Fungi+and+headaches

**Fungi effect on headaches**

Fungi have many different uses in our world today. They can help our environment, harm humans, and help humans fight diseases. Fungi have many effects on the human body. These effects can range from being completely lethal to having many beneficial properties such as helping to cure cancer. This page will focus on one aspect of human ailments in which fungi effect. Fungi can be used to relieve headaches, such as the psilocybin mushrooms direct heal and phallus indusiatus indirect healing with the causing of an orgasm, as well as cause headaches with poisonous properties.

Fungi known to cure headaches come from the phylum psilocybe. These are also known as magic mushrooms. They contain psilocybin, a hallucinogenic chemical. Scientists beleive that the reason it helps with headaches is because this is a chemical that is similar to serotonin, a neurotransmitter. It is not known if this is the true reason and how it works. Studies do show that these mushrooms have positive effects on cluster headaches, headaches that occur periodically. 85% of the subjects experienced atleast one immediate releif. 95% of the subjects experienced a longer duration between their next attack. This is strong evidence that this mushroom does work.



Orgasms are known to have a positive effect on migraine headaches. In a study with participants with migraines found that 47.4% had complete relief, 49.1% had no relief at all, and for 5.3% of the participants, the migraine worsened. Knowing this information, we can possibly use a fungi that is known to cause an orgasm with its fresh scent. The //Dictyophora indusiata// is a fungi found in bamboo thickets that has a scent that increases women arousal greatly. A study was done in which 20 men and 16 women were asked to smell this fungi. All 20 men were disgusted by the smell. Six of the women experienced an orgasm as the other women showed signs of high arousal. The women that experienced an orgasm were the first ones to smell the fungi. It is unknown how this fungi causes this arousal as of yet. Scientists believe that it is due to pheromones or neurotransmitters. Fungi can also have adverse effects and cause headaches. One such fungi that does this are a few that are in the phylum //Cortinarius//. These mushrooms contain a chemical called orellanine. Orellanine causes kidney failure, headaches, fatigue, and vomiting. Orellanine was first discovered from //Cortinarius rubellus. //There are a couple cases in which patients were experiencing headaches and kidney failure. One epedemic was in Poland in 1950 in which 100 people suffered from the illness. There is no known cure for this, but there are treatments to help, such as anti-oxidants.

Fungi have a lot of beneficial properties that can help us with diseases. These benefits are under research to understand how it works and why. There are also new discoveres being made as evolution takes its course to bring in new species to our world. However, there are also down sides to fungi. As we have seen, there are many poisounous mushrooms. A lot of these mushrooms have no antidote for them yet as they contain complex chemicals designed to kill. The cortinarius is an example of fungi's killing properties. Not only do these fungi affect humans, but they also affect the environment. To learn more abou how fungi help our environment visit http://microbiology2009.wikispaces.com/Fungi+and+their+roles+in+our+lives.


 * Reference:**

Teri, Robert “Orgasm, headache and Migraine: Does the “Big O” affect headaches and Migraines?” December 2, 2002. http://headaches.about.com/cs/triggers/a/ha_orgasm.htm. Accessed May 12, 2009

Teri, Robert "Cluster Headaches? Are mushrooms and LSD Answers?" April 26, 2006. http://www.helpforheadaches.com/articles/psilocybin.htm

Holliday, J.C. and N. Soule, "Spontaneous Female Orgasms Triggered by Smell of a Newly Found Tropical Dictyphora Species." International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, 2001, vol. 3

Rachael G. Kilner et al (1999). "Acute renal failure from intoxication by Cortinarius orellanus: recovery using anti-oxidant therapy and steroids". Oxford Journals Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation