This morning I got a good laugh from a story that a patient told me, though, I don’t know that it’s really all that “funny.” Apparently she knows someone who was thrashed with stinging nettle plants by friends as a practical joke. Ouch! If you’ve ever brushed up against this plant wearing shorts, or, as I have done, tried weed-wacking it down, you know that it’s got a burning sting that lingers. It may also form small welts and blisters on the skin. The upshot is that it has traditionally been a treatment for injured muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, anemia, urinary problems, hay fever, sprains and strains, tendonitis, and insect bites. Anyway, I thought about how this might be the start of a new reality TV show called “Herbal Intervention.” Thus, the laugh. Otherwise… not funny. Poor fellow.
Here’s more information from the University of Maryland Medical Center on Stinging Nettle, and it’s possible benefits for the ailing:
Stinging Nettle LINK
Cheers, Andy
