Coming into close contact with a nettle, burning pain and itchy hives are the result. You can find out why this is the case here. You can read here how long the nettle burns on your skin and what really helps.
Why does the nettle burn when touched?
The nettle burns because its stinging hairs pierce the skin when touched and inject a burning fluid consisting of formic acid, acetylcholine, serotonin and histamine. This causes burning pain, itching and hives on the skin.
Why does the nettle burn?
Each stinging hair on a nettle has a pointed, silicified head that breaks off when touched, pierces your skin and injects afuel fluid. The fuel is a cocktail of formic acid, acetylcholine, serotonin and histamine. These substances cause burning itching and painful hives within a short period of time.
Small nettle burns worse
Direct skin contact with a small nettle (Urtica urens) is significantly more painful than contact with a large nettle (Urtica diocia) or another native nettle species.
How long does nettle burn on the skin?
Burns from nettles causeseveral hours or rarely for several days a painful itching on the skin. With the help of these tips and home remedies you can noticeably relieve the burning pain:
- Don't scratch.
- Wash burnt skin with lukewarm water and mild soap.
- Remove burning hairs: carefully press the adhesive tape onto the burned skin and remove it again.
- Drizzle plantain juice on the area.
- Cooling: Place a cooling pad or ice cubes on the burned skin.
- Applying cream with hydrocortisone cream (€6.00 at Amazon) from the pharmacy or from Amazon.
Tip
Harvesting nettles without getting burned
In the natural garden, a bed is reserved for growing nettles as a vegetable, fertilizer and medicinal plant. To harvest without painful burns, thick gardening gloves are mandatory. Don't you have any gloves handy? Then pick a whole stem by stroking the leaves from bottom to top. The hairs remain intact so that no fuel comes into contact with your skin.
