The symptoms of allergic reactions to mushrooms that grow outdoors versus the effects of eating or handling harvested mushrooms both differ and overlap. Mushroom allergies triggered by airborne reproductive spores usually generate nasal health problems, while food allergies to mushrooms affect the skin, respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular systems. Based on their allergy symptoms, patients can distinguish the nature of their illnesses in order to best treat or prevent them.
Features
Mushroom allergies that produce health effects from outdoor exposure can be classified as mold allergies. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that these cause the itchy eyes, runny nose and other signs of seasonal allergic rhinitis.
Less often, touching or ingesting mushrooms while cooking or eating causes food allergies to these fungi. Food allergy symptoms include itching and swelling of the skin, eyes and mouth, as well as nasal congestion. The UMMC notes that stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea and changes in heart rate and blood pressure may also result from allergic reactions to ingested mushrooms.
Effects
Mushroom allergies in adults cannot be cured. Allergy symptoms from inhaling airborne fungal spores will pass when exposure ceases but return when it begins again. As the National Institutes of Health relates, allergy patients will get sick every time they eat or handle mushrooms in normal cases of food mushroom sensitivity. In very rare instances, extreme anaphylactic allergic reactions cause a life-threatening drop in blood pressure and restriction in breathing. Without emergency assistance, the NIH notes, cardiac and respiratory arrest can occur.
Misconceptions
Undiagnosed patients may mistake their health problems from mushroom exposure with other seasonal allergies or persistent colds or flus. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America notes that allergic reactions do not produce fever symptoms, which distinguishes them from viral diseases. Allergies to outdoor molds will not cause symptoms after a killing frost. Physicians can clear up patients' misconceptions by performing skin or blood tests for fungal antibodies.
Solution
To resolve the discomfort of seasonal symptoms from inhaling mushroom spores outdoors, the UMMC suggests using antihistamine, decongestant or nasal steroid medications as needed. Allergy shots occasionally relieve severe mold allergies. Other than emergency epinephrine shots, drug therapies are not considered effective treatments for food-induced mushroom allergies.
Prevention
In addition to using allergy relief drugs, limiting contact with outdoor-growing mushrooms can prevent or reduce the severity of seasonal allergic rhinitis symptoms. The onset of food allergy symptoms, however, cannot be mitigated with medication. The UMMC emphasizes that avoiding eating or handling mushrooms is the only way to prevent health effects in patients with food allergies.
