How to tell Yellow knight from Tiger tricholoma

Severe gastrointestinal poisoning — the most common serious mushroom poisoning in some regions of Europe (France, Italy, Switzerland, and in part Ukraine).

Active toxins: not precisely identified; probably a mixture of heat-labile and heat-stable irritants of the intestinal lining, possibly including the tyrosine-pyridine group and sesquiterpenes. Boiling does not neutralize them completely.

Latency period: 1-3 hours after eating (average 1.5 h).

Symptoms: Sudden severe nausea and repeated vomiting (often every 10-15 min during the first hours) Watery diarrhea, sometimes with traces of blood Severe cramping abdominal pain Profuse sweating, tachycardia, hypotension from dehydration Cold extremities, oliguria (reduced urine output) with severe dehydration In children and the elderly — rapid development of collapse and kidney failure

Duration: 24-72 h in mild cases, up to 4-5 days in severe ones. Full recovery usually takes 7-10 days. Among healthy adults there are practically no deaths, but deaths have been reported in children under 5 and in people over 70 with cardiovascular disease, due to complications of dehydration.

First aid — call an ambulance IMMEDIATELY (112 or your local emergency number): 1. Do NOT induce vomiting (the person is already vomiting profusely). 2. Rehydration — oral rehydration salts (Regidron) if the person can swallow; intravenous rehydration in hospital is the mainstay of treatment. 3. Save a sample of the mushroom (fresh or from vomit) so a toxicologist can identify it. 4. With severe dehydration — hospital treatment with monitoring of electrolytes, kidneys and the cardiovascular system. 5. Antibiotics are not needed (this is not infectious gastroenteritis). 6. Symptomatic treatment: for severe nausea — metoclopramide, for pain — antispasmodics; antidiarrheals (loperamide) are contraindicated in the first 12 h because they slow the elimination of toxins.

The prognosis is good with adequate rehydration; deaths are isolated and have been reported mainly in risk groups (children under 5, people over 70).

ABSOLUTE RULE: do NOT PICK large gray knights with scales. If a suspicious large, scaly gray one turns up in your basket of knights, throw out the WHOLE basket (spore dust may have cross-contaminated the other mushrooms).