'pernicious' nettles

[mrcharly]

I was clearing our allotment last weekend, and foolishly pulled a load of perennial nettles out barehanded. My hand reacted, with localised swelling and general numbness. I had to resort to antihistamine to treat it. Three days later I have bloody spots on my palms and swelling on the backs of my fingers.


Question is, what are these nettles? All gardeners know and hate them - they are the perennial versions that grow in clumps, with multiple woody (compared to 'normal' nettles) stems from a single point. If left, they develop running root systems that pop up here and there.

 

[Harvestman]

There's only one sort of nettle in the UK as far as I know. they do go woody if left long enough. You probably got a big dose of the acid into your flesh, and the body reacts accordingly. I've had ordinary nettle stings (bad ones, where I got badly stung by the leaves) last for days. It passes.

The only other thing I can think of is that it might not have been nettle, and might be something like Giant Hogweed instead, although it sounds like nettle.

Post a pic if you want a proper identification.

 

[Toddy]

Nettles can do that, especially at this time of year for some reason I think they've gotten 'hard' and what you've done is actually gotten some of the little spines in your skin.
The only way I found to get rid of them was hot soapy water and just sat with my hands in it for twenty minutes a couple of times a day.............wash teatowels or flannels or something, that gets your hands moving in the water and not just hanging around there.

The anti histamines are good the bloody spots are where you've got the little spines and scratched I suspect. The hot soapy water will act like a poultice.

If it doesn't settle within a couple of days away and see the pharmacist and see what they recommend. If you can get a Dr's appointment sooner, fine, but they're kind of swamped at this time of year.

Best of luck with it
M

 

[mrcharly]

It's settling now, thanks. I'm just curious about the nettle types.

I did a bit of googling, and can find only one perennial nettle in the UK, the Urtica dioica.

The other type, the annual nettle is Urtica urens. I don't really have a problem with those.

 

[Bowlander]

I always find the little dark green ones sting worse than the big leafy ones.

 

[xylaria]

The small nettle is a stingy little git and the fen nettle doesnt sting at all. i think when normal nettle gets it choped back to roots when gardening it pops up some really nasty mean shoots. best cure in my book is eat the demon that stings you. A couple of leaves in tea do the trick. If they are really mean let the tea stand then take the leaves out before drinking.

Mind you if you reacting badly you be better avoiding them completly.

 

[wildranger]

I'm not too familiar with the annual nettle, so it grows only in fens and doesn't sting at all? Are there any noticeable visual features that distinguish it from urtica dioica?

 

[boatman]

Good old dock leaves rubbed on when you get stung.

 

[xylaria]

I'm not too familiar with the annual nettle, so it grows only in fens and doesn't sting at all? Are there any noticeable visual features that distinguish it from urtica dioica?

I dont distinguish nettles apart the important feature of "it dont sting at all" through to "******s you stingy ****er"

as for the latter willow tips chewed until they taste nasty then spat on area works. so does the inner sap from the stem of nettle work.

 

[Toddy]

I usually define them by age, and are they flowering or not.
I've been stung so often, that unless I *want* to be stung (it kicks the body into attacking the sting, not my joints) I wear gloves. It's not worth the pain just to be able to say that I can do it without them.

The little one, the urens variety, is supposed to be an annual..........well it's still growing in my dye garden just now and it shows no inclination to dee off
It's, if young, a brighter dye than the dioica one, I find. The big one is better for length for fibres though, and for dry stooking and retting too. They all work, depends what you have to hand I reckon.
Good indicator of old habitation sites, byres and outhouses when fieldwalking

There's a third nettle though, beyond the fen one which is supposedly a variety of dioica; it's the Roman nettle but it's not supposed to be here, yet a friend who lived in Buxton swore that that was what she had found growing. The lady was a keen plantswoman and I have no reason to disbelieve her.

Dead nettles (the bees love these ), the young leaves are also edible, is more usually considered a herb than a 'useful'.

Does the fen nettle look like the dioica Xylaria ? I don't think I've ever seen it.

Good tip on the willow bark thank you
I find meadowsweet root works quite well on the stings too, but the germolene smell is a bit heavy after a bit. I tried comfrey years ago, and that just kind of sealed in the stings not recommended I reckon.

cheers,
M

 

[xylaria]

Where i used to live there was a patch of nettles that didnt sting. They grew on the old coal road, it hasn't been used in decades for traffic, and is now a green lane used by mountian bikers, the pit was called fenton main, ie it was fenland 200 years ago, it is now just waterlogged. They were diffinatle nettles not the unrelated dead nettle. I never thought they were a differant species until yesterday when i found out how many differant types nettle they were. I knew there was a great variation as some have red-ish seeds and some are greyer and droopy, the sting changes between poputations.

This thread is been quiet an eye opener, there is quiet a few types of nettle out there.

 

[wildranger]

Thanks for the replies Stinging nettle is a fantastic plant. I believe the highly processed pure fibre is as strong as flax fibre. Leaves and young tops edible after wilting over the embers. You can cut nettles back during their growing season and they produce fresh edible growth. The nutritional value is supposedly immense. No wonder it stings, it's so highly sought after for its nutritious foliage and amazing fibres that it had to develop some sort of defense!