# Can mushroom poison travel through your finger tips?



## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

Noticed a pink mushroom growing amongst my oregano. Picked it up but didn't want to just toss it, as didn't want my dog getting curious about it and picking it up with his mouth, so I held on to it till I got back in the house to toss it in the trash. While holding it, my finger tips started to tingle where they contacted the mushroom. I looked at the under side, and it didn't have radial vents, but hundreds of little holes instead. When my fingers started tingling, I rushed into the house to throw it away and wash my hands with soap and water. Immediately started feeling nauseous and lightheaded. Was this poison, and did it enter my system through my finger tips? Thanks.


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## BrahmaMama (Nov 12, 2005)

Wierd! I suppose anything is possible. We should look it up. Going to google now........


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

For sure,psylocybin(sp?) from picking "magic"mushrooms can,but it takes a day of heavy picking,to the point that your ffingers are purple to get any effect.


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## Jillis (Sep 11, 2005)

Real Hawkeye said:


> Noticed a pink mushroom growing amongst my oregano. Picked it up but didn't want to just toss it, as didn't want my dog getting curious about it and picking it up with his mouth, so I held on to it till I got back in the house to toss it in the trash. While holding it, my finger tips started to tingle where they contacted the mushroom. I looked at the under side, and it didn't have radial vents, but hundreds of little holes instead. When my fingers started tingling, I rushed into the house to throw it away and wash my hands with soap and water. Immediately started feeling nauseous and lightheaded. Was this poison, and did it enter my system through my finger tips? Thanks.


GASP! Oh no! You've been colonized by a parasitical alien life form that will soon take over your body and evict your soul!


Actually, I have no idea. :shrug:


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

what is your location? i will try to look it up. is the info given on the mushroom all that you can remember? it was spong-like on the underside, and pink. did it have any other features such as a ring of flesh on the stem? are there others growing anywhere nearby? what do the small ones look like as they emerge from the ground?


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## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

Jillis said:


> GASP! Oh no! You've been colonized by a parasitical alien life form that will soon take over your body and evict your soul!
> 
> 
> Actually, I have no idea. :shrug:


You had me worried there for a minute.


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## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

MELOC said:


> what is your location? i will try to look it up. is the info given on the mushroom all that you can remember? it was spong-like on the underside, and pink. did it have any other features such as a ring of flesh on the stem? are there others growing anywhere nearby? what do the small ones look like as they emerge from the ground?


It looked like a little pink new potato, and that's what color it was on top. Weren't anymore. Here's a couple of images. The bottom is sponge like and sulfur yellow, but the color doesn't come through well in my photo. 









And


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## BrahmaMama (Nov 12, 2005)

Well, I googled like crazy, found lots of stuff on poisonous shrooms of course, but nothing about poison absorbtion (sp) through the skin. :shrug:


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## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

BrahmaMama said:


> Well, I googled like crazy, found lots of stuff on poisonous shrooms of course, but nothing about poison absorbtion (sp) through the skin. :shrug:


Thanks for doing the research. Does the picture in the previous post tell you anything?


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## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

I tried punching the words Transdermal, Mushroom and Toxin, thinking I'd find something on Google, but didn't either. Maybe it doesn't happen and it was just my imagination. Sure felt tingling and nausea though.


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## BrahmaMama (Nov 12, 2005)

Real Hawkeye said:


> I tried punching the words Transdermal, Mushroom and Toxin, thinking I'd find something on Google, but didn't either. Maybe it doesn't happen and it was just my imagination. Sure felt tingling and nausea though.


Well, you could be allergic...?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

for now, all i know is it is a boletus. there are many. i have seen these and handled them. i would not worry too much. i think most dangerous alkaloids that are produced by fungus affect the liver and or kidneys. if you start having abdominal pain, that would be a sign you may need help. i doubt that even if you handled a poisonous fungi it would be enough to harm you. if you were to rub it into your skin and over a large area, it may be dangerous. i would not worry.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

there are so many web sites that research is proving difficult. there are 150+ varieties of boletus in north america.

in general, if it turns blue when bruised, it may be poisonous. that is not always the case i gather. if you still have it check it out. maybe you could cut it in half. if it turns bluish or greenish, it may be poisonous. unless you have ingested it, i still would not worry.


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## Island of Blueb (Sep 20, 2005)

Boletus. If the pores are red, or turn blue when bruised, it is poisonous, I was taught in mushroom identification class. And if the color is accurate in your pic, it has turned blue where there is a bruise in the lower right. 

Yes, you can absorb the poison by touching them, or even by inhaling the fumes of certain mushrooms.


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## Island of Blueb (Sep 20, 2005)

Were there any stinging nettles in the area that you could have brushed your fingers against? Another thought, you could have an allergy to this particular mushroom. I doubt that you absorbed enough to be a health hazard, just pay attention to how you are feeling, if the numbness spreads to other limbs or your nose and lips, I would go to the ER. Good luck dear.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

nevermind


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## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

Thanks for the concern. I guess I should have said earlier that the nausea subsided shortly after disposing of the mushroom. At this point I am wondering if it was a psychosomatic symptom, since I suspected it was poisonous from the moment I saw it, and was reluctant to pick it up due to concerns about potential toxicity. The mind can play tricks on one.


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## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

Island of Blueb said:


> I was taught in mushroom identification class.


Island, I seem to recall learning or reading somewhere that if the mushroom has no colors other than shades of white to brown and the bottom has straight radial vents, then it is safe to eat. Is that correct?


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## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> Island of Blueb -please identify your source as to those mushrooms which are inhalant poisonous or absorbed toxicity. Thats not what we were taught. I'd love to hear what mushrooms these are you are referring to.


I believe there are _molds_ that can be toxic on inhalation. Maybe that's what Island was referring to.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

Real Hawkeye said:


> Island, I seem to recall learning or reading somewhere that if the mushroom has no colors other than shades of white to brown and the bottom has straight radial vents, then it is safe to eat. Is that correct?



absolutely wrong! some of the deadliest mushrooms are white and can be found in most every lawn. google the amanita family of fungi.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Amanivi.htm


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## Real Hawkeye (Jul 5, 2005)

MELOC said:


> absolutely wrong! some of the deadliest mushrooms are white and can be found in most every lawn. google the amanita family of fungi.
> 
> http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Amanivi.htm


So, there are some poison mushrooms that have _both_ features, i.e., radial vents underneath _and_ shades of white or brown? I think it was an army survival manual that I read that in, by the way. 

I used to work, in a supervisory capacity, with Ukrainian immigrants. We worked outdoors, and every morning they'd start the day by heading into the woods looking for wild edible mushrooms to put in their car trunks for dinner that evening. Often they'd come back with huge white mushroom balls somewhere in size between a soft ball and a soccer ball, and other huge and odd shaped fungi found growing on dead trees. They told me that in Ukraine, just about everybody hunts for wild mushrooms. Something they learn when they're kids. They seemed surprised that anyone would leave all those great mushrooms in the forest without picking them. I declined their offer to take some, as I was raised to avoid wild mushrooms, which is a shame. Would be neat to know how to pick them. These guys stayed healthy enough.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i eat puffballs sometimes. if you get them small enough they are real good, i have seen some of the big ones infested with worms or millipedes and such. i think the texture of the puffballs is something that works well in a soup!


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## Island of Blueb (Sep 20, 2005)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> Island of Blueb -please identify your source as to those mushrooms which are inhalant poisonous or absorbed toxicity. Thats not what we were taught. I'd love to hear what mushrooms these are you are referring to.


I went to Google and got this:

The Gyromitra esculenta is considered poisonous, but can be consumed if boiled for 20-30 minutes and the water discarded, according to Slavic literature, and can be used to supplement or replace morel (see Morchellaceae below) mushrooms, while Western literature claims that even the fumes of the mushroom are dangerous. It is similar to morels both in appearance and palatability.

What I remember they told us a scenario in class- It was a factory in France where they were canning mushrooms, and workers were falling over dead, they finally found that it was a result of inhaling the fumes from the cooking mushrooms. The mushrooms were not poisonous, just the fumes. This was emphasized. Of course I can't remember which mushroom this was, figures. HTH.

Glad you are fine, RealHawkeye!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

the false morel. i have heard it described as "a twisted, convoluted brain" in appearance. they look like cappies (semilberilla) when young. the stems are normally whiter. i heard you need to parboil them once or twice before eating them.


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## Kee Wan (Sep 20, 2005)

About all I can add to this disucssion is that EVERYONE is different. Medications adn diet affect your bodies immune system adn the skin is the first line of defense. More chemicals are absorbable through the skin than ANYONE knows about. 

While this particular mushroom may be toxic, and it may have some transdermal toxicology - the extent to which it affects a given person is totally dependant on the state of thier immune system and the total load on that system at the time..... (this - among other factors - is the reason tha tsome are alergic and others are not, and why some people react to alergens to a greater or lesser degree than others)

Another thing may be if you had had your hands in something that altered the permeability of the skin on your fingertips temporarily (water does this - along with any solvent) - this could have made a "channel" for the stuff to ride in on better.....

WHo knows?

So - the short answer is, it may be toxic, and the obvious answer is don't touch another.


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## pepper (May 10, 2002)

hullo all !
if you would like to hunt wild mushrooms for dinner may i suggest checking out a copy from the library of "all that the rain promises" or "mushrooms demystified" by the demigod of fungus mr. davis arora?
when i attended a lecture by him he stated there are no contact toxins in mushrooms, since this guy has named new mushrooms i'll take his word for it. 
fyi boletes are one of the safest types of mushies for the table & one of the few i can regularly find down here too! blue staining does not mean it is toxic it is one of several steps used to identify which type it is.

mr. realhawkeye, go back where you found this one & you should find more. break off a cap ,place it on a white paper & cover it with an over turned bowl or such to keep wind off of it & you will get a spore print. fun & also used for id.
& i would agree with your diagnosis of mushroom psychosis, very common for people raised to fear 'toadstools'.
the wild mushroom i start people out on is the oyster , easy to find [up on trees]& identify, no toxic look alikes & tasty! good luck & good foraging.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Boletes is the only mushroom that I've actually picked in Europe! While visiting a friend in Sweden one time, we went for a walk in the local forest. There, it was a normal thing for any hiker to take along his mushroom-collecting bag. And we did find some! Boletes is easily identified by the lack of gills. As far as I know, they are the only mushrooms which have that feature.

www.mssf.org/cookbook/boletes.html

Martin


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## pepper (May 10, 2002)

mr. paqbot!
long time no see, my fault i'm sure. hey, did you see the post over in gardening that said she had weird beans, 3 diff. colours i think she said, did you give her some of your majic bean mix? lol!
i tell everybody that mardi gras did not leave my garden, thank you for the gift of seeds sweetie! 
& i think you are right about the gills on the classic mushroom shape but there are lots of mushies that have no gills, puff balls,lionshead,& conks come to mind.
aaa, the more i talk about foraging the hungrier i get for a big mess of chantrells...mr. p i know you don't have any space left in your garden but you could start a mushroom log inside...


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/rules_for_boletes.html


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