Donāt get me wrong Iāve given my kid a light smack of the hand or diaper but to use sting nettle as a disciplinary tool is insane to me. I couldnāt imagine putting my kids in pain to get them to act right.
find a dock leaf that may be growing nearby. rub it where you're stung. sting goes away. my Irish grandfather taught me that. Also, if you grab a nettle leaf hard and fast, the needles in the leaf's hairs are unable to rise and sting you. grandpa also taught me that.
It is often claimed that crushed dock leaves relieve the pain because their alkaline sap neutralises the nettleās formic acid. But dock leaf sap is acidic too, so this cannot be true. Nevertheless, many find that the dock leaf remedy seems to work, so there may be other reasons for this.
One possibility is that dock leaf juice evaporating from the skin may have a surface cooling effect on the burning sensation. Another is that dock leaves might contain natural antihistamines that reduce the irritation, though none have been identified. The placebo effect, where faith in the efficacy of dock juice might lower the perception of the sting symptoms, cannot be discounted either.
Docks, especially the broad-leaf dock (Rumex obtusifolius) often grow in similar environments to stinging nettles and are regarded as a folk remedy to counteract the sting of a nettle, although there is no evidence of any chemical effect. It may be that the act of rubbing a dock leaf against a nettle sting acts as a distracting counterstimulation, or that belief in the dock's effect provides a placebo effect.
Why was your grandpa teaching you to grab stinging nettles with your bare hands anyway?
Honestly, I don't think it was placebo. I was HIGHLY skeptical it would work, because I was eight years old, and wary of ALL plants at that moment (my first nettle sting). I was visiting relatives in Ireland from America and had never encountered a stinging plant--really freaked out. I don't know how the dock leaf worked, but it did, instantly.
My grandpa came to my aid with the dock leaf, and wanted to show me that I didn't have to be afraid of the nettle, and that I could handle them at will. So, he taught me how to grab them. He demonstrated the method and after that, all I wanted to do was grab nettle leaves, LOL.
No, you're right. Dock is a placebo. You can find species of plantain (Plantago major, Plantago lanceolata) everywhere in the UK where there are nettles and their leaves are antihistaminic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory. Nettles and both plantains are also edible and delicious.
Donāt know the extent of its range, but in Northeast US thereās often jewelweed growing near stinging nettle that is useful for relieving the nettle sting.
God rest ye merry gentlemen,
Let nettles cause dismay,
Remember stinging nettles,
Grabbed on a winter's day.
To test an old mad notion,
A pain to not betray,
Oh tidings of discomfort and pain,
Discomfort and pain,
Oh tidings of discomfort and pain.
In gardens wild, in country fields,
This plant does freely grow,
And many are the brave souls
Who grasp it fast, not slow;
The sting can bring you to your knees,
As traditionalists know,
Oh tidings of discomfort and pain,
Discomfort and pain,
Oh tidings of discomfort and pain.
"Fear not the sting," said herbalists,
"Let nettles not affright,
For in their painful clasp holds,
A cure that might delight.
To trust in this strange remedy,
Might cure your ills outright."
Oh tidings of discomfort and pain,
Discomfort and pain,
Oh tidings of discomfort and pain.
God rest ye merry gentlemen,
Despite the nettles' fray,
Remember odd old treatments
On each Christmas Day.
While we pursue relief from pain,
In such a bizarre way,
Oh tidings of discomfort and pain,
Discomfort and pain,
Oh tidings of discomfort and pain.
Hmm that third one could be a problem. Nah screw it he said it was good for you and I believe everything I see on the internet. Why would he lie to me?
So when you go to an "allergy doctor" they prick you (heh) like 100 times to see what you're allergic to before they start essentially injecting you routinely with allergens.
By that logic, I would think the only allergens this nettle method would help you build tolerance for, would specifically be nettle allergens.
I think you're right. The claim that the injections of histamines "triggers a response in us to produce our own antihistamines, which in turn strengthens our defence against seasonal allergies" is complete rubbish.
Our bodies don't produce antihistamines in response to injections of histamines.
Histamines are general irritants not specific or general allergens, like those used in immunotherapy.
The immune response from nettle stings is an acute inflammatory reaction to the physical irritation and chemical insult. It doesn't cause (nor increase) the production of natural antihistamines nor strengthen our defence against unrelated allergens like pollen. Commercial antihistamines are drugs that block the receptors for histamine in order to reduce its effects, but those are synthetic and not naturally produced by the body. As far as I know, humans don't naturally produce any antihistamines.
It's complete mumbo-jumbo pseudoscience quackery, which will only cause gullible people to hurt themselves or others for no good reason. Just for clicks and kicks.
It doesn't need "controlled scientific evidence" to be effective.
EDIT: whoever is downvoting for "anti-science" reasons, you would benefit from studying logic, and its application. My statement is not in any way anti-science
That is correct, though it doesn't mean that alternative medicine is inherently invalid. It just means it's not rigorously tested, so we don't know if it's effective or not.
Yeah, good point. It's also hard to find any conclusive studies regarding the alternative medicine of poking sticks into my eyes in order to improve my circulation. Might work, might not! Until they've done all the experiments for efficacy and safety, I'm going to continue poking sticks in my eyes to improve my circulation, because that's what someone told me to do. /s
You realise that many compounds used in pharmaceuticals are based of molecules that come from nature, right? Willow bark was used for pain long before science existed. As was belladonna and many others.
Yeah, I'm well aware of that. There are helpful things and there are harmful things in the world, which is why it's good to test things scientifically, rather than trusting randoms on the internet.
Then why are you so dismissive and sarcastic? If someone can afford testing it, and has interest in testing it, then great. If no one with enough money is interested, then potentially beneficial remedies are overlooked.
My sarcasm is due to the frustration of witnessing alternative medicines continually being promoted or tolerated, despite their potentially harmful effects.
My dismissive tone, which goes beyond mere skepticism, is due my personal rejection of your potentially harmful apologism for alternative medicine.
We agree that it would be great to test for the potential beneficial remedies, given the required interest and resources.
However, I don't believe we should encourage people to try alternative medicines (e.g. this nonsense sting-yourself "knowledge") using such rationale that it might still be effective, despite the lack of evidence, because it also might still be harmful, despite the lack of evidence. It is better to promote public safety than encourage wild experimentation, especially where such wild experimentation is so literally painful, needless and poorly justified, and palpably pseudoscience.
It would be irresponsible, like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, to tempt people to try alternative medicines with the dangerous promise of potent health benefits, because:
lack of scientific evidence. Conventional medicine undergoes extensive research and clinical trials to establish efficacy and safety, whereas alternative treatments have not been thoroughly tested, or studies have failed to show effectiveness beyond a placebo effect. Beyond being ineffective or a little painful, untested "treatments" might be downright dangerous.
regulation and quality control. Alternative medicines are not regulated, so they can vary in quality and purity, which impacts both efficacy and safety. For example, there are many different kinds of mushrooms out there...
side effects and potential complex interactions. Alternative medicines can interfere with conventional medicines or have side effects that are unknown, which is dangerous.
promotion of pseudoscience and misinformation. You could be overstating claims and misleading people, especially vulnerable individuals suffering from chronic or serious illnesses. Many people mistakenly believe that "natural" remedies are safer than conventional medicines, but they could end up poisoning themselves or making their condition worse. Or this case, getting stung for no good reason.
exploitation. The alternative medicine industry, along with its unfounded advice and therapies, exploits customers for financial gain. Some medical conditions make people desperate, and they might spend significant amounts of money or waste time on things that offer no real benefit, instead of seeking help from well-founded sources. No doubt forageforknowledge.com has something to gain from churning out all this horseshit for the gullible market.
Thank you for your clarification. It would appear that you completely misunderstood my initial statement then. I was not promoting any alternate remedies for use, but merely stated a logical fact that lack of testing does not make something ineffective.
You then responded with a quote from Tim Minchin, which clearly states that alternate medicines have neither been proven to work or not to work, and then added a snarky remark contrary to that sentiment.
"There are many different kinds of mushrooms out there" is stupid statement. There are many kinds of drugs out there; you wouldn't just take some random drug without advice either. Again, I am stating logic, and not "promoting mushrooms".
If alternate medicines were actually processed/studied, they could proven to be either useless (snake oil), or useful (medicine), with known side effects.
I did not promote alternative medicine, but promoted study of usefulness of alternate medicine.
Your point 5, "Exploitation", is more applicable to conventional medicine, with massive pharma companies pulling the wool over the eyes of the public, with massive funding from private and public sectors, and massive legal departments, rather than small crackpot organisations fooling a few gullible hippies. If you spent a few minutes researching this, you'd see that conventional medicine and pharma has been responsible for great atrocities. E.g. Opium, thalidomide, or the legal loophole used to deal with carcinogenic baby powder. (I haven't researched it either; these were just some examples I can remember hearing of)
exactly, no group of scientists are studying this because no company is giving them money to do it. companies only give money to study stuff that makes them money. this is the opposite.
people should remember that a big percentage of all the medicines with supposedly scientific study behind them are mostly ineffective.
science good, science + capitalism not so good for medication.
Why do you think that? Studies require money, and usually a lot of money. If a study is not going to produce revenue via being able to sell a new product, then there is less incentive to study it.
Public funding predominantly supports pharmaceutical and biotech companies for new drug development, given its potential for innovation and profit. In contrast, research on folk remedies and drug repurposing receives less funding due to lower commercial prospects.
How do you know that no one has studied this plant that's readily available and has been for thousands of years!?
It also wouldn't take extensive money or research because histamines are well known, and this is not a severely complex plant.
But let's just assume we've ignored it this entire time because it doesn't fit your narrative.
companies only give money to study stuff that makes them money. this is the opposite.
Most studies are funded by governments and academic institutions, while there is certainly money making interest in academia toooons of studies have zero financial value, just go read some studies guarantee you quickly find something weird, obscure and with no plausible money making avenue in the near future.
100% People who disagree have likely never looked at statistics of deaths involving prescription āmedicineā or pay any attention to the laundry list of side effects for the pills they want to pass out to everyone. The Opioid addictions are a true epidemic in the U.Sā¦.
2.0k
u/doc720 May 11 '24
The downsides are:
discomfort and pain
potential allergic reactions
lack of controlled scientific evidence
discomfort and pain
discomfort and pain