Maurice Godefridi

· 21 May 2021

Follow Following

Dovenetel, forgot glory?

Dead nettle belongs to the domain of folk medicine. Medicinally the white dead nettle (Lamium album) is not used much and then it is mainly the lip flowers that are eaten. The plant has its name deaf nettle due to the similarity of its leaves with that of the nettle. Deaf table leaves that are deaf, do not “prick”.
The dead nettle is found in Europe and Asia and preferably grows somewhat sheltered among higher plants, such as trees and shrubs, especially in gardens, along the side of roads, hedges and walls. She loves a cool and humid environment, but knows how to settle in many places.

In my youth it was a beloved occupation, picking the flowers and sucking them out to taste the little droplets of nectar. Around 1300 Jan Yperman called the “honey flower”. Also names such as' sugar ',' sugar nettle 'and zuugflower' or 'sucking lamps' can be found in the historical naming. A bit different, but still related to this, are the Belgian nicknames' mammeluiten ',' memmen-herb 'and' memmekens'. This naming has to do with breasts or 'mammae'. So, lozenges was a very appropriate name.

The German physician and mystic Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) appreciated the “Bienensaug”, as she called the dead nettle, even though.
She writes 'The dead nettle is warm and a person who eats her likes to laugh, because her heat affects the spleen and therefore the heart is rejoiced. But for those who grow white in their eyes, they must pull them out of the earth with the root and put the newly uprooted plant in the water of a bubbling well at night, and then heat the plant in a pan, after being taken out of the water. And so he puts them warm on his eyes. And this he must do for three nights, and the white in his eyes will become smaller and disappear.

The flowers were mainly used in women's complaints, first of all irregular and painful periods, inflammation of the lower body and white flood. With these problems, external treatment in the form of baths was also recommended.

Dead nettle still little in use today so, has been banned from my course book a long time ago, but if I may believe new scientific literature, there may still be a therapeutic future for this deaf nettle.

The German Commission E recommends the use of dead nettle tea for treating catarrh of the upper respiratory passages (internally) and a topic treatment of mild inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat and for non-specific leucorrhoea. Dead nettle infusions are also recommended externally for mild superficial inflammation of the skin. The German Commission E recommends a daily dose is 3 grams for internal use and 5 grams for external use as a hip bath. May be made into a tea or added to mouth rinses, baths, and compresses. For tea preparation: Pour boiling water over 1 gram (1 teaspoon = 0.5 grams) of finely chopped white dead nettle, steep for 5 minutes, then strain. To relieve respiratory ailments, drink one cup with honey several times per day.