You may have heard of nettle or even suffered the effects of one when you touched it, such as itching or stinging. The green or greater is the most common of all and is composed of leaves that have small hairs that cause this urticarial irritation on the skin. However, there are many more types of this plant, such as the white one, which we are going to talk about today. This herb is also known as dead nettle and is a type of medicinal plant with many benefits. In oneHOWTO we are going to tell you what the properties and contraindications of white nettle.
The white nettle or Lamium album It differs from the green (more common) by the “hairs” that the latter has on its leaves. That is why it is said that the green one is hives but the white one is not, that is, if you touch a white one it will not cause that irritation or itching on the skin. They are also differentiated by their medicinal uses. Next, we are going to see the properties that white nettle has in our body:
Benefits for women
White nettle is indicated in female problems such as leucorrhea (excess flow), metrorrhagia (bleeding between periods) or dysmenorrhea (painful periods) due to its hemostatic property (it stops bleeding by acting as a vasoconstrictor). It is even recommended after menopause as well. In addition, its leaves produce tannins, which are compounds with astringent and anti-inflammatory properties.
Benefits for the respiratory tract
Mucilages are viscous substances found in plants and help retain water. The mucilages of this plant make it have expectorant properties and therefore serve as a great help in infectious processes of the respiratory tract such as colds, bronchitis, flu, colds, pharyngitis, laryngitis, emphysema and asthma.
For fluid retention and uric acid
White nettle has cleansing properties for the body and helps to eliminate waste and uric acid. Therefore it is good for kidney problems and diseases such as gout.
It also has diuretic properties so it is very good for fluid retention problems or even in the accumulation of water in the abdomen, which can occur in cases of liver cirrhosis.
Properties of white nettle on skin and hair
This plant not only has properties for the internal organs of our body but it is also very effective in external skin treatments.
It is used to treat dermatitis and burns and, with its antiseptic action, prevents infection. In addition, this action is very good for skin irritations or even hemorrhoid problems. In addition, thanks to its astringent effect, it is also used on oily hair or with oily dandruff. White nettle has a lot of zinc content so if you have brittle nails or hair, it is a good solution to remedy it.
Good for throat and pharyngitis
Its antiseptic property makes white nettle a good home remedy to soothe sore throats and pharyngitis.
In addition to all these properties, which are not few, white nettle is good for diarrhea or gastrointestinal problems.
One of the latest clinical studies has shown that Lamium album Helps reduce inflammation of the prostate and benign prostatic hyperplasia. The root improves the symptoms of these pathologies, it is believed that due to its anti-inflammatory action.
Like any medicinal plant we can use its fresh or dried leaves to create infusions. In this case, all you have to do is boil a quantity of water (whatever you want to prepare) and add the leaves to let it infuse. After it is left to rest for a while, about 5 minutes, it is strained and it is ready to drink.
For use in medicinal applications they are usually collected flowers of this plant, although the leaves also serve. The time for harvesting is between the months of May and September. It must be borne in mind that the flowers are collected before they open since, otherwise, they would lose their properties, and always when they are dry and the dew that may be on them has evaporated. Then they are left to dry by spreading them in thin sheets in a shady place where the temperature does not exceed 40 ° C for a week. You can keep the flowers in sealed jars or envelopes and in a dry place without humidity.
With these dried flowers you can make a tincture which is a process of maceration of medicinal plants where the usable part of the plant is placed together with alcohol and water and left to rest for days. After a few days it is strained and all the active principle of the plant is obtained in its pure state and high concentration. The problem with this method is that to make just a few drops of tincture you need a lot of the plant in question. With the tincture you can prepare a homemade white nettle syrup.
We can also find white nettle extract. You can find it in herbalists in the form of liquids. You can take about 20 or 30 drops three times a day. Syrup. A syrup can be prepared from the tincture of the plant.
For external use, the plant can be boiled for a couple of hours and left to macerate. In this way, the mucilage is extracted and can be applied directly to the skin.