Mushroom Poisoning Cases Spike, Chester Officials Share Safety Tips

CHESTER, NJ — Cases of poisoning by wild mushrooms have spiked recently, and Chester Borough officials are sharing safety tips from the Poison Control Center on how you can stay safe.

According to the Poison Control Center, 15 cases of wild mushroom poisoning have been reported since July, some of which have led to serious illnesses and hospitalizations. The incidents have happened all over the state; a Poison Control Center employee told Patch toxic mushrooms are not "local to one county specifically."

The main way to avoid poisoning is to not pick and eat wild mushrooms, poison control officials said. Even seemingly benign mushrooms can be deadly, as many safe-to-eat sprouts have poisonous lookalikes.

"Mushroom exposure are very common in the state of NJ. The issue is that people are eating mushrooms that they find growing outdoors without having them identified first," an employee at NJ Poison Control told Patch. "Generally speaking we do not recommend eating mushrooms growing outside."

“Picking and eating wild mushrooms can be a dangerous game,” Dr. Diane Calello, medical director of the NJ Poison Center, Rutgers NJ Medical School, said in a statement. “Even those who think they can identify a toxic mushroom can be fooled."

If someone does eat a poisonous mushroom, here's what you should do, according to the NJ Poison Center:

• If the person is unconscious, not breathing, seizing, difficult to wake up, or in other medical distress, call 911. Otherwise, call the state poison center at 1-800-222-1222.
• Remove all parts of the mushroom from the persons mouth. Place those bits and any mushrooms in the immediate area in a paper bag (do not use plastic).
• Take a photo of the mushroom. Use an object like a coin or a ruler to provide scale, if possible.

Image: Sulphur tufts mushrooms, Bernard Spragg. NZ, via Flickr