Health & Fitness
Unfriendly Plant That May be Lurking in Your Garden
Stinging Nettle is starting to show up in area gardens and roadside ditches. But what is it?
Health Watch while in the Garden.
Because of the rain we have had in SE Wisconsin, Stinging Nettle is starting to show up in area gardens and roadside ditches. This plants true name is "Urtica-Dioica". The leaves and stems are green and if left in the ground, with produce flowers along the stems. This plant is also covered with small almost needle like projections that act like a needle, and when touched or brushed against will poke you and and your pets thus injecting histamines into your skin and cause a burning sensation, followed by raised white bumps that burn and tingle. This causes you to scratch the area and increase the toxin's spread into your skin.
If you come in contact with this plant, immediately wash the affected area with soap and water and apply either Calamine lotion or an itch relief spray.
Stinging Nettle should be removed with gloves if possible, If you are composting, add it to the mix, Stinging Nettle is high in nitrogen and the plants are useful as a compost activator.
A picture of what the stings look like on your skin, can be found on my page on facebook.
