In the absence of identification of an offending mushroom the physician must consider any presentation resulting from ingestion of mushrooms serious and possibly lethal and appropriate treatment, if required, initiated as soon as possible. Once a mushroom is identified and the toxicity determined, treatment can be directly supportive toward that particular toxin. Even if a mushroom is considered to be deadly, death is not absolute, nor will it occur in minutes. All mushroom poisonings and toxins can be treated and remedies, for the most part, are successful. Treatments discussed following are of a general nature. Specific therapy depends on the toxin ingested and associated complications should be treated according to the current standard of care. If at all possible, examples of the mushroom ingested should be available for identification. The mushroom should be placed in a paper bag or waxed paper (not a plastic bag) and refrigerated until examination. If no one at the emergency department is qualified to make an ID, the poison control center should be contacted. NAMA has a web site that lists the names and telephone numbers of consults that are available to help with mushroom identification if mushroom poisoning is suspected. This is a free service offered by NAMA. The list may be found at: https://namyco.org/mushroom_poisoning_identifiers.php.
