I have never seen stinging nettle with light purple flowers. Stinging nettle arround here have two different types of flowers one is a long thread that unrolls under the leaves. The thread can be a foot or more in length but is generally only 2-3 inches longer than the largest leaf. The other type has a bush of light colored flowers that appear from the leaf joint. Neither one has thorns on the stems but a fine down that causes the irritation. If it was nettles you can eat them as greens. I believe Hortster is correct that it is a type of thistle. Many will send up the flower stalk almost over night.

My Lily ( Chi/Yorkie) gets very itchy on her back in the center and down towards her tail..she has it from spring to early fall. Vet says enviornmental allergies and gives her a allergy shot, ( can't remember what it is called) in the summer, it lasts thru the worst of it. Without it she will scratch her back by rolling on it until it becomes infected. I don't treat her for fleas but keep her hair short and search her daily. She suffers from IBS and can't tolorate any flea meds. Never find fleas, bites, or droppings. She also licks her paws ALL the time, drives me insane. Everytime I see her licking paws I give her one of her toys and she licks it instead. every evening for the past 3 weeks I have washed her paws in tepid water with a bit of pulverised ostmeal, rinse and pat dry. I am noticing she's not licking nearly as much. Our furry babies can be a real handful at times.

When I bought my Duet in 2008, my 17 yo son complained about itching. I had researched Consumer Reports and bought the top-rated HE detergent at that time. Back to research--here on the Laundry Forum--and heard about Charlie's Soap. Bought the powder, re-washed all his clothes in Charlie's. His comment, "This is soft." Hmm. 17 yo son never commented about how "soft" his t-shirts were, before. So, I have used Charlie's powder, no fabric softener, ever since. BUT my 93 yo MIL lives with us and stains are a problem. So I'm experimenting, because she has a helper who comes in and does her laundry. Stain treatments often get missed. I bought Dropps, hated the scent. Complained to the company--and am very impressed at their customer service, because they sent unscented samples ASAP. Persil was on sale, bought the ProClean Original--OVERSUDSING!!! I need a detergent that works well on food stains, doesn't need fabric softeners, doesn't require pre-treatment, is EASY for health care helper to use without special directions. Her laundry is done in old-fashioned top loader. Suggestions?

Random comments: I see Tide With Bleach powder at 2 of my local Meijer stores (Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan) so I'm assuming they have it on their national website (Meijer.com). I also see it on Walmart's website. Walmart has free shipping on orders over $50, I think. If rinsed properly, there is absolutely no detergent scent left behind. Mama, the liquid version sure is not the same. No oxygen bleach -- don't know how they can get away with that. Only facial moisturizer/sunscreen I can use: "Eucerin Daily Protection SPF 30." Stays white a while because of the mineral (vs chemical) suncreens but quickly absorbs. Nicely moisturizing also for winter. On my arms and legs I use "California Kids Supersensitive SPF 30," and like miami above it is very thick, white, and doesn't soak in. The neighbors just stare when I also put this on my face, but who cares? Yes, vetwife, Eucerin products are highly recommended by derms and they are very nice. Just want you to know that I was in the SHADE outside when my "rash" started the prickly burning. UV rays are everywhere, even near inside windows. Something about climate chanage and the ozone layer -- I can't keep up. cilantro, I've cut out Zrytec/Claritin and Aleve/aspirin, but cannot cut out my ace inhibitor with diuretic, or anti-depressant. The rash is lessened so, again, thank you for that link. Having a biopsy next week, so I'll be on Tylenol anyway, and that's supposed to be okay. Thanks to this Forum, we all get to help each other in some way.