06 Aug Do you have mushrooms in your yard? What you need to know.

Wild mushrooms growing in your backyard can be a serious problem. Many mushrooms are poisonous and can cause bodily harm to your child and/or pets. By learning more about the presence of wild mushrooms in your yard, you can protect your family from poisoning.

The Basics

Mushrooms are produced by a variety of fungi types during rainy time periods when spores can germinate. These mushrooms can grow in your yard with some being toxic. Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell the difference between poisonous mushrooms and non- poisonous ones unless you are an expert. Therefore, it is important to remove all mushrooms growing in your yard to decrease the likelihood that your child or pet is poisoned.

Symptoms of Poisoning

In order to determine whether your child or pet has mushroom poisoning, here are some common symptoms. The most common symptoms of minor exposure include vomiting, gastrointestinal discomfort, and diarrhea. However, highly toxic mushrooms see symptoms like agitation, excessive salivation, hallucination, and/or death resulting from liver failure. In dogs, the early symptoms of liver failure will be yellow gums.

Poisoning Treatment

In the event that your child has been poisoned by mushrooms, call a health care provider or take them to the hospital emergency room. Be sure to collect samples of the mushroom your child ate before leaving for the hospital and give the mushrooms to the appropriate healthcare official. Your child’s healthcare provider will be able to determine the nature and extent of the poisoning so treatment can be administered.

If you believe that your dog has been subjected to mushroom poisoning, you should contact your veterinarian immediately. Make sure to collect samples of the mushrooms that your dog ate for the vet.  Doing so can provide the vet with important information regarding what type of poisoning has transpired. To prevent your pet from further illness, the vet can have him or her drink milk or water mixed with a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide for every 15 pounds of weight.