CityNews – The Chiang Mai Provincial Public Health Office has this week issued warnings in regards to eating poisonous mushrooms, picked wild from the forests.
As mushroom season arrives, more and more people are harvesting and eating wild mushrooms themselves.
Doctor Paisarn Thanyavinijkul, a doctor from Chiang Mai Provincial Public Health Centre said that after the North’s first major rainfall of the season, wild mushrooms will begin to grow in the forests.
The Bureau of Disease Control and Contagion reported that 63 people were made ill by poisonous mushrooms during January to February 2014, and another one between January and May 2015.
Common symptoms include nausea, fast heart rates, vomiting, stomach ache and diarrhoea.
The most poisonous mushroom to grow in this area is the Amanita Phalloides (Ra-Ngok-Hin in Thai), that contains two types of poison – Amatoxins and Phallotoxins.
The toxins present can stand a high heat, so usually remain present even after cooking. Symptoms can usually be seen after three hours after eating.
People are advised to avoid harvesting wild mushrooms unless they are trained in the field of mushroom biology.
Notable characteristics of poisonous mushrooms include colours such as red, orange, green and black.
People are advised to avoid old or rotting mushrooms and if any symptoms occur after consuming wild mushrooms, to see a doctor immediately.
In severe cases poisonous mushrooms can cause death.