As mushroom foraging in Quebec grows, so do visits to the ER for poisonings
CBC
Armand Uzan feared for his life when he fell violently ill after eating a yellow Boletus he found on Oka beach, about 60 kilometres northwest of Montreal, a few years ago.
"When you throw up like that, you wonder when it's going to stop," he said.
Despite a passion for foraging mushrooms that dates back to childhood outings with his father, he said the experience taught him that, no matter how well you think you know mushrooms, you have to be wary when consuming them.
Quebec doctors are also urging caution, as they've seen a recent spike in mushroom poisonings across the province.
Dr. Guillaume Lacombe says he regularly meets patients struggling with poisoning caused by the consumption of toxic mushrooms picked from all over Quebec. He finds that the phenomenon has grown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people began exploring the outdoors more.
"There has been an increase in the number of calls and in the number of patients presenting to emergency departments," said the emergency specialist at the Centre hospitalier régional de Lanaudière and toxicologist at the Quebec Poison Control Centre.
The centre has received 256 calls this year, from Jan. 1
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