A brush with a nettle of any species is something to avoid but the Texas bull nettle (Cnidoscolus texanus) is particularly nasty. My East Texas offers some tips for dealing with with bull nettle if you ever get stung.
While there are several theories for relief floating around, most folks will recommend urinating on it! Urine contains something that reacts chemically and soothes the pain instantly on contact. Urinating on yourself, or perhaps your buddy, might seem a bit unorthodox and disgusting, but when you wade off into a bull nettle, you’ll be ready to try just about anything.
The article goes on to suggest a paste made of baking soda as an effective and more pleasant neutralizer for the bull nettle’s sting. Baking soda works by neutralizing the high pH of the folic acid in the bull nettle’s sting. Baking soda is also a great treatment for insect stings so it makes sense to keep a small amount in your first aid kit.
You might also look for jewelweed, said to grow in the vicinity of many nettles. Jewelweed is popular folk remedy for bullnettle, poison oak, poison ivy and stinging nettle (urtica dioica) which delivers histamine into the skin of its victim.
[Via My East Texas]
