RUBBING dock leaf on a nettle sting may be an old wives’ tale as an NHS study found lettuce works just as well.
Doctors reckon the benefit comes from a cooling sensation of leaf sap evaporating off the skin.
The ancient folk remedy is more than 600 years old but the science behind it is untested.
A&E medic Dr Rajendra Raman, from Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, said: “It is possible that rubbing the area or the cooling effect of sap evaporating from a crushed leaf may be soothing.
“If so, any large, fresh and non-toxic leaf would do the job.
“Dock may have become the leaf of choice simply because it grows in similar habitats to nettle.”
Dr Raman and eight other staff at NHS Fife studied the effects of dock leaves on themselves.
The effect was not significantly different between dock and lettuce. It is possible that the same relief would have happened with no treatment at all
Dr Rajendra Raman
They were blindfolded and stung on both arms and had someone rub dock leaf on one arm and lettuce on the other for a minute.
They rated pain on a scale of one to five over 20 minutes.
After five minutes, average pain scores on the dock leaf arms fell from five to two, and on the lettuce arms from four to two.
A separate scale found both leaves healed the skin reaction at the same speed.
Writing in the Emergency Medicine Journal, Dr Raman said: “We observed that the discomfort of nettle stings eased rapidly over 15 to 20 minutes in both the dock and the lettuce arms, but the effect was not significantly different between the two.
“It is possible that the same relief would have occurred with no treatment at all, and our study does not conclude that either dock or lettuce is better than simply doing nothing.
“This was deliberate as patient involvement work from other studies suggests that children, in particular, do not consider doing nothing to be an acceptable option when they are in pain.”
MANY old remedies, sayings and superstitions have been passed down for hundreds of years without most people ever really knowing if they are true.
We took a critical look at some of the most common:
An apple a day keeps the doctor away – Not strictly true but eating fruit every day is good for your health.
Chocolate gives you spots – True: a bad diet can make your skin worse.
Carrots help you see in the dark – True: carrots are high in vitamin A which helps maintain healthy vision.
Feed a cold, starve a fever – False: It is important to eat when you are unwell as your immune system needs energy to fight back.
Crusts give you curly hair – False: Your hair type is controlled by genetics, not your diet.
Cheese gives you nightmares – False: In a study most people slept soundly after scoffing cheese.
