Nettles tend to grow wherever there has been a history of human habitation, and as such have been used since the earliest settlers in Britain arrived. They are usually present wherever land has been disturbed by man and left derelict. They have been used variously in cloth manufacture, as a food, and medicinally.

In herbal medicine the parts used are the leaves, fresh or dried, and the roots. It is best to harvest them during flowering in May or June. The nettle has many therapeutic applications as it is astringent, haemostatic, diuretic, anti-allergic and mildly hypoglycaemic. It is also said to be a galactogogue, promoting milk flow in nursing mothers. It is used primarily by herbalists as an adjunct with other herbs to treat skin conditions such as eczema, allergies and asthma. A preparation of the root is used to treat prostate problems in men. The powdered leaves can be used as a snuff to stop a nosebleed. The sting is also used by people who suffer from arthritis, by deliberately stinging the parts that are painful thereby giving relief from the chronic and nagging arthritic pain.