Weed makes presence known

Stinging nettle. Photo courtesy Western New Mexico University

A few days ago, I grabbed a stinging nettle for the third time in my life and was reminded why I started wearing gloves when weeding.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) has fine hairs along the stems and serrated leaves that act like needles loaded with a chemical that burns or stings wherever it touches the skin. This plant or its relatives is found throughout North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, with some variation in its look.

This perennial weed was growing just below some hosta leaves and I reached in and grabbed it before I realized what it was. The stinging sensation begins immediately and builds to a crescendo before subsiding.

Washing or scrubbing the area with soap and water, alcohol or peroxide does nothing to relieve the burning sensation, which can last from a few hours up to about a week. Ice helps a little.

Stinging nettle in flower. Photo courtesy www.wildflower.org

Ohio State University suggests that you can get relief by rubbing the inflamed skin with juice from the leaves of dock, jewelweed, rosemary, mint, sage or even crushed leaves of stinging nettle itself.

For as awful as this plant feels to the gardener’s hand, it has a long history in alternative medicine. There are reports of relief when applying this plant to a part of the body that is in pain. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, researchers think stinging nettle reduces inflammatory chemicals, interfering with how the body transmits pain.

“Stinging nettle has been used for hundreds of years to treat painful muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout and anemia. Today, many people use it to treat urinary problems, hay fever, or in compresses or creams for treating joint pain, sprains and strains, tendonitis, and insect bites,” the medical center reports.

Stinging nettle can get up to four feet tall, and seems to prefer rich, moist soil. It spreads by under ground stems called rhizomes and can form large colonies. Pulling stinging nettle or keeping the tops chopped off seems to be the easiest and least toxic way to control this weed. Don’t forget to wear gloves.