Urgent Request for Information re Death of British Citizen in Thailand

[webfact]

MOPH warns against eating wild mushrooms

BANGKOK, 17 August 2015 (NNT) - The Ministry of Public Health is urging people to be mindful of the type of wild mushroom they are eating during the rainy season, given the number of fatal mushroom poisonings that occur every year.

Public Health Minister Dr. Ratchata Ratchatanawin said people die from eating poisonous mushrooms each year, especially during the rainy season. He said that many people cannot tell deadly mushrooms and nonpoisonous ones apart due to their similar appearance.

The majority of those deaths from mushroom poisoning are found in the Northeast each year. Common symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, seizure, and low blood pressure.

Those who consumed poisonous wild mushrooms normally develop these symptoms within six hours. People have been encouraged to only eat farm-grown mushrooms. The minister also discouraged eating mushrooms with alcohol, which can exacerbate the symptoms.


-- NNT 2015-08-17

[billd766]

The local people up here in rural Thailand have been picking mushrooms themselves and their families before them for more years than the MoPH has been alive. Very few of them or their customers have had problems whereas the city folk who have NO idea or experience may have a problem in picking the wrong type.

I have been eating forest mushrooms for at least 10 years with no ill effects, my wife for years longer than me and older village folks have been eating them for decades with no problems..

[PatOngo]

I was of the opinion that Thai's have been eating and enjoying magic mushrooms for generations, with only a few side effects.

[mikemac]

"The minister also discouraged eating mushrooms with alcohol, which can exacerbate the symptoms."

Wow, the Ministry really does take the fun out of Russian roulette.

[alant]

I am left wondering how one can find out which ones are poisonous (without someone eating them) is there a website or book?

[oneday]

An article like this is useless and incomplete without some decent high quality pictures of the deadly mushrooms or at least some good illustrations.

[zyphodb]

I have not found any websites or books identifying the mushrooms of Thailand,I regularly pick & eat them with my wife & family but they have been doing this all of their lives & it is handed down through the generations, I wouldn't eat anything not oked by them... A good identification book or website is badly needed... Would love to know of one...

[sendintheclowns]

An article like this is useless and incomplete without some decent high quality pictures of the deadly mushrooms or at least some good illustrations.

An article like this is useless, without some decent photos, or illustrations of what IS edible.

Furthermore, .........................where was I ?

[billd766]

I have not found any websites or books identifying the mushrooms of Thailand,I regularly pick & eat them with my wife & family but they have been doing this all of their lives & it is handed down through the generations, I wouldn't eat anything not oked by them... A good identification book or website is badly needed... Would love to know of one...

Try here with pictures of both good and bad mushrooms.

http://www.sjonhauser.nl/thai-mushrooms.html

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=poisonous+mushrooms+in+Thailand&biw=1280&bih=587&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CC4QsARqFQoTCK6pmO70r8cCFVAZjgod75IAzw&dpr=1.5

If you Google poisonous mushrooms in Thailand you will find quite a few references including some links to other websites which AFAIK I am not allowed to post on here.

[White Christmas13]

Well I better get out there and pick a few poisons ones because I have high blood pressure

[Iamemjay]

My Thai wife had virtually her whole immediate family, including husband and daughter, wiped out by eating field mushrooms. They were rural farmers, in Tai style, eating "gathered" food daily - not city folk as suggested previously in this thread. My wife (one only 3 survivor's, but who spent 3 months in hospital) showed me the bad ones and the good ones they are sadly, often mistaken for. I have to say it would take an expert eye to see the difference. We both love eating many different varieties, but never that one, and never buy any mushrooms from roadside stalls.

[Gonsalviz]

I am left wondering how one can find out which ones are poisonous (without someone eating them) is there a website or book?

Ask the locals. They know.