Don’t eat these mushrooms! Ohio medical community sees influx of sick people

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) -Several Ohio medical agencies are sounding the alarm after people are getting sick from eating wild mushrooms.

The region has seen a wet summer and mushrooms are popping up just about everywhere in nature.

University Hospitals (UH) has already treated more patients this year than in all of 2022, according to Dr. Pierre Gholam, the Medical Director at the Liver Center of Excellence at UH.

They’ve also seen the influx earlier this year than in the past, when October is generally the bad month.

The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has also put out an alert saying, “Ohio Poison Centers are currently seeing multiple patients who have reported eating mushrooms foraged from a public area in Ohio. Their symptoms and medical evaluation are consistent with having eaten highly toxic mushrooms.”

In 2018, several people in Summit County became very ill after eating wild mushrooms, and that agency is reminding people what to do if you find them in your yard.

• Do not consume the mushrooms; they can be deadly.
• Carefully disposing of wild mushrooms will likely help stop the spread.
• Remove the mushroom from the ground as soon as you see the cap.
• Put the mushroom in a plastic bag, tie the bag up tightly, and throw away the bag in the trash can.
• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.

If someone has eaten a wild mushroom and has any symptoms, immediately contact the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.

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