Do Not Disturb

The summer in our part of the country has been fairly nice. For humans, it's been a good balance of weather. It hasn't given us much time to stew over "this hot, humid weather" or "too much rain." Each week has produced a few good swimming, boating or fishing days, and a few rainy days to replenish the moisture lost during the hot days.

One unusual difference this summer over past summers, has been the overabundance of mushrooms. They have mysteriously poked their heads out of odd places in yards, on forest floors, on trees, and about anywhere else they decide to cling. Interesting as they may be, they are most likely not edible and certainly don't look like your basic maiitake or button variety. Some look downright frightening and some beckon a person closer with their color or odd shape.

For the curious type, researching lawn and garden mushrooms on the web is a must. On one website, over 40 different varieties were identified as growing in a backyard or wooded area. The majority of them were non-poisonous, and eating a couple varieties would result in mild to acute gastrointestinal symptoms. These symptoms are due to ingestion, but what other health symptoms can their presence create?

When you have a moist climate, you generally have mushrooms and other fungal inhabitants. The spores of the fungus can be disturbed easily, sending them airborne, and causing health problems ranging from cough, fever, shortness of breath, fatigue, skin disease, thrush, inner ear infection, and sinus infection. If left untreated, some symptoms of fungal infection may progress to central nervous system malfunction, and potentially major organ and brain infiltration.

Fungal infections related to airborne fungal spores, from mushrooms and other fungi, have occurred for centuries. Within the past two decades, a complex fungus has emerged in the Western United States. It's name - Cryptococcus Gattii (C. gattii). This problematic fungus was discovered in isolated cases on Vancouver Island in the 1990's, and over the past few years is appearing in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. Fortunately, there have been few deaths amongst the hundreds infected by the spores.

These fungal spores typically come from the soil and trees, where the conditions are perfect for the growth of fungus. Some of these fungal spores may stay in isolated areas, some may spread rapidly due to disturbance of the growing environment. Some fungal infections appear only in immunocompromised individuals, and some randomly target healthy individuals with no similar characteristics. With this in mind, the one thing of importance is to monitor your health - if you've had a sharp, irritating cough, persistent fever, and other fungal symptoms for a prolonged period of time - see your healthcare professional. It may take 2-4 months before symptoms occur, too. And, be wary of the environment you are in - step lightly and do not disturb the fungus!