TRENTON — Eating wild mushrooms spawned by the wetter-than-average August weather landed two New Jersey residents in the hospital, according to officials with the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System. One Hunterdon County woman in her mid-40s was hospitalized early this week with vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea after she ate mushrooms plucked from her yard, said Bruce...
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An Amanita mushroom, the type which led to the hospitalization of two New Jersey residents who ate them.TRENTON — Eating wild mushrooms spawned by the wetter-than-average August weather landed two New Jersey residents in the hospital, according to officials with the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System.
One Hunterdon County woman in her mid-40s was hospitalized early this week with vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea after she ate mushrooms plucked from her yard, said Bruce Ruck, director of Drug Information and Professional Education. A patient from Salem County who also ate toxic mushrooms last weekend is being treated in a Pittsburgh hospital with similar symptoms, Ruck said.
Both patients are in critical condition, he added.
"The major point we are trying to get across is it's not safe to eat any of these,'' Ruck said.
The poison center has answered 36 calls about wild mushroom eating since Aug. 1, and at least four people needed hospital care. "We are getting slammed with mushroom calls. All the rain produces perfect growing conditions.''
Poison information officials believe the toxic mushrooms are of the Amanita variety that may look like other harmless strains, but looks can be deceiving, Ruck said. The explosion of wild mushrooms may confuse people who safely consumed similar looking fungi in other countries, or even other states, he said.
"You cannot go by looks alone, Ruck said.
If someone eats an unidentified mushroom, call the NJ Poison Center immediately at 1-800-222-1222. Doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are available around the clock every day.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services also has opened a toll-free hotline to answer any public health questions related to Hurricane Irene-related flooding. The number is: 1-866-234-0964 from 8am to 8pm Monday through Friday and 10am through 5pm over the holiday weekend.
Related coverage:
• NJ Poison Information and Education System warns residents not to eat wild mushrooms
