Gastrointestinal Irritants
The most frequent form of mushroom poisoning is caused by a wide variety of gastrointestinal irritants. The symptoms usually appear within 20 minutes to 4 hours of ingesting the mushrooms, and include nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea, which normally pass after the irritant had been expelled. Severe cases may require hospitalization. Supportive treatment may include attempts to eliminate the irritants. In all cases where there has been vomiting and diarrhea, measures to replace lost fluids and electrolytes are important. Recovery is complete, though a bout with severe gastro-intestinal distress may put one off ever eating mushrooms again! IMPORTANT: If the gastrointestinal distress begins 6 to 24 hours after ingestion of the mushrooms, there is a possibility of a very serious toxicity from Amatoxins (see Amanitin). GI onset of 4-11 hours with impaired kidney function could be due to Allenic Norleucine (2-amino-4,5-hexadienoic acid). GI onset greater that 24 hours and up to 21 days could be due to Orellanine.