potent nettles give really nasty stings - felt like a small electric shock

uberalles

Im wondering do we have a really nasty potent nettle type in the garden.

Are younger nettles more potent than older ones?

I cant believe how strong the sting is. I was weeding and I jumped from the pain.

The OH said she could feel the pain two days later after some nettle stings.

puzzle factory

have a spoon of concrete and harden the fup up

uberalles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle

Thre are 5 types so we must have an v aggressive variety.

greenart

I knew a gardener in Kinseally Research centre who used to grab them and brush them against his face! he never got stung! something to do with the way you hold the needles, either that or he was immune.
'Smile a while and while you smile the whole world smiles with you'

magicbastarder

that's where the 'grasping the nettle' saying comes from - if you grab it with an upwards motion, you sweep the spines upwards with your hand, and they don't stick in.

kylith

Stung the feck out of myself a while ago; was picking strawbs and didn't see the nettle hidden amongst the plants. I kept thinking 'but strawberries don't have stings', and putting my hand back in and getting stung again.

I didn't whine like a little girl about it though.

dlofnep

greenart wrote: »

I knew a gardener in Kinseally Research centre who used to grab them and brush them against his face! he never got stung! something to do with the way you hold the needles, either that or he was immune.
'Smile a while and while you smile the whole world smiles with you'

It's easy. You can eat them without being stung too. We used to always do it as kids.

Nettles are annoying more than sore. The old ritual was to spit on a doc-leaf and rub it over the sting. In retrospect, not sure if it ever did anything.

uberalles

kylith wrote: »

Stung the feck out of myself a while ago; was picking strawbs and didn't see the nettle hidden amongst the plants. I kept thinking 'but strawberries don't have stings', and putting my hand back in and getting stung again.

I didn't whine like a little girl about it though.

Well we are all felling the pain. My OH and my little girl.
I really think the younger nettles are the worst.

Graces7

The more times you get stung by a nettle, the worse the pain is. I now suffer days of nerve pain after the slightest contact.

Foghladh

I've been using nettles for plant food for a few years now and I've always felt the younger plants gave the bigger sting. Amongst other chemicals they contain formic acid and if you ever see the needles in detail they look just like hypodermics. I guess that's how they're so effective at delivering pain! My grandad always had the party trick of stroking the nettles without getting stung and of course we'd always attempt it and brush against the needles with predictable results. These days I tend to pick them without gloves, probably more as a result of knowing the right way rather than any immunity I've developed. God knows a nettle sting on the inside of the arm is just as painful as it ever was I won't even go into the time I decided to go strimming in a pair of sandals!

Incidentally sometimes I'll even deliberately sting my knuckles. I broke 4 of my fingers in a crash years ago and I'm detecting the signs of arthritis coming in. Sometimes when they ache I find it helps to sting them. I've read a few things that claim everything from disrupting pain signals to decreasing inflammatory chemicals. Some just say it's pain replacement but I find it does ease things