Fungi Grow in Man's Blood After Injecting Self with Shroom Tea

A 30-year-old man found himself hospitalized for up to 22 days after brewing and ingesting 'magic mushroom' by injecting the concoction into his veins. He landed at the hospital's emergency department a few days later with fungus proliferating in his blood.

The man spent 8 days in the ICU (intensive care unit), where he received varied treatments for multisystem organ failure. He is still undergoing treatment out of ICU, receiving a long-term regimen of antifungal and antibiotic medication. All these were outlined and published in detail on January 11 in the Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.

Cause of Psychoactive Effects via Ingestion of Fungus Remains Unknown

This case is yet to reveal if shroom tea injection can bring about continual psychoactive effects. The doctors handling the case wrote that these psychoactive effects are sometimes observed in people that orally ingest fungus.

For instance, although this is incredibly rare, people can develop HPPD (hallucinogen-induced persisting perception disorder). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, adults with this health condition start to experience very vivid flashbacks of their trip, even long after the fact.

The doctors also wrote that this case emphasizes the profound need for ongoing public education as regards the accompanying dangers of the use of this as well as other drugs in other ways than they are prescribed initially.

How It Happened

According to the report, the patient who injected himself with shrooms hoped to alleviate symptoms of opioid dependence and bipolar disorder. Members of his family stated that he had stopped following through with the prescribed bipolar medications as of late and for this reason, he started cycling between manic and depressive states.

This man came across online reports that depicted the potential therapeutic impacts of hallucinogens like psilocybin mushrooms and LSD. This was the information he acted on as he proceeded to boil shrooms, thereby converting them into 'mushroom tea.'

Then, he carefully filtered the mushroom tea by drawing it via a 'cotton swab' before injecting the solution into his body.

A few days later, and before he was hospitalized, he became nauseous and lethargic. His skin turned yellow, he started developing diarrhea, and he began to vomit blood.

His family became alarmed and took him straight to the emergency room. By that time, he had already displayed disorientation characteristics. The medical doctors in charge of his case also noted that the young man could not participate in a purposeful interview, no thanks to his severely altered mental state.

Multiple organs began to fail, including the kidneys and liver, and he was eventually transferred to the intensive care unit. After a series of tests, his blood tested positive for Brevibacillus, a microbe, and bacterial infection, as well as Psilocybe cubensis, a fungal infection. This meant that the so-called magic mushroom he injected into his body was now growing in his blood.

The man had to be placed on a ventilator, in addition to the antifungal and antibiotic drugs. He eventually experienced acute respiratory failure in which there was a buildup of fluid within the air sacs of his lungs. However, the man survived the ordeal and was soon discharged from the hospital.

Psilocybin, A Promising Treatment for Anxiety and Depression

According to the authors, studies appear to reveal that psilocybin may be a promising treatment for substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. But then, it must be ingested under safe conditions.