Dont Try This At Home

[mstar1]

To day was a gorgeous day where I was, it is about 85, I wore shorts to work.

I was at my workshop/studio sitting outside this morning admiring the mountain view. The River is only about a hundred feet away or so but becomes overgrown with weeds making it hard to access. There is a place about a quarter of a mile away to access the river and sit on the rocks but I thought it would be good to walk down through the tall weeds and make a path. I walked in like a stupid bear tromping down chest high weeds. I walked through some plants that looked like this:

Im not one of those people that knows every plant, or even many, so I paid no attention, just kept going-- I walked about a step into them and something didnt feel right--eh I thought a little pricker bush or something, no big deal--- I walked about another half step and my legs felt like they had been doused with gasoline and were on fire. No Joke. I expected to see them swelling but it was just a sensation, I looked closely at the plant and there were hundreds( thousands maybe) of miniscule little barbed needles, I had them all over my legs everywhere. I decided that the river idea was out and went back to my shop....I talked to a few people and there is no serious threat, just alittle discomfort.

The burning sensation , stayed hot as a toaster for several hours, Its finally starting to dissipate now after about 5 strange hours and I have a weird pulsing vibration in the legs, which makes me feel if I looked down that my legs would be in that half and half Star Trek state when someone is being beamed up.

Im sure it will be eventually be fine, but if you see that plant that is pictured up there you just may want to avoid it, expecially if you are in shorts. It will definitely wake you right up.

Im off to the river, ( a different river!) to soak my legs now

Edited June 18, 2007 by mstar1

[dmiller]

June 18th --Duluth, Minney-soda -- it's 49 degrees outside,

raining hard, socked in with fog from Lake Superior, and ---

I heard my furnace kick on a bit earlier. :(

(I'm thinking of ressurrecting the long-johns!!)

Edited June 18, 2007 by dmiller

[TheHighWay]

mstar1,

I believe that is a stinging nettle. I wouldn't have recognized it either, but from your description of the needles and the reaction, that was my guess, and when I googled it, yup, that's the plant.

This may sound disgusting, but there is a natural remedy... banana slug slime. I learned that on a nature retreat at some park north of Seattle years and years ago. The ranger said, "You may all hate slugs, but at least the banana slug has some good use... it's slime will take the pain away after a nettle sting." Of course, I didn't have the guts to try it!!

Sorry this "cure" came too late to help you. (of course, I don't know which would be worse, the sting or the slime!) EEEWWWW.

Oh, here you go... Wikipedia says:

Stinging nettle has many uses. It is used by many different cultures for a wide variety of purposes in herbal medicine. Cooking, crushing or chopping disables the stinging hairs. Stinging nettle leaves are tasty and high in nutrients. The young leaves are edible and make a very good pot-herb.

So, once the sting goes away, you can go back with leather gloves and collect some!

[Cowgirl]

LOLOL...

Sorry Mstar, but I have to laugh, I know exactly what you're talking about, I've been there numerous times, but the message doesn't seem to register, when I'm out running on the trails, I'll come across a new one, just have to check it out no matter how over grown it is, and no sane person would venture to run on, and everytime it never fails I find myself getting stung like crazy all over my legs, ) I'm sure it's the same kind of plants you are talking about, just burns like no tomorrow) so I sympathize with you and yet it is kinda of funny!!

Enjoy the river!!

Cowgirl

Edited June 18, 2007 by Cowgirl

[Belle]

Dang, MStar. I know, too, first hand how painful that is. You must be a lot tougher than I am. I totally freaked when I walked through some barefoot. I thought I'd gotten into a hot bed of super powerful fire ants. :o

Those darn things continued to sting for hours after I managed to escape the plants. I was uncomfortable enough to have utilized the slugs The Highway posted about if I'd have known about them and had any handy at the time.

I wonder what they taste like, but not going to go looking for any to try on my own. :P I seem to find trouble easy enough without actually looking for it.

[rhino]

You are obviously out of fellowship and/or have not been abundantly sharing. ;)

Here is the wikipedia account ... stinging nettle seems right ...

Jumping into a tub of ice may have helped

[Linda Z]

MStar, I found numerous Web sites that recommend making a paste of baking soda and water to relieve the burning and itching. Couldn't hurt, and it might help!

Ow, ow, ow, ow (feeling your pain)

{{{MStar}}}

[JavaJane]

Jewelweed works, too... I've used it on both poison ivy and stinging nettles and it helped a lot.

Wikipedia on Jewelweed

You may have some near that batch of nettles.

My husband saw that picture you posted and said - IS THAT WEED?? I think he wonders what kind of cafe we have going over here now!!

[Suda]

My daughter got into some stinging nettle while camping in Idaho. As she kept getting re-exposed before treating it, she developed a severe rash that took about 6 weeks to heal after returning home.

Aveeno bath is great, or just put oatmeal in a bath, coat the areas that are burned, let it dry out a bit, and it helps dissipate the discomfort.

Hope you are feeling better!

Suda

[mstar1]

Thanks for everyones suggestions and concern, It's the next morning and Im back to normal-( ok I wont stretch things-my LEGS are feeling OK , I on the other hand was never 'normal')

The burning slowly dissipated of its own accord and by 11pm last night was only a strange tingling.

What a strange plant, I gotta wonder what it is protecting, It certainly didnt want me to go an further.

anyways--watch out for them...

[rhino]

Glad you're back to normal feeling better, mstar :) Perhaps you'd want to enter the nettle eating contest next year ... although the world record holder doesn't recommend it...

Stinging nettles are unpleasant to touch let alone eat, but dozens of people gather to particpate in the 'World Nettle Eating Championship'

In a small village in Dorset, England, hundreds of spectators gathered to watch people eating nettles.

As part of the 'World nettle Eating Championship' competitors had to munch their way through the leaves in one hour. Mouth numbing substances were not permitted, but a swig of beer between bites was allowed.

[Ham]

Well, look at the bright side. You didn't encounter the stinging nettle during attendance at a nudist colony..

[mstar1]

Yea that would have been a little rough.

It would probably be the first nudist colony where everyone was actually 'hot'

I'll also forgo eating them, I think that I will leave that to the pros and drunks

Edited June 19, 2007 by mstar1

[JavaJane]

One of my favorite fairy tales involves nettles The Wild Swans

It was made into a novel called Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. It's an awesome book. I highly recommend it.

The story goes that there was a royal family with lots of sons and one daughter. Their mother died and their father remarried, but his new wife was evil and enchanted her husband to make him blind to her true intents. She turns the sons into swans, but the daughter escapes. The daughter finds that the only way to break the spell is to weave stinging nettles into tunics for each of her swan brothers. She also cannot speak while she is accomplishing the task.

Links are provided above if you would like to read one version of the tale, and to see the novel on Amazon.

[shazdancer]

Ooh, as soon as I saw the pic, I thought, "Looks just like stinging nettle." Ouch!

Yes, jewelweed is said to help take the sting out, and it grows in the same habitat, so you can often find it nearby. I hadn't heard about the slug-slime before, hah!

Hopefully you'll recognize it before you run into it the next time.

Happy hiking,

Shaz

[Twinky]

Definitely stinging nettle. Take a stout stick next time and beat a path through them.

The traditional Brit remedy for nettle stings is to rub the affected part(s) with dock leaves. Usually can find some growing nearby (now you're going to ask me what dock looks like, aren't you? :) )

Notice in the video clip how those cunning nettle eaters (got to be completely mad) are only eating the leaves. The really stingy bit is on the stem. The leaves are generally all right. Young nettle leaves can be added to salads (!). See, you could have had a picnic on the river bank!

Apparently the ancient Roman invaders used to thrash themselves with nettles "to improve their circulation." (Perhaps the "conquered" Brits were having a joke at the Romans' expense?)

Edited June 20, 2007 by Twinky

[Twinky]

For you, mstar:

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