IOTM: Fresh Wild Mushrooms

Anaphylactic shock. A severe allergic reaction.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

That's the dude.

Btw, until I had to know, I'd have never considered mushroom poisoning an allergy. Allergies were what made me sniffle around dogs and hay. Mushroom-related deaths were for stupid people who ate Death Caps. But it's all one and the same.

Jenise,

Two very different factors at work.

Toxic mushrooms such as death angel and fly agaric contain nasty chemical compounds that are toxic to the human liver, nervous system, or other vital parts of the body. They affect everyone--nobody is safe.

Your reaction to Botelus is an extreme allergic reaction, in the same class as allergies to peanuts, shellfish, or bee stings. For most folks, raw porcinis are perfectly safe to eat.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Per my doctor, in my case it may not entirely be two different factors. That is, I have this rare mushroom allergy, and so far as we know it's only to one species. But because my symptoms are identical to those described for mushroom poisoning and not those commonly associated with food allergy (runny nose, itchy eyes, respiratory complications), the name you call it by is immaterial. It's toxic--instantaneous, severe, and could lead to respiratory, liver and cardiovascular failure. How she put it: for everyone, Death Caps are poison. For me, porcinis are too, just perhaps less so. I have yet to eat more than two bites, so we don't know what it would take.