Can you spot a safe mushroom from a toxic one?
Not even experts in fungi toxicology can all of the time. This was the case in Mackay recently when an inter-state expert was sent photos to identify.
Mackay Base Emergency Department emergency medicine specialist Dr Helen Deacon said the mushrooms in question had a pale creamy top and salmon coloured gills, looking identical to safe market bought varieties.
Expert advice was sought after presentations from several people with gastrointestinal upset after eating mushrooms.
Mackay and Proserpine emergency doctors are warning people not to eat mushrooms picked from the roadside or paddocks following recent heavy rain.
Both hospitals have treated patients who picked wild mushrooms and suffered severe abdominal cramping, vomiting and diarrhoea over many hours.
None were chasing a hallucinogenic experience and instead cooked them up in butter to eat on toast or added to their meal.
Dr Deacon said the affects included extreme gastrointestinal upset that required an overnight stay in hospital on a drip to treat dehydration from the multiple vomits.
“Some mushrooms are poisonous and at worst lethal. There can also be delayed liver damage from the toxic effect,” Dr Deacon said.
She said it was helpful if people could bring in the type of mushrooms they ate to help identify the risk they faced.
Proserpine’s Dr Shaun Grimes said visitors to the Whitsundays, particularly those from Europe, often fell victim to the lure of the wrong mushroom.
“Eating wild mushrooms has caused neurological, cardiac and gastroenterological issues, and has also caused death,” Dr Grimes said.
“Often people look for wild mushrooms thinking that they are naturally grown and better for them,” he said.
Dr Grimes said with many poisonous mushrooms in Australia it was best to stick with the supermarket variety which were nutritious and safe.
“Visitors to our region need to remember Australia is not Europe. We want people to enjoy Australia and take home only great memories of their visit,” he said.
More Information
Danielle Jesser, Media and Communications Manager
mhhs-comms@health.qld.gov.au
Phone 0417 756 221
