One night involved all remedies (including meds and inhaler) to no avail. I knew that I could make a far better quality clothespin–I just didn’t know if they would sell. Tendonitis Although researc… They are mean little buggers) Boil Hot water (2-3 cups) Muddle or crush the leaves to help release oils during steeping. Start with a small amount to check for any allergic reactions. If you have any comments or questions please share them below. This article has been viewed 86,352 times. Gather about one cup of fresh Stinging Nettle Leaves (cautiously!…with gloves and long sleeves, pants and close toed shoes. He soon coughed up the yuck and no more coughing. Please contact your physician and do your research BEFORE giving anyone (including yourself ) natural remedies. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Mint Images/Getty Images. Pat dry by rolling in an absorbent towel. into the cap and toss it in your mouth. Then inclined sleeping. I also added honey for its sweetness and natural ability to soothe sore throats. They are mean little buggers). After fresh Stinging Nettles have been brought to a boil their sting is gone. Eczema 3. I have hayfever and am hoping this will help. Well, my son has been fighting allergies this season more than he ever has. It is often considered to be one of the best herbal infusions for overall health and wellness. CAUTION: They can still sting when dried. If I have periodic high blood pressure issues, is it safe to drink nettle tea? There are also many uses for stinging nettle root that rely upon historical health knowledge. A good example of this is when cutting pasture for Hay, if you cut it early while vegetative then you get a higher quality feed in terms of energy and nutrients, however if you wait until it flowers and begins seed fill it looses its quality dramatically in exchange for extra bulk or dry matter. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. After my initial laughter died down, I began researching existing clothespin products. When cooked (undercooked leaves will leave a stinging sensation in your mouth and throat) they can also be used for pesto, boiled for a spinach like side dish, baked to make chips, they can be a rennet substitute for cheesemaking and more. For a larger quantity of tea you will need: 5 spoons of dried stinging nettle leaves; 1 liter of boiling water It is available on Amazon in 3 tube sets. Apart from the fact that nettles do sting, nettles are a wonderful ingredient to use in soups, pasta dishes, frittatas—basically in any cooked dish where you would use young spinach. "I have an entire patch of nettles that grew wild in a raspberry patch. Stinging nettle tea and infusions are easy to make and have many health benefits! If so, please pass it along, or Pin It so you don’t forget about the amazing qualities of nettles. Anemia 6. Now at least I know how to use them! Look for them in rich soil, disturbed habitats, moist woodlands, thickets, along rivers, fence lines, and along partially shaded trails. Despite the painful stings the fresh plant delivers, brewed or cooked nettle is safe to eat. Some subspecies of nettle will flower in late fall. They do actually taste like spinach and since I was harvesting  and cooking them anyway why not eat them and get some more healthy benefits? I like a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening. I have been filling my dehydrator so that I have some available for those winter colds. Strain and add the apple cider vinegar. I was exhausted and so was he. The best cure we found was to smear mud on it to stop the sting. When making tea use ONLY young plants that have not flowered or gone to seed. A very young plant, if the top is clipped, will grow outward into a bushy nettle good for later harvesting. However, she suggested making clothespins as my initial product. I can also buy it in the bulk herbs section at my local health food store. As with most teas, the stinging nettle tea can be obtained through scalding or infusing. No coughing all night!! Fish. That little stinging action is awful. Yes, fish. Also Read: How to Prepare and Use Stinging Nettle, How to Freeze Stinging Nettle, How to Dry Stinging Nettle Despite what others may say, you’re not crazy! I NEED HELP. Alternative practitioners believe that stinging nettles can reduce pain and inflammation associated with both infectious and non-infection conditions. Not only is it highly nutritious (rich in Vitamin A, C, D, K, iron, calcium and protein), it’s also delicious, versatile, easy to recognize, and free. We will now process each stem individually until the useful fibres are separated from each. This is the best way to prepare the healing fire so that the stinging nettle can retain its healing properties. When he started to cough that afternoon  he was immediately given about 1/4 cup of Stinging Nettle Tea to sip on. I read several articles from medical sources and read it had expectorant and antihistamine qualities. Remove leaves and top shoot from stem. I hope you are having an amazing day! Scientific research backs the proposition that nettle tea acts as a kidney tonic. This in turn reduces the quality and nutritional makeup up the vegetative parts of the plant such as stem and leaves. Why pack them? There are so many positive potentials that not taking it seems the wrong answer unless a doctor says no! You can also turn your tea pink by adding lemon juice. Is eating nettles, as in nettle soup etc also dangerous for pregnant women? Either way is fine. Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) is full of the entire spectrum of vitamins and minerals we need. In this case, 88% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. Who knew stinging nettles, that horrible weed, would save this Momma’s sanity…. No cough all day… Went to the doctor and after an xray we confirmed no infection so the doctor said to continue the tea and an evening nebulizer treatment, and the main allergy med. Next, strain the tea before serving with sugar, if desired. Serve in mugs with a nettle for decoration. Below I have listed some reliable medical articles I found on the subject of Stinging Nettles and their medical uses. Avoid nettle tea if you are pregnant, as it may cause contractions or miscarriage. Allow to steep for 10 minutes. The bit about not using nettles that have flowered – I wonder if issues only arise if you include the flowering parts in the tea (or whatever you are making). About 4am the cough stopped and he slept. He woke up in a few hours and no cough. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. is STINGING NETTLE can help to treat edema?? Many experienced foragers pick barehanded, but they often contradict each other when giving advice. But when you make nettle tea, they do the opposite and begin to help soothe and relieve allergies. They loose there sting when dry. It is best if your container is covered to block out light and/or is kept in a dark location. 1. We have 1000’s of stinging nettles here in the ferm and when weeding the garden we often get stung. Then, cook 1 loose cup of nettles in boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes until the water turns light green. Some tea in the AM loosed up what gunk accumulated over night. © Copyright 2020. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. See our Muddler HERE; Pour water over Stinging Nettle Leaves Pour boiling water over it and let it seep for 10 to 15 minutes. You can use the water for a tea and eat the leaves as a side dish. Hi there, So here is the part where I give you all sorts of important info: I am not a medical doctor! But first, you need to get a hold of the root without causing yourself considerable distress. University of Maryland Medical Center: Stinging Nettles, – Airtight Storage containers (I prefer mason jars), – Tamper  or muddler for packing dried nettles (Yes, they still will sting you….Try out our Tampers and muddlers), Dehydrate Nettles and other herbs at very low temperatures. After some local success, we attended a Mother Earth News Fair in Albany, OR. Would I actually get sleep tonight? For example, the Arthritis Foundation suggest taking up to 1,300 mg of stinging nettle as a tea, capsule, tablet, tincture, or extract. Nettles are great for so many applications. Stinging nettle tea is most often used to treat urinary tract or bladder infections, but the medicinal benefits of the plant go much further. Single serving nettle tea with dried nettle. The stinging nettle plant, while in it's natural state, will stimulate your bodies natural allergic reaction. I just ordered some Nettle leaves in hopes that it will help ease hive outbreaks that my daughter has been having. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. I keep a winter's worth of nettles which I dried last year. How to prepare Nettle leaf tea? Kashmiri Kahwa. I can’t easily fit my hand in a jar (especially if all I have are regular mouth jars) so a Tamper is awesome for that since one end fits into a regular jar and the other fits into a wide mouth opening. How to use stinging nettle tea foliar spray. These little plants are great. She has well over forty years of experience with herbs. To keep the plants alive, harvest just the top two or three pairs of leaves. Son and Mom got barely any sleep. With gloves on, wash stinging nettle by swishing in bowl or sink full of cold water. Stinging Nettles can be dried for later use. Nettle root is available at many natural food and holistic medicine stores. By using our site, you agree to our. This compound is destroyed when the plant is dried, so gathering nettles after flowering is fine to prepare dried herb tea or powder. Yes, it should be safe, but you can ask your doctor if you're concerned. By Gabe Garms. I can see the appeal of purchasing it. What is the quantity of dried nettle leaves for one cup of tea? Then, cook 1 loose cup of nettles in boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes until the water turns light green. Muscle and joint pain 2. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. How is Made Stinging Nettle Tea? I try to make sure I glean information from a reliable source. Instead of that deep solid cough it seemed to be loosening up! ", "Made me realize the nettles in my garden are too old to use.". The results were staggering; people lined up around the corner for two whole days to purchase our clothespins. Briny without being offensive. Hay fever 7. Can I prepare a day's worth of tea and drink it cold? How to Prepare Stinging Nettle? Ya!! I just want to be certain it is OK to try it and to stop if I experience any sort of negative effect. I have arthritis in my hand , thumb and wrist, will nettle tea greatly improve symptoms? However, dried leaves to not have the potency of fresh so you will have to use a larger quantity to get the same effect. Among the conditions stinging nettles are purported to treat are: 1. How to Make Nettle Lea Tea. Our goal at Lady and the Carpenter is to honor the tradition of quality woodworking. Thank you so much for joining our adventures. To us, stinging nettles smell fishy. Yes his cough changed but we were up ALL night with the cough. The key is to look closely at the plant and figure out where the hairs are. Recently I learned that Dock weed is good for neutralizing the sting as well. Brew hot first, then let steep. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. When we moved onto our new property the first thing we learned was to avoid Stinging Nettles. I’ve read so many versions of how long dried nettle should be steeped for tea. An internet search, Gather about one cup of fresh Stinging Nettle Leaves (cautiously!…with gloves and long sleeves, pants and close toed shoes. Finally sleep would come…just to do it all again in 3-4 hours. Harvest and handle Stinging Nettles with gloves and long sleeves to avoid stings. One of the best ways to benefit from stinging nettles is in a tea. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. There was nothing that made it stop. He hated it but after a bit his cough changed. Stinging nettle root appears to have different pharmacological effects than the leaves. I have not seen the medical research, but I have decided to error on the side of caution. (under 100 degrees). Approved. As already mentioned, stinging nettle can be consumed and used in your everyday platter in a cooked or sautéd form. References It is time consuming (and sometimes painful) to harvest. Please note that Stinging Nettles loose there sting when dried or cooked but every once in a while a dried one will surprise you. ", http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/practical-guides/a-cup-of-nettle-tea/, http://www.wolfcollege.com/stinging-nettle-harvesting-processing-and-recipes/, http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74146.html, http://identifythatplant.com/three-members-of-the-nettle-family/, http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patrizia_Pinelli/publication/23243878_Extraction_and_HPLC_analysis_of_phenolic_compounds_in_leaves_stalks_and_textile_fibers_of_Urtica_dioica_L/links/5411a9d10cf29e4a23297a6f.pdf, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3349212/, http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ronald_Wrolstad/publication/222708063_Tracking_color_and_pigment_changes_in_anthocyanin_products/links/00b4951684d0c1c2d8000000.pdf, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Sip and enjoy! According to Wikipedia It is native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and western North America, and introduced elsewhere. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Before bed he drank a little more and went to bed, still inclined. This article has been viewed 86,352 times. In case of its raw form, the herb may cause irritation and hence is not advisable to be used. The active compounds in stinging nettles are reported to deter aphids, mites, and thrips. The world of herbal teas is gigantic - you can mix a range of herbs and flowers together to brew soul-soothing teas at home. “All use should be supervised and approved by a physician,” he says. As noted above, the water from blanching the nettles can be kept as a tea. ", "Very helpful. You can dry nettle leaves as you would any herb. Nettle tea is an herbal "tea" made from the leaves and roots of the stinging nettle plant. Stinging nettle or common nettle, Urtica dioica, is a perennial flowering plant, native to most of the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.Nettles usually appear in bunches or groves in the same places year after year. Some medical articles state that when nettles flower and go to seed they form cystoliths or calcium concretions (aka bladder stones) that are bad for the urinary tract. Every four hours involved having him drink some tea with honey and then going under a blanket with the humidifier for 10 minutes than the night air for 10. Last Updated: February 6, 2020 Serve. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/9d\/Make-Nettle-Tea-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Make-Nettle-Tea-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/9d\/Make-Nettle-Tea-Step-1.jpg\/aid1067007-v4-728px-Make-Nettle-Tea-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"