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Champignon poisoning occurs infrequently, but remains quite real. Even completely edible, healthy mushrooms can be dangerous to the body. You need to know in what cases champignons can cause poisoning, and what to do in such a situation.
What types of champignons are there?
In general, champignons that end up on the dinner table can be divided into several types:
- Forest. These are edible mushrooms, collected independently in the forest, peeled and prepared at home. Forest fruiting bodies are not harmful to health if they were collected in a clean area and if they were not confused with another inedible species during the collection process.
- Store-bought. Champignons are often purchased in stores - these are the most popular mushrooms that can be found on supermarket shelves.Mushrooms for sale are grown on special farms, and if they are fresh and stored according to all the rules, then they are quite safe to eat. Stores sell both raw and canned fruiting bodies.
- False. False champignon poisoning is especially dangerous. You cannot find such mushrooms in a store, but you often come across them in the forest or in spontaneous markets. False champignons are very similar in appearance to real ones and may belong to the same family, but they cannot be eaten. False mushrooms include red-skinned, yellow-skinned and flat-capped champignons, as well as very poisonous pale toadstools.
Even harmless champignons can cause poisoning
In addition, false doubles usually emit an unpleasant aroma of iodine or carbolic acid.
Is it possible to get poisoned by champignon mushrooms?
Although champignons are considered one of the safest mushrooms, even when consumed, poisoning is possible. In this case, poisoning can occur in almost any situation, regardless of the form in which the fruiting bodies hit the table.
What champignons can cause poisoning?
The greatest danger in terms of poisoning are mushrooms collected independently in the forest. Theoretically, you can eat them unprocessed, but you can easily get poisoned by raw champignons; in practice, they often do harm than good.
During their growth, fruiting bodies accumulate many toxic substances in the pulp - this is true even for mushrooms collected in an ecologically clean forest.Fruiting bodies that grow near roads, industrial zones or large populated areas contain even more harmful compounds. That is why it is recommended to boil or fry the fruiting bodies before consumption, in which case most of the toxins will be destroyed by high temperature.
You can be poisoned by fried champignons, despite the temperature treatment. This happens most often when consuming false mushrooms that are accidentally confused with the true ones. But boiled or fried fruit bodies can also lead to poisoning if they are processed incorrectly or eaten when they have already begun to spoil.
Is it possible to get poisoned from store-bought champignons?
Mushrooms grown for sale on special farms are in many ways safer than fruiting bodies brought from the forest. They definitely do not contain harmful toxins in their pulp, since they grow on a clean substrate and do not receive any toxic substances either from the soil or from the water.
Champignons from the store are not always fresh and safe
But, nevertheless, you can be poisoned by store-bought champignons - the symptoms will be the same as with intoxication with wild mushrooms. The greatest danger is posed by fruiting bodies that are too late on the supermarket shelf. If spots appear on the caps, or the plates on the underside have darkened, then you should not buy the product.
Poisoning often occurs due to canned mushrooms from the store. If it is clear that the liquid inside the jar is too cloudy, the mushroom bodies are very dark, and the lid on the container itself is swollen, this indicates that the canned food is spoiled and should not be purchased.
Why can you get poisoned by champignons?
Among the causes of poisoning from edible mushrooms, several main ones can be identified:
- When independently collected, the fruiting bodies were confused with doubles, and thus poisoning from the false champignon occurred.
- The fruiting bodies collected in the forest grew on unfavorable soils and managed to accumulate many toxic substances in their pulp.
- Store-bought mushrooms were stored incorrectly or were left on the shelf for too long, causing them to spoil.
- Canned fruiting bodies were prepared in violation of the technology, or the seal of the jar was broken during storage.
- Fried or boiled fresh mushrooms were left for a long time at room temperature or in the refrigerator, which is why they began to deteriorate and became toxic.
You can be poisoned by fried and pickled fruit bodies
Symptoms and signs of mushroom poisoning
Symptoms of poisoning differ little from standard signs. If a person is poisoned by champignons, then intoxication develops on average 2-6 hours after eating the fruiting bodies, and is manifested by the following symptoms:
- nausea and vomiting;
- severe cramps and pain in the abdomen;
- weakness and cold sweat;
- dizziness and headache;
- recurring diarrhea.
In rare cases, yellowing of the skin may occur; this happens if poisoning has led to toxic damage to the liver.
The danger of mushroom poisoning from champignons
Mushrooms that seem harmless at first glance can lead to very unpleasant consequences when poisoned. Against the background of intoxication, the following often develop:
- dehydration - with severe diarrhea and vomiting, the body loses a large amount of fluid, the process is accompanied by a drop in blood pressure and heart rhythm disturbances;
- acute gastritis - in case of severe poisoning, the mucous membranes of the stomach become inflamed, and if intoxication is not treated, gastritis can become chronic;
- acute pancreatitis - you can be poisoned by fresh champignons so much that it provokes inflammation of the pancreas, which is accompanied by acute pain and fever.
Canned mushrooms are especially dangerous if poisoned
One of the most dangerous consequences of poisoning is botulism, a toxic damage to the nervous system that develops mainly due to the consumption of spoiled canned mushrooms.
Treatment for champignon poisoning
First aid for intoxication with edible mushrooms includes several standard measures:
- If poisoning occurs, it is necessary to induce vomiting and empty the stomach. To do this, you should drink at least 5 glasses of water one after another, and then empty your stomach artificially, preferably several times in a row.
- Toxins that have entered the intestines must be bound and removed from the body; to do this, you should take activated charcoal or Smecta, and then wait for a bowel movement.You can also use a laxative.
- If you are poisoned by mushrooms, you should drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.
If you are poisoned by champignons, you need to remove toxins from the body as soon as possible.
In what cases should you consult a doctor?
In general, in case of any mushroom poisoning, it is recommended to call an ambulance. However, many people prefer not to consult a doctor if they are intoxicated with champignons. Since mushrooms are not poisonous, at first glance it seems that poisoning cannot lead to serious consequences.
However, you should definitely consult a doctor if:
- the poisoning was caused by canned mushrooms, it can lead to the development of deadly botulism;
- symptoms of poisoning do not go away for 2 days or more;
- intoxication is accompanied by a pronounced loss of strength, palpitations and dizziness;
- poisoning occurred in a pregnant woman, a teenager or a person with chronic diseases of the digestive system.
If too many toxic substances enter the body during poisoning, then even champignons will begin to pose a serious threat to human health and life.
Prevention measures
As practice shows, you can be poisoned by champignons, and the signs of intoxication will be very noticeable. But the situation can really be prevented if you follow a few simple recommendations:
- When picking mushrooms in the forest, you should only put in the basket those fruiting bodies whose edibility is beyond doubt. Preference should be given to young champignons.
- Mushrooms should be cooked immediately after harvest, following all the rules for cleaning and heat treatment.
- In the store, you need to evaluate the appearance of the mushrooms, the color of the cap and lower plates, and also look at the expiration dates.
- If you buy mushrooms canned, you need to take champignons in glass jars and check the transparency of the brine and the color of the fruiting bodies inside the jar, and also see if the lid is swollen.
It is recommended to buy champignons only in trusted stores. It is better not to purchase mushrooms in markets or from unfamiliar sellers.
To avoid poisoning from champignons, you must be careful when collecting or purchasing
Conclusion
Poisoning with champignons rarely leads to serious consequences, however, these mushrooms can cause significant harm to health. Before consuming a mushroom product, you need to carefully check its quality, and if there are symptoms of intoxication, try to quickly remove toxins from the body.
