Maybe I’ve never got a dock leaf to work because I’m never been sure that I’ve got the right plant.And I’ve only ever tried rubbing it with the leaf.

The nettle sting is methanoic acid. The dock leaf contains natural amines and natural antihistamines, which decrease the inflammation. The amines are solvated in the watery sap, making the sap alkaline. This neutralises the methanoic acid reducing the pain.

I guess if dock leafs have never worked before for you, it might be to do with how the sap was extracted. Rubbing it is a wasted of time. To really get any benefit the leaf should be folded and crushed between the fingers to get the sap straight off.

But that crazy holistic (read bullshit) thing is definitely a placebo. There’s absolutely no possible way it could actually work. It’s just some crazy old get rich scheme. And it probably does work as that. If I had less scruples, some ‘holistic’ enterprise would be a good way to cure my money woes.

I was thinking of a book I once bought from a second-hand shop called “Hints and wrinkles” that was full of weird 1920s household advice. (If I had it now, it would be on tinterweb. )

It had millions of ways of making things from before you could go to a supermarket and buy creams ad sprays. They usually involved esoteric chemicals like borax and cream of tartar (whatever that is)

I’m not really convinced that they are more ecological. I’d even grant most are less effective than products you can buy now.
But they are almost certainly
(a) cheaper and
(b) more fun.

I’ve recently been buying antique household chemicals in yet another ludicrous attempt to make my life more ecologically pure.

How do old fashioned chemicals count as “more ecologically pure?”

Give me GM any day.