Dock leaves

Found wherever nettles grow (fact). Don't know whether this is actually true but it seems to be!

I remember reading somewhere a wee while ago (can't find the article now of course) that a shockingly large number of children do not know that dock leaves can relieve nettle stings. Perhaps they just don't get out enough to get stung?

A rummage round the internet finds quite a lot of discussion on dock leaves and the proper application thereof, quite similar to the ones I had with my friends as a child. I was always told just to press the leaf on the stings. A friend of mine reckoned you snapped the stem and applied the sap. I have also discovered that some people think you should rub (wouldn't that rub the stinging hairs in further?) or chew the leaf and apply the masticated mass to the stings (yuck). Still others think it doesn't work at all and is just a load of old horsefeathers.

Explanations for the effect range from the coolness of the leaves being comforting, that they contain something which counteracts the formic acid in nettles or that they contain antihistamines. Or that is all a big placebo. One thing they most definately are is particularly pleasingly transparent and i have had me eye on them for weeks for a blipping opportunity.

Nowadays if I get stung by nettles I tend to just grin and bear it, if I got badly stung I would definately reach for the dock leaves.