to

eat everything he brought home, no

matter how long it had lingered in the refrigerator, repeatedly learned that eating heavily maggot

-

riddled decaying mushrooms can lead to several hours on and leaning over the porcelain throne. "

[teal50]

Oops, sorry...thanks for providing the link I forgot to post:

Here it is also: http://www.namyco.org/publications/mcilvainea/mcil_past.html

[teal50]

That one was amusing! Amazing what some folks will do.

[JP Z]

I also saw how 2 people died after eating mushrooms.........because they hallucinated and jumped out a 15 story window. That one isn't the mushroom's fault.

[Stick in Mud]

I also saw how 2 people died after eating mushrooms.........because they hallucinated and jumped out a 15 story window. That one isn't the mushroom's fault.

Maybe they thought that was why it was called the FLY agaric?

(Terrible, I know. )