Whole family hospitalized, one person died from eating poisonous mushrooms

(HNMO) - On the evening of June 8, Cho Ray Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City) informed about 3 members of the same family in Tay Ninh who were poisoned after eating wild mushrooms.

Previously, on June 4, Mr. H, born in 1980, went into the forest to pick mushrooms and stir-fry them with squash for his wife and 17-year-old daughter to eat. He ate the most, about half of the mushrooms and squash, while his wife and daughter ate the rest.

The 17-year-old girl has shown signs of improvement.

About 8-12 hours after eating, all 3 people had signs of stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea many times and it got worse. At about 2am the next morning, 3 people were taken to the local hospital and then transferred to Cho Ray Hospital on June 6.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thuy Ngan, Deputy Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases, said that when admitted to the hospital, the husband had difficulty breathing and respiratory failure, and was intubated and given a balloon pump. However, due to severe poisoning, Mr. H died in the Emergency Department. His wife and daughter were transferred to the Department of Tropical Diseases in a state of acute liver failure, very high liver enzymes, and blood clotting disorders.

“We suspect the symptoms are due to poisoning after eating mushrooms. Currently, we have not determined what mushroom or toxin the patients were poisoned with because we need more time to collect information from the families,” said Dr. Ngan.

Mr. H's wife is still undergoing liver rehabilitation treatment.

After 2 days of treatment, Mr. H's son improved slightly but still needed to be monitored for liver function and blood clotting disorders. His wife was still in critical condition, with worsening liver dysfunction. Doctors performed resuscitation measures such as blood filtration and liver support treatment, with a very cautious prognosis.

Dr. Ngan added that, according to the patient, this was the second time the family had eaten this type of mushroom. Since the first time they ate it, there were no symptoms, so the family continued to use it this year.

Doctors advise people to be careful when using wild mushrooms when they do not fully understand them. There have been many cases of people mistakenly eating poisonous mushrooms and getting mushroom poisoning. Especially, the rainy season is the time when many types of mushrooms grow the most. In addition, wild mushrooms, although not poisonous, can still be contaminated with toxins from other wild mushrooms or poisonous animals, and the toxins stick to the mushrooms.

“Cases of mushroom poisoning will progress very quickly and can be life-threatening. Therefore, if people have symptoms of suspected mushroom poisoning, they should immediately go to medical facilities for timely examination and treatment,” Dr. Ngan advised.

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