Hi
I was a lover of mushrooms until 4 years ago when I nearly died. It start small nausea, sweating, loose bowels. that was the first sign of a problem being a chef I was stuffing 2500 mushrooms for a large party. I started to feel strange kind of itchy but a strange kind of itchy the bottoms of my feet felt itchy but also like they were burned and the burn was exposed to heat, then it started to feel like fire ants were crawling up my legs and arms starting at my finger tips, then my face felt very,very, hot and itchy.
they I passed out. woke up in the ambulance ect, ect,.

Yes Allergies to Mushrooms can come on suddenly, I use to eat portabella mushrooms grilled and in salads on meats in sauce ect. the Doctors are finding more , and more cases coming into the ERs as I found out today when I was being treated more mushroom exposer for the second time in 2 days. I'm a chef and mushrooms are not allowed the kitchen I work in but in the last 3 months we have had 4 headchefs come and go and it's really strange how they just don't understand the seriousness of this allergy. With each exposure My systems become worst. the ER Doctors are really puzzled by the behavior of the chef's in charge. today they had to write in my instruction for returning to work that I was Not to enter any kitchen at work that allowed mushrooms and that repeated exposure to mushrooms or mushroom spores can lead to sudden irreversable death.
So I guess I will have to look for another line of work. While the kitchen was adhearing to the no mushrooms in this kitchen rule I was fine, but now well you get the picture Chef A

Mushrooms are not just a food now. Remember they are now being used in skin care lines such as some of the Aveno skin care products. It's a nightmare when I go for my annual mammogram as I usually have to go through at least 2 technicians before I find one that is not using Aveno with Shitake mushrooms on their skin or one that is not taking a mushroom supplement tablet every morning for anti-oxidant purposes.

My allergist told me a person can develop an allergy (yes, even severe) at any time to any thing. I ate mushrooms for 31 years. One day, 20-30 minutes after eating some mushrooms on a salad, I doubled over with stomach cramps and had blow out intestinal problems for 3 hours straight, non-stop. I thought immediately of the mushrooms, but thought it was food poisoning. Exact same thing happened 2 months later with 4 slices of mushroom spread over 2 pieces of pizza. A few months later, gave it 1 more try with 1 slice of mushroom -- exact same result. Finally realized I had a severe allergy. Thinking back, for 2 years prior to the first massive reaction, I'd had stomach aches after eating foods that had mushrooms or mushroom powder in the sauce. I never connected the two, just thought it was the rich sauce being too rich for my stomach.

Epipen Injector and Claritan Readitabs (instant melt, enters your system immediately) are now carried with me at all times. I do not eat at all in any restaurant that serves mushrooms. Restaurants (especially fast-food where there are flat grills and several things cooked on the same grill) do not understand the cross-contamination issue. Made to order omelet bar at a buffet -- out of question since someone before me likely had mushrooms in their omelet. Salad bar -- even if I skip the mushrooms, most restaurants tell me they chop all the veggies on the same cutting board early in the morning without washing the board in between different vegetables.

Asked my allergist if I was being paranoid, and he said I was doing exactly what I should be doing. He then cited ER stories of patients who were less diligent or restaurants that were less diligent and patients were exposed to their trigger allergen through cross-contamination incluing kissing their spouse who'd eaten something early in the morning to which the patient was
allergic (and reacting even though spouse had had other meals and drinks since then).

As mushrooms gain popularity, my joy of eating out diminishes. And while I do not hestiate to shake hands with men in business, church, etc., settings, any time I shake hands with a woman, I head to the ladies room and wash my hands immediately in case they use lotions, etc., with shrooms in them. And then I use a paper towel to open the door to exit because, what do women do the ladies room after washing their hands? You guessed it, they often apply a fresh layer of whatever lotion they carry in their purse!

I used to eat mushrooms all the time, then I started getting really tired after eating them. It never even occurred to me that I was allergic. It was only in hindsight that we realized I had been having reactions. One time my friends had to violently shake me to get me to wake up, and again we just thought I was really tired for some other reason. Then one day I took a bite out of a stuffed mushroom (don't even remember stuffed with what, I don't think I even got to the center of the mushroom) and my throat closed up and I missed a couple breaths. Luckily, I recovered on my own, but was really tired the rest of the night. A skin test confirmed the allergy. I have also developed sudden allergies to shrimp, clams, and various drugs.