Question: What is erythromelalgia and with which mushroom species has this condition been associated?
Answer: The cited reference notes “Erythromelalgia is a painful peripheral, inflammatory condition characterized by intense burning pain, redness, and edema of the hands and feet, often intensified by heat and relieved by cold.” These authors further note that “In 1918, Ichimura first described mushroom-induced erythromelalgia in Japan within 3 days of consuming Clitocybe acromelalga mushrooms, which resembled the prized edible mushroom, Lepista inversa (Edible Blewit). In 2001, Saviuc and co-authors reported the first European observations of mush- room-induced erythromelalgia in seven French patients within one to several days of consuming Clitocybe amoenolens (Poison Dwarf Bamboo Mushroom) mushrooms, which resemble the edible mushrooms Lepista inversa (Edible Blewit) and Clitocybe gibba (Common Funnel Cap), in the high alpine meadows of France. (Diaz JH. Syndromic diagnosis and management of confirmed mushroom poisonings. 2005 Crit care Med 33:427-436)