Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: neilep on 26/02/2009 19:26:56
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Dearest DOCKtors and people who work at the Docks,
As a lamb I was always getting into trouble. Frequently I would wander into a bunch of stinging nettles...ouchy wouchy !!!
Mummy sheepy ewesd to pick one of these and rub it onto my stingy place :
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As I got older and became a teen sheepy I would pretend to my girlfriend that I was stung in special places !! [;)] [;)] [;)]
Anyway, do Dock leaves really soothe sting pains ?..what's in them that makes the sting go away ?
Thanks and hugs
Neil
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Yes
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Dearest DOCKtors and people who work at the Docks,
As a lamb I was always getting into trouble. Frequently I would wander into a bunch of stinging nettles...ouchy wouchy !!!
Mummy sheepy ewesd to pick one of these and rub it onto my stingy place :
[ Invalid Attachment ]
As I got older and became a teen sheepy I would pretend to my girlfriend that I was stung in special places !! [;)] [;)] [;)]
Anyway, do Dock leaves really soothe sting pains ?..what's in them that makes the sting go away ?
Thanks and hugs
Neil
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Neil yes I agree with Doc Beaver as the nettles hairs are acidic
and when you've brushed against them then they "sting" but when you rub a Dock leaf against the "sting" then it soothes the wound.
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi43.tinypic.com%2Fzuqv0z.jpg&hash=dac118782c181731166db2b3f14f07d7)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle
Also I've heard of some nettles called "Dead nettles" and they are differenet kind of genus.
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I was always told the dock leaves are a placebo. When you get stung the pain only lasts a short while so if you busy the person by getting them to look for dock leaves it takes their mind off the pain.
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I hate stinging nettles and my experience with them is that once I am stung...I get severe raised whelps that hurt and last for two to three days...... unless I treat it pretty straight way with milk weed... I am not sure if that is the same as your Dock weed plant.. but I find it really takes the sting out.. bu it does not work for me if I delay treatment. It needs to be done straight way.. with crushed milk weed juice.... at least that's how I do it for myself and it makes a huge difference!
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I don't care if it's the placebo effect- they work.
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Yes they do! It was always what my grandma made for us.. like a milkweed poultice and wrapped it around the legs usually once in a blue moon the arms.. but it way very soothing...
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It is said that nettle stings are caused by the formic acid in the sting solution. If it were true, then Dock leaves, which contain Oxalic acid, would not be a remedy. The extremely fine syringe type hair of the Nettle breaks off easily and penetrates the skin. Within this hair is a stinging solution which is only 1% Formic acid. A 2% - 10% concentration is required for the acid to be an irritant. It is histamine and serotonin in the sting which cause the irritation.
Dock leaf sap contains a natural antihistamine. If you rub too hard with the dock leaf, you will merely disturb the nettle sting in your skin and make it worse. The best way to deal with the problem is to break off some dock leaf and chew it for a few seconds, then gently rub the saliva/dock sap mixture around the sting. The antihistamine from the dock leaf together with the natural healing properties of saliva will ease the stinging sensation.
These are the types of nettle found in the UK;
The White & Red Dead Nettle (Lamiums) do not sting.
The Urticas are the stingers. The Membranous Nettle has been found in the UK in recent years and is an immigrant from Southern Europe. The Small Nettle is said to have the worst sting.
White Dead Nettle (Lamium Album)
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukwildflowers.com%2FWeb_photos%2Flamium_album_white_dead_nettle.jpg&hash=2e4e11ae3387e148c60ec283f74a5f1a)
Red Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum)
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukwildflowers.com%2FWeb_photos%2Flamium_purpureum.jpg&hash=cad75d0907b779d254cd817b1439da35)
Common Nettle ( Urtica dioica)
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukwildflowers.com%2FWeb_photos%2Furtica_dioica.jpg&hash=9080a1eb9747da46348559b75a4c5201)
Membranous Nettle ( Urtica membranacea)
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukwildflowers.com%2FWeb_photos%2Furtica_membranacea_membranous_nettle.jpg&hash=8319b3201400f62c696603d62804d8d6)
Small Nettle (Urtica Urens)
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukwildflowers.com%2FWeb_photos%2Furtica_urens.jpg&hash=8cf5cbfd2d7aca7260ca81228cac9ebd)
All pictures from www.ukwildflowers.com (http://www.ukwildflowers.com)
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Did you know that Urtica urentissima a species of stinging nettle found in Java can cause a rash which can last up to year, and has been known to be fatal!
Please remember that stinging nettles a favourite place for some of our most beautiful butterfly's to lay their eggs, so leave some if you want to see Red Admirals, Peacocks, Tortoiseshells and Comma Butterfly's'.
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I don't care if it's the placebo effect- they work.
BC! For shame! That's homeopath talk!
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Nettles are also an excellent food - a quick dip in boiling water removes the stings, and it can then be used as you would spinach. You can also make nettle beer (http://www.selfsufficientish.com/nettlebeer.htm).
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumex
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Rumex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rumex
Patience dock (Rumex patientia)
Patience dock
(Rumex patientia)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Rumex
L. 1753
Type species
Rumex patientia L.
Species
About 200, see text.
Synonyms
Lapathum P.Miller
Bucephalora Pau
Sources: ING,[1] UniProt,[2] ITIS,[3] IPNI,[4] GRIN[5]
The docks and sorrels, genus Rumex L., are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae.
Members of this family are very common perennial herbs growing mainly in the northern hemisphere, but various species have been introduced almost everywhere.
Some are nuisance weeds (and are sometimes called dockweed or dock weed), but some are grown for their edible leaves.
Rumex species are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Rumex.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Description
* 2 Uses
* 3 Species
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links
[edit] Description
Flowers of Curled dock (Rumex crispus) with remarkable tubercles
They are erect plants, usually with long tap roots. The fleshy to leathery leaves form a basal rosette at the root. The basal leaves may be different from those near the inflorescence. They may or may not have stipules. There are minor leaf veins. The leaf blade margins are entire or crenate.
The usually inconspicuous flowers are carried above the leaves in clusters. The fertile flowers are mostly hermaphrodite, or they may be functionally male or female. The flowers and seeds grow on long clusters at the top of a stalk emerging from the basal rosette; in many species the flowers are green, but in some (such as sheep's sorrel, Rumex acetosella) the flowers and their stems may be brick-red. Each seed is an 3-sided achene, often with a round tubercle on one or all three sides.
[edit] Uses
These plants have many uses. Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) used to be called butter dock because its large leaves were used to wrap and conserve butter.
The leaves of most species contain oxalic acid and tannin, and many have astringent and slightly purgative qualities. Some species with particularly high levels of oxalic acid are called sorrels (including sheep's sorrel, Rumex acetosella, common sorrel, Rumex acetosa and French sorrel, Rumex scutatus), and some of these are grown as pot herbs or garden herbs for their acidic taste.[6][7]
In Western Europe, dock leaves are a traditional remedy for the sting of nettles, and suitable larger docks (such as broad-leaved dock Rumex obtusifolius or curled dock Rumex crispus) often grow conveniently in similar habitats to common nettle (Urtica dioica)[8]
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You can also use Greater Plantain (Plantago major) for sting relief.
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukwildflowers.com%2FWeb_photos%2Fplantago_major_greater_plantain.jpg&hash=9c4848a65f975e8e6eca3b9f80471cd9)
www.ukwildflowers.com (http://www.ukwildflowers.com)
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That looks familiar does it have common name or more recognized nick name?
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No others that I am aware of Karen.