Direct the sting to the area needed. The sting may last all day. Pink underground stems are edible. The juice was once used to curdle milk. Hang a bunch of Nettles in the kitchen to deter flies.
T ouching the fresh plant can cause a burning rash.
Wearing gloves when collecting can help prevent this, but hairs in large plants may still pierce through gloves. A Nettle sting can be soothed with a poultice of Yellow Dock, Plantain or Nettle juice. Avoid eating the raw plant unless it is very young and you are very brave. Due to cystolitins, older leaves tend to irritate the kidneys more than young leaves. Urtica is from the Latin urere which means 'to burn' in reference to the stinging hairs, and dioica means 'two dwellings' as male and female flowers grow on different plants.