05.12.2025 17:35
Experts emphasize that not every mushroom in nature should be consumed. Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Güngör Sitar stated that in the last month, 60 people in Istanbul have sought hospital treatment due to mushroom poisoning, saying, "One should not consume any mushrooms that have grown in the wild. Because there is no guarantee. It is so dangerous that our ancestors even named mushrooms 'Village passer', 'Death angel', and 'Destroyer angel'. Last week, three people from the same family were poisoned."
In the last month, 60 people in Istanbul have applied to hospitals due to mushroom poisoning. Experts have warned citizens to be cautious about mushrooms. Dr. Güngör Sitar, an Internal Medicine Specialist at Sancaktepe Ilhan Varank Training and Research Hospital, also highlighted the dangers of mushroom poisoning.
"NAMES LIKE 'VILLAGE POISONER', 'ANGEL OF DEATH', 'DESTROYER ANGEL' HAVE EVEN BEEN GIVEN" Dr. Sitar stated: "Recently, especially with the onset of autumn, there has been a significant increase in mushroom poisonings. The prolonged autumn and the delay in the start of winter allow mushrooms to exist in nature for a longer time. Our people, taking advantage of the nice weather, unfortunately, see these mushrooms while going out for walks, picnics, and end up collecting and consuming them. Consumption of these mushrooms is very risky and dangerous. Consequently, there are emergency room visits due to mushroom poisonings. Some of these patients experience serious problems as a result of real mushroom poisoning. We try to admit these patients and follow them with all the treatments we can provide. The species known as amanita and galerina are particularly common and poisonous mushrooms. These mushrooms are also present in Turkey. The amanita species closely resembles the white cultivated mushrooms we buy in markets. The galerina species also closely resembles the famous kanlıca mushroom in our country. I can say that these pose a significant danger.
These mushrooms are actually plants that spread their spores in the open air. We have had patients who claimed to have collected mushrooms from the same place for many years, insisting they were the same type. It is highly likely that the spores of the mushrooms we mentioned have somehow reached this area. These spores can spread so easily that they can even stick to the legs of insects and birds, being transported to overseas locations. The spores breed alongside similar mushrooms in this area, leading to a kind of deception for the public. Because they say, 'We have been collecting here for years, we eat them, and there has never been a problem.' However, a very similar poisonous mushroom species can completely disrupt all plans. Mushrooms grown in the open air should never be consumed. Because there is no guarantee. In fact, they are so dangerous that our ancestors even named these mushrooms 'village poisoner', 'angel of death', 'destroyer angel'. They are very innocent and beautiful-looking mushrooms. Even when people first eat them, they find them delicious. However, serious symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain begin to appear within approximately 5 to 24 hours after consumption. Patients then apply to our emergency services. When they provide a typical history and we suspect mushroom poisoning, we immediately start their treatment aggressively, even with just clinical applications, without waiting for their blood tests to be disrupted. We urgently put these patients on dialysis. After dialysis, we monitor their biochemical data and the clinical status of the disease.
"THEY ENTERED SEVERE LIVER FAILURE" Dr. Güngör Sitar reported that three people from the same family were poisoned last week, stating, "I would like to provide information on this matter. Because the father of the affected family collected the mushrooms. He told us that it was a place he usually collects from. They were white mushrooms. He gave us a history that a few of them were slightly yellowish. When we matched this with our scientific knowledge, we thought it was amanita. Because amanita closely resembles cultivated mushrooms. The adult forms tend to be a bit more yellowish. It has a small fleshy structure under its cap. Since they grew alongside normal other mushrooms, they assumed they were the same and consumed them. This mushroom is very dangerous. The course of our patients was very severe. When these patients came to the emergency room, we immediately intervened and put them on dialysis. Despite putting them on dialysis, their general condition continued to worsen on the second day. Liver failure and kidney failure can lead to transplantation. This happened with our patients as well. They entered severe liver failure. One of the patients was a young 22-year-old. We referred him to Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital, where he could be transplanted in case of severe liver failure. We also referred the other patient and the father to Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital. We followed the female patient ourselves because they were patients that required intensive resources. There is a drug produced as an antidote for the toxin specific to this amanita species from other hospitals. We obtained it under the name Legalon. Frankly, we pressed all the buttons to save these patients. We also put our patients on repeated dialysis. I can say that in the past month, there have been about 50 to 60 patients. We put almost all of them on dialysis. Some were saved with a single dialysis, while others required two. Some, like the patients we experienced last week, had a more severe course. Many actually responded to treatment. But the fact is that if these patients had not reached treatment, they would have definitely faced life-threatening risks," he said.
"MUSHROOMS SOLD OPENLY IN BASKETS SHOULD NOT BE CONSUMED" Güngör Sitar stated, "Especially in mushrooms we buy from open-air markets, if they are piled on the counter without any packaging, label, or information about the product, or if they are mushrooms that have been personally collected and sold openly in baskets, they should definitely not be consumed. We should not consume them ourselves either. These mushrooms can easily be confused with others. A good mycologist (mushroom expert) can only distinguish them by their appearance, texture, smell, and even fragility. If one of us or one of the collectors is not such an expert, it is best not to get involved in this at all."Anadolu yakasında Taşdelen, Aydos Ormanı, Beykoz ve Şile'de ormanlarda özellikle insanların çok çok toplayarak geldiğini görüyorum. Bu bölgede şimdi mevsimde özellikle şu an biraz daha ılıman seyrettiği için mantar popülasyonunda artış var. Dolayısıyla zehirlenme vakalarında da artış görüldü. Zaten geçtiğimiz haftalarda ciddi sıkıntılar yaşayan çeşitli haberler de duyduk. O yüzden bu konuda koruyucu olmak adına kültür mantarı dışında, kesinlikle açık havadan toplanmış, toplanma şüphesi olan bir mantarı tüketmememiz gerekiyor" dedi.
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