New Jersey has seen a spike in mushroom poisonings for the second summer in a row due to soaking rains and soaring temperatures, officials said this week.
The New Jersey Poison Control Center has received 38 reports of mushroom poisonings since July 1. Of those,13 were serious enough to warrant visits to the emergency room.
"We're having a hell of a summer again," Bruce Ruck, managing director of the Poison Control Center, said Wednesday. "Our phone has been ringing almost every day with another case."
The Poison Control Center, a division of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, had seen a few dozen cases each summer before last year, when wet weather caused an explosion of wild mushrooms that led to a rash of poisonings.
Patients complained of intense vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration. Mushroom poisoning can also damage vital organs like the liver and even lead to death.
The Poison Control Center has fielded calls from 15 counties so far this summer. The ages of those poisoned ranged from a 9-month-old to a 70-year-old.
"The kid was on the lawn and just grabbed a mushroom," Ruck said of the 9-month-old. "It’s not uncommon for little children to do it when the adults are not looking. Any toddler that puts his or her hands in her mouth is susceptible."
any toxic mushrooms resemble edible ones. For instance, the poisonous Jack O'Lantern mushroom found in New Jersey can easily resemble an edible chanterelle. Eating even a few bites of certain mushrooms can cause severe illness.
“Even experienced mushroom pickers are fooled by toxic look-a-likes at times,” said Dr. Diane Calello, executive director of the Poison Control Center.
