Ok, so Stinging nettle is a nutritious plant that studies suggest may reduce inflammation, hay fever symptoms, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.But, they are also filled with formic acid, and can burn like a blow torch if you barely brush against them. In Scoundrel in the Thick, an elderly Cheyenne woman puts on gloves, and, (while Thomas is tied to a tree) shoves a bunch of fresh nettles somewhere no man would rather think about. It was actually painful for me just to write that part of the chapter.