- Urtication
The term urtication can have various meanings:
*In
biology , it refers to the stinging hairs ofplant s orinvertebrate s, of whichnettle s (the plant genus "Urtica ") is the example from which the term was derived, but only one of a great many such plants. Manycaterpillar s have modifiedseta e with associatedvenom glands, and these are calledurticating hair s. A common example is the "saddleback caterpillar ".*In
medicine , urtication, or flogging withnettle s, is the process of deliberately applying stinging nettles to the skin in order to provoke inflammation or rash. An agent thus used is known as arubefacient (i.e. something that causes redness). This is done as afolk remedy forrheumatism , as it provides temporary relief from pain.*Urtication is also performed by
BDSM practitioners who use stinging nettles for sexual stimulation.References in popular culture
* In the flash movie
Salad Fingers , the main character finds it exceedingly pleasurable to urticate himself, especially withnettles . He uses the nettles to "make the milk drop out from inside [his] 'teat'."References
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