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In the southwestern corner of China, an estimated 400 people of all ages died in the past 30 years of cardiac arrest. Ninety percent of those sudden deaths occurred during the rainy season in July and August.
The suspected culprit—small mushrooms known as Little Whites. Health investigators warned residents about their toxic effects. Deaths from cardiac arrest drastically decreased.
Thousands of varieties of wild mushrooms exist in North America. Of those, some 250 species contain toxins. Eight categories typically divide toxic containing mushrooms based on their toxin chemistry and the symptoms they produce.
The most deadly toxins are found in Death Cap, Destroying Angel, and Deadly Galerina—a little brown mushroom. The body may completely absorb the toxin before symptoms appear six to 24 hours after ingestion. Initial symptoms mimic those of influenza or a stomach virus: nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea. Symptoms tend to subside after 24 hours, followed quickly by liver and kidney failure. Coma, debilitating liver/kidney damage, or death often occurs. Regardless of treatment, many surviving victims never fully recover.
Several varieties, including species of gilled mushrooms, cause intestinal irritations that are more troublesome than fatal. Symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps appear within an hour after eating. These toxins don’t affect everyone the same, and some who consume the same quantity remain free of illness.
A few species of mushrooms contain toxins that cause visual disturbance, difficulty breathing, and a drop in blood pressure. Symptoms occur within 30 minutes and usually abate within 24 hours. Atropine is used to treat these toxins.
Several species—Fly Agaric, Panther, and others—produce toxins that affect the central nervous system and cause delirium and manic behavior. Symptoms occur from 30 minutes to two hours after ingestion and last for four hours or more.
Species of mushrooms with other types of toxins cause similar symptoms of some of those listed above. Whether eaten cooked or raw or consumed concurrently with alcohol determines reactions to other varieties of mushrooms.
Many families enjoy mushroom hunts during the damp spring days. Some wild varieties are edible, but many containing toxins closely resemble harmless varieties. To be safe, avoid wild mushrooms.
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