Stinging nettle touched? This helps with burning skin

Stinging nettles irritate the skin and cause an unpleasant rash. If you act quickly, you can counteract the burning and itching with simple measures.

The nettle is a widespread plant and can be found, for example, on roadsides, on rubble dumps or near banks. It has its name for a reason: When the leaves of the nettle come into contact with the skin, they cause an unpleasant burning sensation and cause redness, hives and itching.

This is due to the so-called stinging hairs – small hairs that sit on the edges of the leaves and also on the stem of the plant. When touched, the upper tips of the stinging hairs break off and the remaining lower part of the hairs penetrate the skin like small syringes. The stinging hairs secrete a fluid that contains, among other things, the amino acid histamine. In this way, nettles irritate the skin and cause the typical burning sensation.

If your skin has come into contact with nettles, you have various options to relieve the irritation.

Nettles: Simple home remedies for the skin

Although the nettle hairs are not dangerous for the skin, the burning sensation can still be very unpleasant – especially if you have burned yourself over a large area. A few quick first aid methods and simple home remedies can help.

• Rinse and cool: Quick and easy help is to clean and cool the affected area under running water. Rinse the rash with plenty of cold water and then pat the skin with a soft cloth.

• Soap or dishwashing liquid: If you have the appropriate home remedies at hand, you can try to neutralize the acid of the nettle after rinsing. To do this, soak a cloth in diluted dishwashing liquid or soapy water and treat your skin with it. It’s best to use curd soap: it has an alkaline effect and helps to relieve the burning sensation.

• Baking soda: Similar to soap, baking soda also has an alkaline effect and can neutralize acid. To combat the burning sensation, mix some cold water and some baking soda in a cup and apply the paste to the affected area with a tissue.

• Continue cooling: After you have cleaned and treated it, you should cool the burning skin well, for example with ice or a cooling compress.

These plants soothe the skin if you have a nettle rash

In addition to the home remedies mentioned, there are also some plants that can help if your skin has come into contact with nettles. These include:

• Ribwort plantain: Ribwort plantain juice is an old home remedy for the stinging stinging of nettles. For the treatment, all you need to do is pluck a few leaves from the ribwort plantain and crush them so that they secrete juice. Then place the crushed leaves on the affected skin and let the juice work.

• Blunt-leaved dock: The blunt-leaved dock is easy to recognize by its large oval leaves. Similar to ribwort plantain, it is considered a natural remedy for nettle burns. Although this effect is not sufficiently explained scientifically, it often proves itself in practice. Rubbing the rash with a few dock leaves can relieve the stinging sensation of the nettle on the skin.

Tip: If you are unsure about identifying plants, you can identify plants using the app.

Despite the rash: nettles also promote health

Although nettles make the skin burn, they are not just unpleasant weeds. They have been used as home remedies with healing effects for a long time for various ailments:

• In the form of nettle tea, for example, they help against cystitis. The nettle is also said to have a draining effect.

• Nettle extract helps with pain caused by osteoarthritis and can improve joint function.

• In addition, the nettle is rich in iron, vitamin C and vegetable proteins, among other things.

Read more on Techzle\.com:

• Harvesting nettle: This is what you need to pay attention to
• Make your own nettle manure: instructions for fertilizer and plant protection
• Nettle recipes: This is how the plant tastes best

Edited by Lea Hermann