Last night we went hiking and my husband brushed up against some stinging nettle. It's a plant that has many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on its leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles that inject histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when contacted by humans and other animals. The leaves and stems are very hairy with non-stinging hairs and also bear many stinging hairs (trichomes)), whose tips come off when touched, transforming the hair into a needle that will inject several chemicals: acetyl-choline, histamine, 5-HT or serotonin, and possibly formic acid.
Nasty plant that you really don't want to brush up against. I had my travel sized oils with me. To be honest I take them with me hiking and biking. I pulled out peppermint and lavender. He had two spots. I tried peppermint on one and lavender on the other. He said the peppermint provided instant relief and the lavender worked too, just not as fast. I love the oils. All was good and we hiked on. 
great experiment. It's nice to have our medicine cabinet with us wherever we go. :-)
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