What are Stinging Nettles?
Stinging Nettles are mostly tall herbaceous plants (i.e. they die down in the winter), botanically in the genus Urtica. The best known is the Common Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica), which is widespread in Europe and North America, and is most usually found in areas where the earth has been disturbed by human activity.

Nettles are notable for their stinging hairs, which may be more or less confined to the stems and underside of the leaf. The flowers are minute and usually green, held together in hanging tassels or bunches. The plants sting on contact and the hairs can penetrate light clothing. The hairs are like miniature hypodermic needles, approximately 2mm long in the Common Stinging Nettle.

The walls of the hairs are composed of silica, i.e. natural glass, and contact breaks the fragile tip of the hair. The hair is sharp enough to push into the skin, while at the same time, the venom, stored under pressure in the expanded base, travels up the hair and is injected into the skin through the broken tip. Hairs tend to be grouped together so a stung person will develop a localised rash of small, raised bumps.

History
From prehistoric days mankind has needed, used and hated the stinging nettle. An enemy of the farmer and gardener, the bane of children's bare knees, and an instrument of torture with which medieval monks flagellated their bare backs, the plant has been reviled by one generation after another.

Yet through the centuries it has been used for cloth, food and medicine. The bones of a Bronze Age Dane were found wrapped in fabric made from nettle stems, and as late as the last century nettle tablecloths and bed-linen were being used in Scotland.

Young nettle leaves are steamed in some country districts and used as, a vegetable, while the dried leaves are made into nettle tea.

The Roman belief that nettle stings cured rheumatism persists in Britain, and during the Second World War nettles were harvested to supply chlorophyll for medicines.


Questions about nettle play crop up quite regularly in the BDSM newsgroups. This article attempts to address those questions. Are they safe? How are they used? Read on...

What is in the venom and how does it work?
Various substances have been claimed as being the active principles of nettle venom, based on speculation and supposition. In fact the venom is a cocktail of three substances, each highly dilute: histamine; acetylcholine; serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine). The histamine is responsible for the itching and the acetylcholine for the burning sensation, though experiments suggest that the acetylcholine only works in this way if the histamine is present. Serotonin probably reinforces the effect of the histamine, having a similar role in inflammation in the body, but both it and acetylcholine are also known to be neurotransmitters, presumably stimulating nerve action in this context. All three substances occur naturally in the human body.



Is the venom dangerous?
In principle, within reason, no. As noted above, the active ingredients are already present in the human body and the action is to produce a local overload rather than to introduce alien toxins. Histamine is responsible for many of the symptoms of allergic reactions in general, but this is histamine as over-produced by the body in response to allergens. However, as noted below, some people are more sensitive to nettle stings than others and it would be foolish to continue any BDSM games if there is generalised swelling and unusual inflammation. A reported incident in the U.S.A., in which hunting dogs were killed by "massive exposure" to nettle stings, is a warning that there are limits to the safety of these plants. Rare cases of nettle allergy have been reported, but these seem to refer to the whole plant, and even to homeopathic pills derived from the plant, rather than to the action of the venom. However, the Tree Nettle or Ongaonga (Urtica ferox) of New Zealand is a potentially dangerous exception. It causes occasional fatalities in horses and dogs and is responsible for at least one human death, with symptoms that read like anaphylactic shock.

BDSM Nettle Play
WARNING: the point is rather laboured in this article, but common sense does apply. Find out beforehand if the recipient knows if he/she has any unusual reaction. If he/she does not know, go carefully in the first session. Stay well within the recipient's limits. Both top and bottom should be ready to stop the scene if there is any evidence of an unusual response. If there is no adverse reaction during or following a session, then subsequent sessions can be less inhibited, if so desired.

Active play
 By active play I refer to the top actively using nettles as an instrument of erotic torment. Nettles are best used in a gentle stroking or dabbing action, which will cause those stinging hairs that come into contact with the recipient's skin to work their effect, without damaging the remaining hairs. The number of hairs is, of course, finite, so a single stem will lose its effectiveness with use. Depending on the type and origin of the nettles (see earlier details), the top will want to ensure that the hairs on the stem as well as the leaves are used. Taller stems can also be used as a gentle whip. The stems are tough and fibrous and will last for a while in this mode. They are light enough to be used with little inhibition, though the rough stem surfaces can cause very minor surface cuts and abrasions. Floggings with nettles in this way has a history of use for 'inflaming the passions' - there is some basis for this (see below). It is actually quite, um, exhilarating. The stings may be less effective when nettles are used in this mode, through the tips of the shoots may sting while "wrapping round" causing areas of greater inflammation along the sides of the body (an effect that may be either desired or avoided). Doubled up, the stems have enough weight to start being effective on sensitive areas such as the testicles. Leaves or pieces of nettle may also be inserted into the recipient's clothing, though any effect will tend to be transient.


Passive play
 By passive play I refer to the useful fact that nettles can be effective by just being there. Once set up, no action is required from the top, it is up to the sub (recipient) to avoid the nettles. For example, nettles can be used to limit the sub's movement. Pots or vases of nettles can be so placed that the sub cannot move without being stung, perhaps as part of a conventional whipping scene, or simply to create a form of "bondage" without restraints. Nettles could, for example, be placed between a standing sub's parted legs and just in front of the genitals and just behind the buttocks. Crueller scenarios might involve the sub not moving to avoid being stung more. The tough stems of nettles can be strung together, so it is also possible to make a skirt or garland for the sub, one that would discourage unnecessary movement. Other games might involve a blindfolded sub being required to carry out tasks, with vases of nettles forming part of an obstacle course. It should be obvious that any pots or containers used for such games should be shatterproof, and that water will cause neither danger nor damage if a vase is knocked over.

The assumption here is that the nettles are brought to the recipient. The alternative is possible. A woodland walk with a naked, blindfolded sub could be interesting. However, encounters could be a little surprising to early morning dog walkers or families out to enjoy the more conventional sights of the countryside, so to avoid court action and starring roles in local newspapers, this is an idea perhaps better left to owners of private estates (who probably do this all the time anyway).
Article by Nazgul
Excerpted from SadoBotany
with additions



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