Nettles can cause pain and produce bothersome and irritating skin rashes. Some people used to picking nettles take them with their bare hands, but they have years of experience behind them and have developed a certain stamina. You can touch them without hurting yourself, but be aware that you will sting yourself several times as you become familiar with these plants.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Avoid Getting Stung
Step 1. Learn how they sting
The nettles are covered with tiny hollow hairs, full of stinging substances. When you touch them, the tip breaks, releasing substances that cause itching. To collect nettles with your bare hands, you must learn to touch them without breaking the filaments on the surface.
Step 2. Choose a shade plant
Nettles are very different from each other; some have almost no fluff, while others are full of it. However, there is a pattern you can rely on: plants that live in the shade tend to have far less hair than those that grow in the sun.
Step 3. Look closely at the hairs
Normally, nettle has these filaments mostly on the underside of the leaf and few or none on the top surface. They should extend along the leaf from the center grain to the outer edges.
- The plant you have identified does not necessarily correspond perfectly to this description. Nettles vary a lot and, in fact, under the name of "nettle" there are at least two species. Look at the hair to understand what it looks like.
- The stem also has its own fluff. Sometimes, it goes down or up, but in other cases it is perpendicular to the stem. If the plant you are looking at looks like the last type, it is best to avoid the stem at all.
Step 4. Pick a top leaf
You may prick yourself with another leaf when you are focused on the one you need to take. Stay near the top of the nettle, where the foliage is smaller and less likely to touch your hand.
Nettles often grow in dense areas of vegetation, so keep an eye out for nearby plants swinging in your direction
Step 5. Move your hand towards the leaf in the direction the hair grows
The risk of them breaking will be lower if you grab it at the base of the hair rather than directly touching the tip.
If you think you can touch the stem without pricking yourself (i.e. if the hairs are angled up or down), find a spot just below the leaf. This will make it easier to detach it
Step 6. Grasp the leaf firmly
The best way to avoid breaking the hair is to take the leaf quickly and firmly. If you touch it gently, it is practically inevitable that some filament will break. Once squeezed between your fingers, you can twist the leaf and peel it off.
Even with this method there is no guarantee that you will remain unharmed. Try at your own risk
Part 2 of 3: Treating Nettle Stings
Step 1. Use soapy water
By washing the sting, you will remove the hair from the skin and slightly relieve the pain. If you don't have water available, just rub the affected area lightly with a cloth or shirt.
Step 2. Remove the attached hairs with masking tape
If you fell on a nettle bush, remove the fluff with a piece of duct tape.
Step 3. Apply antihistamine cream
Nettle hairs contain many stinging substances and studies are somewhat contradictory as to the cause of the pain. However, histamine is one of the most credited etiologies, as are two other neurotransmitters called acetylcholine and serotonin. By spreading an antihistamine cream on the affected area, you can greatly reduce the effect of these chemicals.
Step 4. Use a baking soda paste
Some nettle species contain tartaric acid and oxalic acid, which are likely to prolong the pain. Since sodium bicarbonate is basic, a paste made with water and bicarbonate could neutralize the action caused by the acid elements.
It is possible that this remedy was invented when nettle stings were thought to contain formic acid. In fact, the formic acid concentration in these plants is too low to work
Step 5. Apply a cold pack
To relieve itching, wrap an ice pack or cold pack in a towel and hold it on the rash. Leave it for up to 20 minutes.
Step 6. Gently treat the affected area
If you experience a severe reaction to nettle stings, do your best to avoid touching the affected area. Wear light clothing and sleep with blankets that aren't too heavy to reduce irritation. Use lukewarm water when bathing or showering as the heat can increase itching.
Step 7. Try traditional remedies
There is no scientific evidence that these remedies are effective, but they are unlikely to make irritation worse:
- Calamine-based cream (it has properties that slightly counteract the itching);
- Balsamine (Impatiens species);
- Common dockyard leaves (Rumex species);
- Sycamore leaves.
Part 3 of 3: Collect the Nettles to eat them
Step 1. Consider protecting your hands
While people used to picking nettles often go bare-handed, they don't do it just because they've learned to avoid stings. Many of them have developed some stamina after years of experience, while others love the feel of this plant. Consider wearing gloves or picking up nettles with tongs.
Nettle is contained in traditional arthritis treatments. There is some scientific evidence on its effectiveness. So, if you have arthritis in your hands, you can actually reduce the pain by getting stung by these plants
Step 2. Collect the young nettles
Older plants may contain calcium oxalate crystals that cause gout or irritate the urinary tract. When harvesting nettles for food, choose the youngest plants that have not yet bloomed. Look for them in the countryside in early or mid-spring.
Stinging nettle, a plant most often confused with stinging nettle, can sprout anywhere from late fall through early spring. In milder coastal climates it can flower all year round
Step 3. Cook, freeze, or dry to remove the stinging effect
Each of these processes will neutralize the irritating action, making this plant safe for food consumption. In the kitchen it is usually used to prepare herbal tea and nettle soup.
