Before I continue, let me clarify something: this is regarding the pain-from-getting-burned-just-stopped sunburn itch, not the my-skin-is-peeling sunburn itch.
Here is the backstory:
After spending some time near the equator, I developed a whopper of a sunburn. For a few days I had some difficulty sleeping secondary to the pain the I experienced any time that I moved. Lathering up my back with aloe and other mosturizers, by Sunburn Day 3 the pain was starting to abate and I figured that I was just about out of the wood. Then the unthinkable happened.
I was minding my own business (standing on the street corner when these two guys started to make trouble...wait that's another story), sitting by the computer when out of the blue my back starts to itch.
So naturally I reach around and scratch it. And would you believe it, that didn't seem to help. I keep scraching, but I'm quickly realizing that I need something bigger as I can't scratch my entire back at once, so I run into the bathroom and start frantically grinding my back up against one of the towels that we had hanging up. All this seemed to do was create a kind of itch/pain wherever I last scratched.
This seemed to help for a few minutes, but I was quickly leaving the this-is-mildly-annoying part and entering the I'm-at-risk-for-losing-my-mind phase.
I then tried laying face up in bed and moving up and down, but of course that didn't work. Then I tried arching my back as much as possible (is that decorticate or cerebrate?) as if I was going to do a backwards cartwheel, then curling up into the fetal position--zero help whatsoever.
All the while the itchiness was coming in ever greater waves. My heart was racing and my entire body began to pulsate with each heartbeat. You may think I am exaggerating, but until you have suffered through a good case of sunburn itch, you'll never understand. There were times where I actually considered going into the emergency room, I was that concerned that something serious might be going on.
So here was the one thing that helped: put about an inch of aloe vera gel on your back. I'm assuming it is your back that got burned because, unless your a nudist, chances are you went to the beach with skin white enough to make the Amish proud and decided to spend most of the day face down. Here's the important part: lie completely still, facedown on the bed. I'm sure that after a lot of itching you will be having some involuntary back spasms with how bad the pain is, but the only way to feel better is to keep from moving the burned part.
At first, putting gel on your back is only going to make the itching worse, and you'll still have some lingering itchiness, but it will pale in comparison to how miserable you were beforehand.
Addendum: My wife couldn't believe that I was in as much agony as I was letting on--feel free to point to the comments section of this post when your friend/parent/significant doesn't believe you. Also, feel free to leave comments in the forum if you would prefer. Thanks to everyone who has posted their own stories in the comments section, they always bring a smile to my face.
If you have a second, please click on a link. Every little bit counts when you have 200k in student loans.
Update: was interviewed by the National Post regarding my experience, it would seem that sunburn itch is still very rarely described and somewhat poorly understood now 5 years after this original post. You can find the whole story here.
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943 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 943 Newer› Newest»to re-re-re-iterate- seriously, it is the worst torture EVER and it is indescribable.
im burnt to almost a maroon colour all over my shoulders, arms, neck, back and chest.
i tried everything, aloe, moisturizers, rubbed ice all over myself constantly, with a fan on me, which helped while i was doing it, but after 30 secs... the itch is back. but honestly, just putting a jumper on helped a fair bit. im getting an itch every now and then but its now bearable. good luck! =(
ps. IF YOU DONT HAVE THE ITCH YET... JUST DONT SHOWER. DONT DO IT. JUST DOOO NOTTT DO IT.
my sunburn was just mildly sore, and i thought "oh a shower might make me feel better, cool it down" WRONG, welcome to hellish itching.
but yes. try clothing? =) x
This has to be one of the worse things ever!! I can not stop itching. I've tried alo and it doesnt seem to work. I feel as all my friends think i'm making it into a bigger deal than it is but it's seriously uncontrollable! When will this end!!?? :[
To the person who suggested MINT OIL...this provided IMMEDIATE RELIFE 20min after application the horrid tingling sensation is replaced with a cool soothing burning sensation...feels sooo much better.
YOU NEED TO GET THIS.
Top it up every couple of hours. I only wish I had it last night/ The itching is over now...I honestly just wanted someone to kill me last night i have never felt such agony
I found pacing around the house helped provide an outlet for the pain. The second I sat down it would become unbearable again.
I wonder why some people get this amazing reaction?
No one else will understand what you are going through, people will think you are mad but nothing ive ever experience before even comes close to this.
Keep clam and just remember nothing goes on forever and you will make it through and feel well again soon.
Hang in their Mates, we understand the utter hell you are going through. There is light at the end of the tunnel - Neill, Australia
I swear to God, I am never going through this again. I swear to everything holy, do not take a shower, wear a shirt, and take double the recommended amount of pain pills. I am going to go buy some peppermint oil and be ready for this the next time. I laid in bed and clenched my whole body and started to count and this put me to sleep. Do not put anything wet on your skin, makes it 1000 times worse, I worked all day with a minor itch, got home took a shower and the wraths of gods were unleashed on me. This blog has had me laughing all day and I have gotten some good ideas if I go through this again. That is if I don't hang myself first
This might be the worst thing I have ever felt. I laid in the sun for a good two hours on Friday and turned a really nice red color. Every year I get one bad burn at the beginning of the season, but I have never experienced anything like this. I got in the shower to cool it off today around 2 (Sunday-two days later), HUGE MISTAKE! The itch started right when I put body wash on on my chest. I couldn't wash anywhere else because I itched so bad. Turns out, the only place I am itching like this is my chest. I got out of the shower immediately and lathered on aloe. It didn't do anything. As soon as it was all rubbed in, I had to put some more on. I only did this because the rubbing was better than scratching. This went on for hours. I came across this blog and read that cortizone-10 works, and it did after about 15 minutes. I've been almost itch free for about 3 hours (best 3 hours of my life). I've also drinken about 5 water bottles during that time period and read this whole thing. My roommates and friends are all making fun of me for reading this for the past three hours a because its "just sunburn." Thank you for there being people that actually knows what this is like.I CANNOT wait till this is over. Good luck to anyone else whoever has this. DONT SHOWER!
its subsided for a few hours now. everytime i think its coming back, i drink a water bottle and that helps a lot. DRINK TONS OF WATER!
Omg! I've done it again...the burn...the itch...WTF is wrong with me? I've been up since yesterday and pacing...listening to music. Hope my three kids don't wake up crying with the itchies! Yes, they got sun too! The worse part is I'm a nurse!
Why we itch?
It's a histamine response to sun exposure.
What makes it worse:
Hot Showers / don't do this prior to the ich phase "to take the stingout" hence causing swelling further increasing the histamine buildup/response .
What works:
Decrease swelling to site ( brief cold shower) or apply ice towels( soak towels in water and place in freezer ) then wrap site. This stop the nerves from firing and prevents further histamine buildup.
Next take benadryl...or for those who act crazy with benadryl take another antihistamine(allegra).
And for the pharmacy junkies add a ( corticosteriod...prednisone )
Next add benadryl gel or peppermint oil or calamine lotion
Next coverup! Oxygen makes the skin more irritated! That's way water feels better, less oxygen!
If this doesn't work, call your dermatologist and they can give u an injection to stop the itching. It will be a a steroid like the prednisone. So to the lady in Guatemala, see if this a nearby hospital for puritis tx.
I just expierienced the same thing. IT IS HELL! I tried all the lotions and potions and benadryl. The only thin that semmed to help was laying on as much ice as possible and then most importantly staying calm. When you getworked up it releases histomean which can intensify the itch. I know this seems immpossible but the sooner you can calm down even to a pace, or rocking , not running around twitching, it will help and most importantly distract yourself when its gone and pray it doesnt come back.
Cover the entire sunburn area with Ice or frozen veggies (bare skin)! Almost instant relief. You will have to deal with the pain of ice on bare skin but it is instant relief!
I just got home from Cuba 2 weeks ago. I got severly sunburned on my first day there. The pain from the burn prevented me from even carrying my purse on my shoulder. I was in Cuba for 1 week, and when I got home, my front, back, arms and legs were peeling. I put Aloe Vera on and screamed! I saw a pharmasist at a drug store, and she said if the aloe vera hurt, then the sunburn had to be seen by my Dr.. The pain was unbearable. He prescribed me Arthrotec and Flamazine cream. THEN...It started. The Itch. As I sit here and type, it feels like a million little bugs are crawling on my front and back. For the last week, I have begged my 3 children and husband to scratch my back. They are getting annoyed. Suicide is not an option. If someone could just smuck me upside the head and knock me out for a few days. I've been getting NO sleep. I am concerned about hysteria. So glad to find this blog and get some tips. Thanks guys!
Ok! I've figured out what works...seriously!!!! PEPPERMINT OIL!!!!! IT STOPS THE F...ING MIND BLOWING CAN SLEEP...I'M GOING INSANE ITCH! Run to the nearest WHole Foods or Similar store GET IT! It works!!!!
I'm an RN and I've tried oral steroids and topical ones... nothing stops it like PEPPERMINT OIL!
To stop the insanity follow steps below:
(seriously... It works!)
1: COLD SHOWER (CeraVa soap only...walmart...look near neutragena)
2: PAT DRY ...IMMEDIATELY APPLY PEPPERMINT OIL STRAIGHT ON sKIN. Ahhhhhhhhh
3: APPLY CeraVa CREAM to skin!!! DO it!!
ALL IS WELL KNOW GO TO SLEEP...yeah it works that fast!!!!
SINCERELY,
another victim of the itch
Laura, RN
PEPPERMINT OIL STRAIGHT AND PURE IS THE CURE!!!
All is well instantly and NOW you can sleep!!! AHhhhhhhh
Sorry for the typo before!
Sincerely,
Laura, RN
Ok...I'm back just a revision to above steps!
1: cold shower only CeraVe Soap if needed
2: CeraVe cream thick... immediately! Not oil as mentioned ( it might be too strong for some folks)
3: THEN peppermint oil after lotion is absorbed.
This works!!!!!
* CeraVe products are recommended by my dermatologist! Who is rated best dermatologist five years running. Its not a commercial. I've used them for a year and have had great success with. Love it, you'll see! Walmart...pass the makeup near buff puffs...weird.
Blog if this worked for you!
Laura, RN
Honestly, mind over matter. The most important thing you can do is hydrate. Couple the hydration (WATER, nor Gatorade or other sports drinks) with extra strength Tylenol. If necessary, get yourself an antihistamine; antihistamines will assist with the itching but will not make it completely subside. Remember, hydration is 'key'. Healing sunburns are generically severely dry skin. However, unlike eczema, healing sunburns react differently to moisturizing creams. Because your body is repairing itself, you have an *extra* layer of skin. When you attempt to moisturize the dry skin, you are merely spreading the moisture on top of the dead skin. You'll notice that when you are 'moisturizing' the lotion/cream takes an odd amount of time to absorb into the body. That is because the dead skin (it feels like sandpaper or damp rubber) is coating the dermis. Think of the ‘shedding skin’ as a raincoat. Of course, as this skin is shedding, there are cracks (openings), which is why you feel ‘relief’ when taking cold showers or using mint oil. Note however that these do not last; itching sensation usually returns within 3-4 hrs of application – even less after showing, because the new skin is not fully absorbing the ‘treatments’.
You must treat your body like the machine it is. Again, hydrate. Your body takes care of itself! Though, you can help it along! As a Marine, I have been ingrained with constant hydration, even after 5 years in, I drink 8-10 bottles of water on a daily basis. The reason this is so ingrained in service members is because the DoD knows the importance of letting your body heal itself – hundreds of millions of dollars has gone into studies by the DoD; obviously the USGOV did not spend millions of dollars on the ‘sunburn itch – but I trust you are following the logic. Even if you’re not a military member, think about scenario. You are on an afternoon jog through a local park. It is hot outside and although you are not running too fast, you’re starting to feel the effects of the afternoon heat. You start to breath and sweat harder. Eventually, your thirst center begins telling your brain that you are dehydrated. At this point, let’s say you’re a good 5 miles from the nearest water source. You have to get back, right? So you decide to take it slow and walk. But it’s only getting hotter and you’re really thirsty now. Notice that the sweating is decreasing but you feel even hotter. Now your throat is dry and your lips are getting chapped. Again, in this fictional scenario, let’s say you come upon a lake of water – not fresh water and you know if you were to drink it, worst things than dehydration would occur. So you say to yourself, it’s so hot! A swim would make me feel so much better. Off you go into the lake, the cooling water making you feel – for the moment, better. Well, you’re feeling a little better but still very thirsty. Your throat is aching for a drop of water, coke, anything! This is happening because you’re body needs to replenish fluids!
What does this scenario have to do with the ‘sunburn itch’? Stay with me longer. The body does not want the water ‘just to feel better’ – YOU WANT THE WATER TO FEEL BETTER. The body has other plans. Obviously, the body needs to water for basic functions – however, it also needs to replace the fluids it’s lost (hence the thirst and lack of perspiration). Well, this scenario is exactly what a sunburn is – hydration. Except, in this case, your skin is severely dehydrated. Now, pills and cream may help. And perhaps it is so unbearable that you get a steroid injection (note: steroids should not be taken lightly, they are for severe problems, most doctors will refuse to administer such injections – even for 3rd degree sunburns). What you need to do is drink water, and keep drinking water. Also, eat! Although you are in pain, the body still needs it basic necessities to maintain performance – otherwise, how do you expect it to heal itself? Lastly, again, it’s mind over matter – believe me, you can force yourself past the pain (see below).
Hey guys, I figured you might say "What does he know?! I am in pain now!" Well, I am experiencing it right now! So trust me when I say I FEEL your pain.
Situation: I live in Bangkok, Thailand (1.5 yrs now) and Hawaii before that. I know a thing or two about sunburn. I stumbled on this site, like most of you, because I have the ‘sunburn itch’. I got 2nd degree sunburn by my pool on Sunday, and after enduring the pain on Day 1, Day 2, & Day 3, the pain has subsided and the ‘sunburn itch’ has arrived. Of course, I did not realize it arrived until I scratched my back - and you all KNOW where it goes from there. But I took my own advice, I relaxed until the pain subsided (itchiness and all) and continued to work – yes, I am at work! I work an office job that required professional attire (not really nice on sun burnt skin) and as I said, Marines really can’t take a ‘sick day’.
Really, take my advice, if you put your mind into crossing the ‘pain threshold’ I assure you, you will be just fine. HYDRATE!
-Philip
Bangkok
Here's what happened to me and how I fixed it. I went tanning with my girlfriend on Tuesday, and I went in the bed for the full 20 minutes. I always get burned really good once at the beginning of every summer, and after that I get tan and don't burn anymore. I'm 22 and I've gotten some pretty darn bad sun burns before and never heard of this 'sunburn itch' thing. I was burned pretty good from this tanning bed though, my back and especially my butt was really red. Two days after I was at my girfriends house (Thursday) and she started gently scratching my back because it felt good- Then, the satanic itch began. I started jerking and convulsing on her couch, screaming. She didn't understand what was happening, but she rubbed some moisturizing oil on my back and let it soak in, but it only made the itch worse. Then she slathered on some aloe vera gel, which also only made it worse. By this time I was in agony, so she ran to the store and got me benodryl and Cortizone-10 with sunburn itch relief. This helped the itch stop after about 45 minutes, and i was able to fall asleep. My skin was also peeling very bad. So when I woke up in the morning i took a cold shower to wash the huge layers of dead skin off my back, and it worked. My back was smooth as a baby's bottom...and then the itch started again. It was unbearable, and her dad suggested they rush me to the ER. They gave me 2 kinds of steroids, some more benodryl and told me to get Benodryl cream. I went back to my dorm room at college once I gotten my medicine filled at the pharmacy, and the itch started again, but this time it was worse than ever. I was screaming bloody murder, running around my room in the dark slamming my back against any cold surface I could find. I made the big mistakes of scratching the itches, not wearing a shirt, and taking a shower. This made it absolutely unbearable and I thought I was going to lose my mind. There just can't be anything on earth as terrible as this feeling. The medicine hadn't kicked in yet, and I was writhing on the floor, convulsing and jerking, screaming like a mad man. Being in the hands of Chinese torturers would have felt like being cradled in the loving arms of my mother compared to this feeling. If I had a gun, I surely would have killed myself. I poured a whole bottle of apple cider vinegar on my back, and it only made the itch worse, so i washed it off with cold water in the shower. Nothing made the feeling go away, and I was pulling chunks of my own hair out in complete agony. I lost my voice from screaming so loud. It was without a doubt the most unspeakably agonizing, mind warping, sanity crushing torment I could ever imagine. I called my roommate screaming and asked him to pick up some extra strength benodryl itching cream. When he got back he slathered it on my back. He was so disturbed by my screaming and convulsing that he had to leave the room. Poor guy. My back muscles were seizing up from the involuntary jerking and twisting that the itch brings. As soon as the cream/medicine kicks in, the adrenaline stopped pumping through my body and I fell right asleep. Woke up at 4 and haven't had an itch attack since, its been about 10 hours. The steroids are supposed to speed up the healing process, but they take 24 hours to kick in. I'm on so much benodryl that I'm like a zombie walking around and I can hardly function. But better to feel like this than to deal with 'the itch'. Don't let it drive you to the point where you try to kill yourself. It IS that serious, so go to the ER and have them pump you with steroids. It will greatly help the itch go away and heal it faster so that it will not linger for weeks and weeks. Good luck to anyone who’s reading this right now to get through the unspeakable torture of sunburn itch. Just know that the really bad itch attacks only last for about a day, and after that it becomes bearable. It won't last forever, as much as you feel like it. There is life again after the itch.
Seriously... Yes hydrate!!! However, while your hydrating and need relief from the MADNESS of thE ITCH...get PEPPERMINT OIL!!!!!!!!!
IT WORKS!!! MOSTURIZE FIRST then APPY TO SKIN!! AHhhhhhhh .....
( whole foods or similar store)
Pure peppermint oil .... Not a anything else!
It worked for me! Thanks Laura RN you saved me! Great advise!!!
I am the anonymous poster from one comment up, who wrote the long story about going to the ER. I forgot to mention that the doctor told me that he's seen a few cases of this sunburn itch that actually causes people to die, because their body is in such a state of shock and panic, there is so much adrenaline pumping through their body when their having an attack, that they get a heart attack and die. So I want to stress to EVERYONE reading this, do whatever it takes to remain as calm as possible. I know you will not be able to be anything that resembles calm, but don't work yourself up more by panicing. Tell yourself that the itch attacks only last an hour at a time maximum, and it will be over. Try and keep your skin as cold as possible during the attack to dull the severity of the itch. Peppermint Oil seems to be the conclusively best remedy, so GET PEPPERMINT OIL. I thought I was going to die from my attack after I left the ER, because the STEROIDS hadn't kicked in yet. But if you get 1 really bad itching attack, they usually get worse as the day goes on and into the next day, so immediately have someone go get peppermint oil and call a doctor and tell them you need steroids ASAP. These attacks can actually be life risking, so take no chances. The steroids help speed up the healing process so you won't have to deal with the itch for weeks. The majority of cases only deal with the satanic, unspeakable itch attacks for 1-2 days. Very few, rare cases last for a week or more at a time. If you get steroids it will go away as soon as they kick in. Take tons of Benodryl and peppermint oil and you should be fine. Just DO NOT SHOWER until a few days after the last attack to be safe. Don't do anything that risks getting another attack.
lol wow hope that never happens 2 me again and wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy aloe and ib profen along with a tshirt and lotion ( after it dried it will agravate it at first ) has helped alot and brought it to be a controlable itch. man that was horrible. oh yea try to leave aggravated part as still as possible
It's Sunday April 2011. I went to the beach on Friday and got burned, along with two of my friends.
Saturday it just hurt, but today... today is a whole other story. At 3:00 the unbearable itch from hell attacked me head on. I was twitching and jerking and scratching non-stop. I know from experience that nothing helps this itch. No ointments, no aloe, no showers or baths or ice or anything.
The only thing I can do is wear a shirt and lay down on the nonsunburnt side, keep scratching the itches where they come, and take 2 Benadryl, and hope to pass out on the floor.
Good luck and God bless to anyone suffering through this. It surely is extreme hell, and one of the worst pains anyone can experience.
I want to itch my chest with a cheese grater right now. Somebody f-ing kill me. I'll agree with my fellow serviceman from a few posts up though. Hydration is key. I just slammed a large glass of water and already feel a little better.
Ok you seriously need to edit the t-shirt...
I survived sunburn itch...with peppermint oil!
Enough said! If anyone suffers after not making the choice to try this ...their nuts!
Got peppermint oil?
It's worked so well, I'm considering getting burned again!
This is from someone who spend many years as a teenager crying my eyes out from the itch, a ruined honeymoon etc. and many countless other times.
Day 2 of the dreaded sunburn itch!! The best thing I have found in Sarna, oatmeal baths, solarcaine.. Stay away from straight aloe it makes it worse! I know this may sound nasty but you will thank me after just soak in the oatmeal an try not to wash ur sunburnt areas it only drys it out makes it worse!
Gold Bond Intensive Relief Anti-Itch Lotion + large glass of wine. Enough said! And yes I tried everything else from ice cubes to aloe.
I have a pretty high tolerance for pain but without a doubt THIS ITCH IS THE WORST THING I EVER EXPERIENCED, this is my 3rd time going through this since i was a kid. I havent found much to help, but if you have someone around to slightly rub your back its seems to temporary help, Im try a drink water til a cant anymore and maybe it will stay away. Best of luck to yall
I was out in the sun for four hours straight with no sunscreen on this past Sunday.
Monday brought the worst sunburn pain I've ever had.
Tuesday, brought the...
"UNHOLY ITCH FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL WITH THE POWER OF A MIGHTY DEMON!"
I seriously was bolting around the house, leaping over furniture, yelling, shaking violently, doing dance moves so bizarre Thom Yorke would run away screaming. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfOa1a8hYP8)
I've had several attacks throughout the day. I only hope this ends soon. Thank you all for posting your stories. I've been reading this blog for the past two hours and it is one of the only things that is distracting me from the itch. Applying Aloe Vera has definitely helped my skin heal, but it has done nothing for the itch. I might consider going to the ER, or I might test out that Peppermint Oil...
I know what you all are going through, hang in there!!!
well my friends this is sunburn itch #4 for me and i can tell you that it sucks just as bad this time as it did the first. vowed after my last burn that i would never get burnt again due to the uncontrollable-mind numbing-driving me crazy-moaning and groaning-insanity causing-i am willing to empty my entire savings account-please make this stop right now-son of a snitch itch... it will go away i know from experience but until then we suffer collectively. this has to be one of the worst physical sensations the human body is capable of producing. my heart aches for those suffering from chronic disease. its times like these that i realize how lucky i am to be blessed with good health.
Let me tell you, a couple hours ago--I thought I was going to die.
I got home after squirming, praying to the Lord to kill me.
I took a HOT shower, as hot as I could stand, until the burning sensation was gone, and then took a Benadryl ALLERGY, and it's a lot better. Still a little crawling feeling, but I'll sleep through the night.
DON'T USE ANY LOTIONS.
One word.... HELL!
Get up and run to whole foods and buy
PEPPERMINT OIL....IT WORKS!!!!!!!
YES.....IT STOPS IT IMMEDIATELY!!!
To all those people who suffer are at dumb...there's a cure folks. Now get up and go get it. Yikes.
I had the sun burn itch this morning. It woked me up a few hours before work. I applied lotion for about two hours straight, and took two short showers. I tried to ignore it so I could shave...bad idea. Needless to say my shaving adventure was not successful. With only 10 minutes left before I needed to leave for work, and still not dressed, I didn't have many options. So, being that I am not used to defeat, I knew I had to kick this sunburn in the ass. My sunburn happended about a week ago on my back, and hadn't started peeling yet. So, I took a rough bath towel, put it around my back, and started rubbing back and forth with as much pressure as possible. I basically broke the skin and forced the peeling process to begin. Once I rubbed off a lot of the skin, my itch was instantly gone. I kid you not. The relief was so great that the pain from rubbing off the skin wasn't noticable. I felt like I could actually breath for the first time in hours.
i am at the point of throwing up from drinking so much water. its 2 am and i am about to rip the skin off my body. earlier i look an oatmeal bath but made the mistake of using warm water. this happened to me last year and i said i would never go through it again yet here i am practically rolling myself into a straight jacket of sheets to stop myself from accidently scratching the skin off my back and arms. HELPPP
Last night was the longest night of my life. After two hours of sleep, the Hell Itch woke me up this morning- This was the worst yet. Reading this blog helped me find solace in knowing that others had been through this as well. You just can't understand it until you've had it. My burn was three days ago and the Hell Itch started yesterday. This morning, the pain is much more mild, but still there. It is less debilitating and I can finally get a few things done. After about 20 hours of unbearable discomfort, pain, and itchiness (solid), it seems to be subsiding. However, the peeling process is just barely beginning.
Am I done with the hardest part? Am I on the downhill now? I'm a nervous wreck.
by the time i was done reading these comments i was not thinking about the itcyness and forgot about it... not i get random spasms but and bitting my toung and not touching it because i know its going to start a full scale scratching attack of death and im gonna go insane
when this is over with im never going to leave my house and if i do im going to wear tin foil clothing on every micro inch of my body!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I survived!
For the people wondering how long the itch lasts. The unbearable itch lasted 2 days for me. After that is a two days bearable itch. On day 3 or 4 you will start to peel. You will have an itch from the peeling. But a normal type of itching… that lets you to scratch, takes showers, and be normal again.
Here is a list of do’s and dont’s
- Peppermint oil!!!!!!! It helps a LOT. It will burn at first but after a while it will feel much better. You may reapply some later. But it’s just so you can get through the unbearable phase.
- NO SHOWERS for the first 3 days!!!
- Always wear a shirt!!
- Drink water
- Do a combo of 2 tylenol pm and 2 benadryl (you WILL sleep)
That’s it. Don’t put anything else on your skin or it will just irritate it. And hang in there, because it won’t last forever.
Mike
im just adding a temporary remedy, i am on day 3, blisters on shoulder the hole shabam, i was fine, then the itching started, the only thing i have is this blog to read to keep my mind off it. Oh yeah, and weeed
This place is amazing, I love you all for suffering what I thought was just my shitty Irish skin..Oh my god... this happened to me a couple of years ago. It. was. the. worst. thing. EVER. all I could do was mince around naked slathered in EVERYTHING whilst my boyfriend who I was screaming at to stay away from me had to read aloud news stories about the Iraq war to help take my mind of the fucking unbearable skin torture hell that was owning my body. My forehead swelled up a day later, and the itching went. I got burned two days ago. YOU'D THINK I'D LEARN MY LESSON. but just on my ....this is so awful... on my boobs! I had them covered in Aloe gel, the blue on with lidocaine. basically one notch up from ineffective.. and now have the little fuckers slathered in sudocreme. I've taken a piritin, a paracetamol, and two Kalms. and rehydration solution in a bottle of water I keep refilling. I'm trying to remain calm, I know this will end, its not my whole body, everything will be okay. everything. will. be. okay. and I can hear my neighbours have a party. bastardsbastardsbastards.. ughhughhughhh. This is karma of some kind. I'll be aking sleeping tablets tonight to help me sleep. and maybe a glass of wine. anything to stop me from becoming the bug eyed psycho I was the first time. Oh - I'm not taking a shower - thats what set it off the first time. I'm just gonna be smelly and creamy. to hell with everything.
KEEP AIR MOVING ACROSS THE ITCHING SKIN
PUT A FAN ON HIGH IN YOUR ROOM AT THE VERY LEAST
THIS HELPED ME MOST AFTER PUTTING ON 100% ALOE VERA GEL
Thank you to all of you who have shared their stories. It's good to know I'm not alone or crazy.
It is currently 1 AM on Tuesday and the itch won't let me sleep. I got sunburned on Saturday, and it only started Monday night when I took a shower before swimming. I got home, took another shower to get the chlorine off, thinking that was what was irritating it. My mom put 3 different lotions on my back and two allergy creams/sprays. I took two Tylenol and an Aleve and NOTHING HAS WORKED! I tried going to sleep and an ice pack on a small towel helps a TON. Unfortunately it doesn't cover my whole back, so here I am, still awake.
I read above that peppermint oil helps a lot, so if the itch isn't gone in the morning, I'll definitely be getting that.
The abominable itch!!! I will NEVER subject myself to this again! I would rather be shot!
SOLARCAINE SPRAY...it temporarily numbs your skin so you can regain contol.
Have someone spray your skin and lay down and stay still.
I got sunburnt on my back three days ago. Last night, having had no maddening itch at all, just the usual pinkness, it suddenly happened. It is such utter agony!
Having spent my more lucid moments (i.e. between waves of pain) researching the subject, this is a degradation of the nerves where the sun has caused deeper damage than to just the outer layers of the skin. It often occurs a few days after exposure, apparently because the heat generated from the burn temporarily deadens the nerve endings. Then they fight back!
There are many ways of finding temporary relief, but it should pass within a few days.
My regime to cope with the bouts of insanity (jumping up and down, heart racing, "looking mental" according to my wife) included the following:
- Lying in a cool bath of water a hosing down the affected area with a shower. Being immersed in water helps cool down body temperature, but avoid very cold water as it might cause hypothermia. This is such bliss that you may not want to leave!
- Patting dry the affected areas so as not to cause further itching.
- Lying in bed with my back totally exposed with a fan pointed towards me, thus keeping my back cool.
This still resulted in waking every couple of hours, and I would repeat the cycle again.
I had tried normal moisturisers, a cooling shaving balm, and an aftersun cooling gel, none of which had any affect. Indeed they created a sort of paste which stopped the affected area from 'breathing' and made the itching worse.
I have now been to the doctor and received a prescription for Dermol cream, which is an antimicrobial emollient (moisturiser). I also bought some peppermint oil from a Pharmacy, often used as an essential oil for massage etc. A few drops to the affected area burn like crazy for about five minutes, then there is just a tingle. The oil contains a natural anaesthetic which dulls the nerve endings.
I then really slathered myself the Dermol cream, allowing it to be absorbed slowly. Doing the oil and the cream method, allowing both to sink in separately, has made today just about bearable.
The symptoms seem to be much worse at night because there are fewer sensory distractions from the pain. Keeping calm is very hard in such circumstances, but try to focus on your breathing or watch TV/listen to the radio: anything to stop you thinking about the next itch!
There are a lot of comments on here, so this may have been said before. But what helped me for about an hour and a half at a time is hot shower. Let the water run on the itchy spots for a long time. It took away the itch for a while. Or maybe it just over came it with pain. lol I would rather have pain than that itch. And after the shower put baby oil on all over. It makes the itch worse at first but after it soaks in it helps. And also when the burn starts to itch in any spot, try to ignore it. Itching it makes it worse. It makes it spread. Good luck.
Two days ago I was burned. I immediately started slathering my burns with aloe vera, hid out in the basement and took the first ice bath of my life. This was all familiar; I've been burned probably every summer of my life (I'm eighteen), and I know the drill. Or I thought I did...
Then suddenly last night my chest (where I got burned) started to itch a little. I thought it would easily go away if I put on a little aloe vera gel and hopped back into bed, when suddenly, IT ITCHED. There was almost no warning. Every time i tried to hold still my body would start to convulse like it was being electrocuted, I had absolutely no control.
I raided the bathroom for anything - creams, more aloe vera, even some orajel, for god’s sake - but absolutely nothing made any difference (note: orajel makes it worse, I found out…) The only relief was scrubbing the burned area endlessly with my hands, which was also extremely painful because the skin is red and raw.
I started going nuts. It literally felt like I was going insane. I have never felt anything like this before - how could an itch be so maddening?? It felt like a swarm of mosquitoes was living on my chest, and I ran around the house at one in the morning like a wild thing, swearing and convulsing and shuddering. I tried going outside for some cool air but it only made the rest of my body cold and didn’t help at all.
The only relief was finally grabbing ice cubes straight out of the freezer and melting them right against the burned area. As long as the ice cube kept moving, I couldn't feel anything.
After about an hour of this (and sopping clothes and pillows from the ice cubes), I took two extra strength asprins which didn't even remotely numb the feeling.
I spent the night in a crazed daze, applying ice every minute or so in the dark and rolling around endlessly.
Finally I got out of bed around four PM, resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to sleep and I definitely wouldn’t be going to school.
I’m now at 19 hours of The Itch, and it’s finally died down. I didn’t sleep a wink and my body is totally keyed up and jittery from all the adrenaline that was shot through it during the night while I was twitching out. Let me just say: it is AWFUL. Worse than three-day food poisoning. Worse than blister sunburn. Worse than forty-below weather or stubbing your toe or… god I don’t even have any comparisons. It’ just that bad. And even while I was in the worst of it was hard to comprehend how awful it was. My brain just kept thinking, wait – this is an itch. It can’t possibly be that painful – FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!
So yeah. No sleep. Good time to watch your favorite tv show, though. Only thing that kept my mind off of it for enough time to distract me from contemplating suicide. Because honestly, I preferred horrible, bloody death.
Also, Benedryl doesn’t work. But the cream directly applied to the skin seemed to alleviate some of it – or maybe it’s finally just fading. But yeah, worst pain of my life. I think the worst was trying to sleep: that only leads to tears, it’s too frustrating and painful. This thread helped, though.
Aloe straight from the plant only made it worse, water only lasted five minutes and ice only worked in small areas. What worked was BENADRYL.
Smear Benadryl cream over the itching area and then take two Benadryl pills every two hours. I fell asleep for ten hours and woke up to easily bearable tingling sensations.
DON'T ITCH-- Helps after ten to fifteen minutes.
I got a pretty good sunburn about 3 days ago only to wake up to severe itching this morning. NOTHING is working. I guess time is the only cure. I'm going insane right now.
This is the most terrible thing ever. Being at work when the itch starts is terrifying. Please make it stop!
As like many of you that are reading this post, I have recently come down with the SUNBURN ITCH! Easily the most grueling, and painful thing I have ever gone through; even surpassing broken bones and dislocations! That being said, don't completely lose your mind just quite yet...There may be help.
After searching google for a cure a few hours ago, I demanded a treatment, and fast! What worked for me at first was Aloe vera gel, but it was only temporary. Once it started drying, the pricking, itching, needles-in-your-back sensation came back worse than ever!
Then, I put calamine lotion and benadryl lotion on my back and smothered it over the whole prickly portion of my body. Immediatly after, I put a wet bath towel across my bare back and opened up the windows in the house to allow a draft of air through. The wet towel on my back accompanied with the slight breeze made a cool and wet sensation that completely alleviated the itch! So much, that I actually fell asleep. I'm typing this right now as I'm waking up from that very nap, hoping it helps someone else from the excruciating pain of sunburn itch. I still have a slight itch, but much more bearable that the hell-like pain I was experiencing just 2 hours ago.
By the way, many other people reported that peppermint oil also worked wonders on the itch, but I didn't have any available so I had to improvise. Good luck and hang in there!
This is the worst feeling ever. the only remedy that works for me is taking mad amounts of benadril (sorry for the spelling) and jumping into a cold shower and wait for the benadril to kick in.
UHHHHHHH. THIS IS the worst imaginable pain ever!
So it started,3 days ago, i laid out on my back and belly for about 4 hours. HUGE MISTAKE. im really fair skinned, and this is the 4th day. IM ITCHING LIKE CRAZY! ITS DRIVING ME STARK MAD! Iv tried, vinagar, lotion, alevera, advil, benedril, milk, potatoes, EVERYTHING. nothing is workin :'( iv screamed at the top of my lungs, making my parents think im crazzy. you dont no the pain until you have experienced it. it feels like bugs and ants and needles are piercing yours burns. this is the 4th day, when will it end? worst pain im ever felt in my life.
took a shower yesterday, a cold shower. when i got out i was huring so bad, i ripped a piece of the towel in half with my teeth. its unbearable. i was in a fetal position praying and screaming. WHEN WILL IT END??? :'(
THIS SUCKS!
I cant stand this.. i want to either rip off my skin on cut it off... not sure if it'll feel any better after that but right now it seems like an amazing idea! 2 days ago i went away for the long weekend with my friends to wasaga beach.. we were on the beach for about 4 hours but the thing is, not thinking, i didnt put any sunscreen on because it was windy out and it was fairly mild outside..that was the biggest misjudgment of my life! the pain from the sunburn was so terrible that i left early to go home. now, being the second day, the burn is extremely itchy, i feel like im going insane because i cant scratch as im still burnt and gentle rubbing doesnt do much. i noticed that itching as soon as i got out of the shower.. i wish i would of visited this site before i did anything!! i tried using aloe which only works for 2 mins, tried gold bond itching powder which worked for a few seconds, tried taking advil which only slightly helps. the only thing that seems to work wonders is keeping an icepack on the burnt area, but the thing is, how am i supposed to keep the icepack on forever?! not sure how im going to function tomorrow at work..all i can think about right now is ripping my skin off!!! ughh im never going in the sun again!
Wow the posts about this condition are right in line with my experience. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown because of my sunburn pain/itching. I got Prednesone and some kind of anti itch pill from the doc (who had the bedside manner of a golf pro) f**king guy!! And Aloe Aloe Aloe is king!! Use lots of real 99% aloe vera gel and apply it heavily.
Do not however try using oil. In my panic mode, I tried a small bit of olive oil on one section of my back and the result was catastrophic. Use sunscreen and avoid this mess. Good luck
I have been burned before but never this itch this bad... Since reading this it has calmed a little and helped to know I'm not crazy... This definitely is the worst ever, even worse that having my ingrown toe nail removed... ( the numbing started to wear off before they were done removing it) I've tried aloe which didn't seem to really help that much, getting ready to try bag balm, them might have to take a trip to the store for some peppermint oil... this itch has been unbearable... took 2 benadryl and some Advil will wait a little longer... thankfully I only have this on my upper arms and shoulders but still unbearable... oh not to mention bad timing as both kids and wife are sick with cold so wife can't really help, not that there is anything she could do... Seriously this is the worst torture ever... will ALWAYS wear sunblock for ever more!!
I got sunburn on my entire back doing yard work this Saturday...no big deal, I usually burn first then fade to a tan. Monday after work I decided to take a shower and apply aloe. BIG MISTAKE! I wish I would have read this blog before because this is mistake #1. The itch was like nothing I've ever felt. I sympathize with all of you. That night I tried milk, aloe, then finally…..my friend Tiger Balm. It numbs everything, so why not? It says on the label do not apply to damaged skin, but I didn’t care at this point. At first it made it itch worse, but then 5 -10 mins later I was back to normal. Every once in a while I would get a strong itch/spasm, but nothing like before. Now it’s Tues and I’m at work, a combination of tiger balm and reading this blog has gotten me through the day.
i went up to rite aid and got so anti itch spray and it helps a little right away and in about 10 minutes the itching was gone
Worked out in garden all day Sunday got burnt up real bad thought I was tough ha! Tuesday the itch started never had it this bad ready to use a wirebrush on skin tryed every thing DO NOT SHOWER! Went to wall greens an got some solarcain spray an saran. Both worked for a bit also tryed vicksvapor rub on some of the burning itch worked good just stay strong don't freak keep ur witts. Smoke a little KUSH. Have a good stiff drink an chill u will make it! Put that damn sun screen on I would like to see SPF 500 butt I think it will be while for that! Stay strong use ur mind don't let it use you.
Going insane. Tempted to take a knife and start slicing the area of my sunburn.
First, I want to thank you for this page! My husband had this problem recently and it actually scared me. His behavior that is... I honestly didnt know what he was doing, or what I could do to help him! I frantically searched the web and began trying everything I could get him to hold still for a minute to attempt!!! I finally gave him some ibprofen and benadryl. We did the aloe and lidocane and I thought he was gonna freak smack out! I cant explain what exactly he was feeling, ( thats his story), but as a wife that witnessed this, it is UNBELIEVABLY SCARY to see someone on the verge of going insane with sunburn itch!!!
Take a hot shower, as hot as you can stand. The heat seems to dull the nerves. The itch is still there but it is far easier to deal with. It was the only way I got any sleep at all last night.
Well it all started at about 8AM this morning. It was horrible. I tried everything, like a mad man I was shooting through my medicine cabinet and closets looking for a relief. I tried lotion, aloe vera, shaving cream, Rx strengh anti itch cream, rubbing alcohol.. nothing worked. I finally made my girlfriend go get me some Benadryl lotion and tablets. I took about four pills and fell asleep till 230.. it is still itching at 720pm but nothing like it was.. i honestly think that was the worst feeling i have ever went thru.. and i was an infantryman in the army for 4 years.. i would rather go on a 25 mile ruck march through the Hindu kush mountains with a sunburn carrying 180 lbs of gear than ever ever go through that again.. freaking horrible
I'm ar hour 12 of the 'Itch' and it has subsided to the point that I hope I can sleep.
My real concern: I fly out to Utah on Saturday for a 40 mi backpacking trip that starts on Sunday. My burn/itch is on my back. Backpacking trip.
Please let this end before then. Please.
I've experienced this intense sunburn-itch nearly 20 times in my life. I'm extremely fair-skinned with black hair (people constantly ask me if I'm ill because of my coloring). It seems every summer I go through this and everytime I want to literally shoot myself. I can't keep my children cooped up inside with me all summer long. They beg to go to the water parks like all the other children. Whether I use sunscreen or not i always burn. I've given birth 3 times with no epidural so trust me when I say: Sunburn-Itch is the most agonizing experience life has to offer. I fear sunburn-itch more than I fear death. to compound this horrifying ordeal, no one ever believes me. I probably don't have to tell you how relieved I am to find this blog. I'm not alone!!
Since I've experienced sunburn-itch several times now, I know what does and doesn't work. In fact, ive found a way to by-pass it altogether!
1. Take a cool shower the day you burn and wash your hair well. It will be the last time you shower for DAYS!
2. Suffer through the painful, tight-skinned, heat-filled portion of your sunburn.
3. Around day 3 (if you were burned on a friday, day 3 would be Sunday) get into bed with the smoothest blankets you can find (no flannel, afgans or tied quilts as these "textured" blankets will just irritate the skin further) and wrap yourself so as to smother the itch. Don't get too sweaty as any moisture will start the full blown attack. Open the blanket occasionally to cool off and air-out.
4. When the minor itches begin, apply pressure with your hand or lay on the itch. Smother it out. Do not scratch! it's easier to stop a minor itch than it is to stop the Satan-Itch you'll get by scratching.
5. Hold as still as possible. Movement will start the full-blown attack.
6. Sip water and distract yourself by watching a marathon
of movies or by reading a lengthy book. Only get up to use the bathroom and try to have others bring you food (a fluid based diet if possible to moisturize your skin faster).
7. Don't use products of any kind. The natural oils your skin has built up the past 2 days by not showering are the only real relief, trust me! Even water at this point will start the itch attack.
8. I don't wear anything but the blanket during this time. T-shirt seams irritate my skin and to start the itching.
9. No meds are needed. I found this out by being pregnant and therefor not able to drug myself up with anti-itch pills (that didn't work in the first place). Save your money.
I hope this works for someone. It saved me an episode or two. 100% worth not going through "the pains of Hell"... Which isn't far from the truth as any of us can attest to.
Also, so sorry to those whose families make things worse by not believing sunburn-itch is real. I've been through that a million times! Not cool. But happily I married a man who has olive skin (so my children have a chance at avoiding this problem altogether... Ha!), and who also loves and supports me through the itch, even though he has never seen my condition before and, thankfully, has never experienced it. In fact, my hub is the whole reason I discovered smothering the itch and holding perfectly still. In one of my thrashing sunburn-itch fits, my hub grabbed me from behind (it was my back that was itching) and he held my back so tight to his chest that it smothered out the itch and i wasn't able to stretch my skin by thrashing anymore. I HELD STILL and it went away! From then on I've been able to get through a sunburn without this terrible torture. Try it guys. I'm living proof it works. 2 days of bed-rest may suck, but start itching and you'll soon discover bed-rest is a million times preferable to the agony of sunburn-itch.
Prayers to you all! God bless.
Ummmmm, YEP. Learned this WAY back in the 60's as a kid. Got so burned that my parents had to take me to the local hospital to get a potent sedative... In later years, oddly enough, sour cream seemed to work - likely the milk and the residual acids or something. Hydrocortisone 1% (over the counter in the US) seems to work OK for me, though what I do is smear it on THICK, don't RUB IT IN. Once the ITCH goes away, I wait 2 hours or so and plaster MORE hydrocortisone on top. Trick with this stuff is to get a whopping load of it, then re-load while the first batch is still working... PREDNISONE (a steroid) is a major NO-NO if your doc suggests it - can make your skin even MORE sensitive. A little tranquilizing med like Valium and some Benadryl can relax that "oh God, I'm climbing the walls". Basically Numb-out and Dumb-out for a while...
And yeah, what is going on is the deeper skin layer regenerating. For me, the ITCH happens before peeling, it's the reaction of the skin layers being irritated and separating, rejection of the dead, damaged layer, exactly like psoriasis outbreak patches. (Which I also get - not sunburn triggered, thankfully...)
I had the itch earlier this evening. It lasted for 1 1/2 hours. This is the second time for me. I tried the vinegar solution, and I second an earlier comment. It stung for a minute or so, but then the itch went away about 90%. Not sure if my itch was going to be 1 1/2 hours regardless, but I think the vinegar solution helped immensely.
I HAVE THE SOLUTION... SERIOUSLY!!!
Growing up on Long Island, I have been sunburned literally hundreds of times. I usually use aloe gel and sit in front of AC as soon as I get back home from the water. This time, however, I did nothing. The sunburn worsened about 6 hours after getting home. The next morning (12 hours after overexposure) I was in excruciating pain. Nothing new. I was hungover and running late for work so I still had applied nothing to the burn. That night (24 hours in) I put on some aloe gel which helped tremendously. The burn began to subside by the next evening. At about 46-60 hours after the burn I felt a little itch on the small of my back. I scratched it and it felt relieved while I scratched it but as soon as I stopped it started again. I kept at it and, as you guys know, it began to spread and grow in intensity. Soon I was in panic mode. Dragging my body along the carpet in a pathetic act of desperation. I had a moment of clarity and realized scratching would do nothing.
I gathered all the mental toughness I had and refused to scratch. It took about 40 min for the wave of itch to subside but it was at a manageable level. I took 2 Tylenol PM and was out like a light. I would address it in the morning.
The next day at work (60 hours after burn; 12 hours of demon itch) it was more than I could take. As a grown man there have been very few times that I have cried but I was on the verge of tears with frustration. After getting home, and my fiancé not believing me, she suggested I use Maui Babe. It is an after sun cream meant to help you tan after getting out of the sun. She slathered it on my back and chest. INSTANT RELIEF. The stuff is very expensive and hard to find. Even on Long Island. 12 bucks for a 5oz bottle. It is available online too.
The itch flared up about 3 or 4 times. But not even close to the maddening itch that it was originally. Even as I write this I am a little itchy but nothing that I can't resist the urge to scratch. So: here is the step by step tips to solve the devil itch:
1- Don't shower. No water on it of any kind. This should be common sense.
2- Don't scratch. If you MUST then have someone do it for you... GENTLY. And through a shirt. Never on the skin. This will aggravate the itch more. But on a shirt and have them gently and slowly move their fingers on the shirt. They won't have the urge to act like a madman like you would.
3- Drink tons of water. Even if you think you are going to puke, keep consuming water. Don't drown yourself, but drink as much as you can. Your body is dehydrated. It is the long term solution so the quicker you start, the quicker it ends.
4- Use Maui Babe. It has plant extracts and herbs in it. Chemicals in other creams can cause a reaction. This stuff works. It is expensive but worth every penny.
5- After you apply Maui Babe, but on a shirt and lay on the affected side. Pressure helps. Hug a pillow if it's on both sides. Do not expose your skin to the air.
6- Take a few Tylenol PM to help you sleep, but not if you have to wake up early for work. Any Tylenol will take some edge off.
7- Try to distract yourself with something. A lot of the itch relief is in your mind. Don't dwell on it. Deep breaths and relax.
So there it is guys. My itch is in its dying stages 36 hours after it began. Follow these tips and you'll survive. I feel for everyone on here. Good luck!
Don't laugh too much, but I just tried some Orajel. I poured some onto a tissue and dabbed it on the burn area. Seems to help so far.
Before that, I took 3 Advil, put on lotion and aloe.
I'm getting some relief.
This is the worst feeling in the world I got it around 9 last nite and didn't go to bed until 3 but how I did it was take a cold bath and sit there for about 20 mins and then as soon as I got out I rubbed like half a bottle of aloe and then put a skin tight under armor shirt over it and it did the trick so I hope this helps and I know it kills so horrible u want to just claw right through it
I went to the beach Sunday, didn't get horrably burnt, but now my back is DRIVING ME CLINICALLY. INSANE!! I am currently laying on a wet T-shirt drenched in vinegar and clawing my pillow in half. :/ Not fun.!!
If you're reading this you're probably in the middle of a crazed itch session right now. The itch is no joke, it is for real and it's baaad. I'm a grown man and my itchy back has put me sprawling on the floor, insane and whimpering. I am not exaggerating. I've dealt with broken bones before, none of them were this bad.
2 days ago, sunburn, now, worst itch ever.
Here's how I made it through this afternoon:
1) Pop the painkillers to start with. 4 ibuprofen pills (200mg) should kick in within 10-15 mins.
2) While waiting for the pills to work, hope in the shower and get the cold water on you back. I know everyone here says don't, but it gives you instant relief. Stay here with the water running until the pills start to work.
3) Get out of the shower, grab the towl but DONT SCRUB DRY WITH THE TOWEL, just pull it tight on your back and apply pressure. Readjust to each itch and apply pressure. You will do this quite often.
4) Grab that bottle of Sarna and apply everywhere. What, you don't have a bottle of Sarna? Give a family member or a friend $20 and send them off immediately. TRUST ME ON THIS. Don't use Aloe Gel, Cocoa Butter or anything else. Get a bottle of Sarna. My grocery store has it. It was $10 for a bottle.
5) Once you've put the Sarna on you should already feel much better. Now relax. Don't scratch. When it starts to itch again, put more Sarna on it.
That's how I've survived the worst itch attach in my life this afternoon. Good luck.
Yestrday afternoon i experienced this demonic phenomenon for the first time in my life. Not knowing what was going on i thought it was just a bad itch made worse by scratching... but it didnt take off. Luckily i always google everything and found out it was very common. Either way what worked for me was a quick hot shower, followed by aloe vera gel from HEB. It did get worst due to the rubbing it all over my shoulders, but eventually it stopped after 30 minutes of fighting the itch to scratch it lol. Luckily i just got it on my shoulders, but i feel really bad for the people who had it on their backs.
Oh, and yes i agree. Has to be if not the worst, one of the most painful traumatic experiences in my life. This has to be the champion of torture.
i have this right now shes not lying it hurts so bad and i have random spasms to relive the pain it goes away for like a second but comes back worse im about to go to the e.r
So i'm 16 yrs old and i thought that on memorial day i would go without sunblock to the beach, it was 85 degrees out with high U.V. rays, bad idea. after i got home and saw my horrible burn i thought in about two or three days it would be bearable. wrong again, it's been two days and the hellish itch started about a half hour ago. after applying banana boat after sun lotion with aloe all over my stomach/chest/back the itch got worse, so as soon as that happened i found this blog and started reading it. i read earlier on in the blog putting on a shirt after putting on lotion (or other moisturizers) and trying to lay still (as still as you can) while keeping your mind occupied by reading this blog worked for me. doing all of that it went away in about 10 to 15 minutes. so my advice is try to not itch your skin off because it only makes matters worse, and try to be as calm as possible and apply lotions/moisturizers and then put on a shirt and lay down. it's been about 45 mins. since i did this and the itch has been gone since. i hope this helped someone and will help others that read it.
f f f f f bvjkygsjkhdtjjlh aaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
murcy kil pleedezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Oh, Good Lord!! I got burned a few days ago, on Memorial Day. It didn't seem to be the worst burn I've ever encountered, but tonight changed all that. I went and took a shower after working up a nice sweat helping a friend dig up an old flower bed, and then had him grease up my back with that damned aloe/lidocaine stuff! Almost immediately my back started itching. And it went from bad to worse in a hurry. So bad I ran back to the shower and washed the blue crap all off. It seemed to help for a bit, but not 5 minutes later, the itching was back with a vengeance!! So we tried a different aloe lotion . That also burned and I ran back to the shower to alternate hot and cold water for another 15 or so minutes. Then I got out and got my buddy and his wife to get some ice packs out. I was desperate!! I was going bat-shit crazy! If death wasn't such a permanent option, I'd have washed my mouth out with buckshot! He gave me a few shots of vodka, but that didn't seem to have any effect. So he headed to Wal-Mart to find something to cure me. In the meantime, I continued to use the ice packs. And take shots. For me the cure seems to be 6 1/2 shots of vodka. 1/2 of a shot because I blew the other 1/2 out my nose! But regardless, I'm feeling great right about now, and hardly itch at all. Yeah... I'm about to head to bed..
I posted this earlier,
"f f f f f bvjkygsjkhdtjjlh aaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
murcy kil pleedezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."
I've had 2nd degree bloody sun poisoned burns and this is worse (it made me cry and even cuss)!!!
But the itch is gone now..... antihistamine cream stops your body from making you itch..... No antihistamine cream, no relief. I was furious that the info in this site was so long and of no help to my when it took ten minutes to type out "sunburn itch" through tear filled eyes and a towel wrapped around my back to cut off the circulation to by brain, but now it seems a humorous site indeed...lol
So, all the things that don't work ((and I took a shower in between each)): getting your girlfriend to believe you, Aloe, coco butter, vinegar, bleach, soap, sweat, olive oil, KY jelly of any kind, shaving oil, red razor bump reducer, aftershave, scratching with and house hold object, running with back on wall, slapping your sunburn till all u have to feel is pain, toothpast, drain-o/drain max, windex, honey, pepper, jalapeno juice, peanut butter, anything else, i tried it alllll!!!! but at that point i couldn't let go of my back long enough to load my .45...
what helps for .0001 seconds:: scratching, rubbing on floor, banging head on floor, concentrating on texting or writing that last post, near asphyxiation, rubbing up against wall, screaming and crying till the adrenalin raises, cold showers, etc...
What does work in 10 seconds ((i counted the seconds)):"antihistamine" and handy girlfriend to apply cream to back after telling you that you are crazy and you are worse than a girl all frigging night...
if i knew of antihistamine before this, OMG!
It is 130am and I have been desperately trying to get some relief from my itching. I did the calamine lotion and am awaiting the anti itch promise from it's bottle. Nothing yet. This sunburn, while not my worse as far as burns, is DEFINITELY the worse because of itching factor. Desperately searched the house for benedryl just to knock myself out...not luck there yet. Ahhhhhh!!! This sucks!!
I'm having a nightmare. severe sunburn on my tummy of all places! i'm 16, but this has put me off wearing a bikini in the sun for life! I have work in 15 minutes and i'm literally dying....not knowing what to do i just filled a hot water bottle with cold water and ice. this has helped a little....but have no aloe vera. work is going to be a nightmare!
Oh my god. I have so much pity for any one who has to experience this and so much for respect for anyone who survives it!
The itching is unbearable and sends you body in to uncontolable spasms, explaining this to someone who has never experienced it is impossible!
i got burnt on my back and by day 2 the itching had set it and it was horrible what worked form me was shower when you need it and as soon as you get out lightly dry and out a loose shirt on.
I found all lotions and creams made it 100x worse.
i had it crazy bad for 6 hours, and i'm still getting the occasional twinge 8 hours on.
I just went through this today - I thought I'd lose my mind but then on the recommendations of my mum I called a GP helpline and they suggested Zinc salve and an antihistamine...I had the first at home and I had little belief in it as everything else had failed but by lord it worked and less than 5 min later I was a happy camper walking towards the pharmacy to get some allergy meds - I'm not going to risk that insane itching again plus I'm never going out without sunscreen again either... but yeah zinc salve and antihistamine (asked the pharmacist specially for one for sunburn itch) - so far which has been around 10 hours I'm sans itch...good luck to fellowsufferers...
I know how you feel...i use to live in texas and got sunburned all the time nvr had this problem...i recently moved to maine and now every time i get sunburned i have this problem...i having it right now with my back and like you said itching only makes it worse...but mine isnt jst itchy mine feels like something is stinging or biting it all over :/....
again in response to this i experienced the itch about 6 years ago and well its sucked so bad. and i received it a few times since then. AND am going through it now!!!!!! DO NOT I REPEAT NOT GO OUT IN THE SUN AND PUT ANY ALOE VERA LOTION ON. NO ALOE VERA LOTION!!!!!!!!!!!! benadryl seems to help the pain. and also what works great.... is to grab a cup of ice.... and rup a piece of ice on your skin were it itches and keep moving it around every spot that itches... the initial shock takes your mind off of the itching and the cold and water that runs on your body helps to moisturize your body. a cold shower also helps but you have to stay in it for atleast 20minutes... you must moisturize your skin.... i got to the point were i water logged my skin. and it helps alot.. just dont stay to long in the watter as to much watter can kill you and drink one bottle watter 500mml an hour. good luck and i hope you survive....
I went to work thinking being active would just take my mind off it. Bad idea. Everyone, even the customers, thought I was cracked out from how absolutely crazy I was going.
I went home and thankfully found some left over oxycodone from a surgery I had earlier in the year. I tried 100 different lotions, baths w/ oatmeal, vinegar... nothing worked.
NEVER again am I going to get sunburn like that again. It took more oxycodone to stop the unbearable pain of sunburn itch than it did to stop the pain of having screws and plates in my body... it truely is THAT bad.
i got a massive sunburn on my stomach and chest and arms 3 days ago. I started itching at 10:30 last night and now it is 2:45am, over 4 hours of unbearable itching. ive been crying and itching histerically i dont know what to do. all i have is aloe vera and its not working and i cant drive to the store because its so bad my skin feels like leather its horrible
well last night i used banana boat aloe lotion, then aloe gel. this caused an unberable itch. so i ran to the shower. the water helped none. then i tried to wash the aloe jel and the aloe lotion with soap. this caused a horrible burning pain with the itching. so my mom put this foot cream with something to help numb it. lucky for me this at least stopped the pain, itching still there. i took a Tylenol and the itching stopped after a while. I had a towel rapped around me the whole time.
the next day i have an itch currently but luckly its a minor itch. i put some cetaphil moisturizing cream on it. that seemed to bring the itching out worse. i looked how to stop a sunburn itch and found all these solutions. Reading it alone helped get my mine off of it, and putting on a shirt helped. im still a little itchy but this is bearable.
so in summary i guess it depends on the severeness of the itch. Though with the shirt on i feel the burn but not a lot and besides kd rather feel a little burn that an annoying itch. and i hope to never go through the pain i did last night.
also dont touch the itch, that will help the itch go away faster and keep your mind off it. and of course drink plenty of caffeine free drinks like; water tea or sprite. hope this helps and i feel sorry for anyone who has to go through this.
Thanks guys, just thanks! Just the fact that knowing I'm not insane helps alot!
I burned many times in my life, lived in Australia for two years and never felt this itch before.
Got a burn on my back and shoulders friday afternoon, and nothing out of the ordinary happened over the weekend, just a bit of red sore skin. Then last night (night between sunday and monday) i woke up around 4 am because my back was itching like nothing I have ever tried before, my girlfriend could not understand my pain at all! Took a long shower and it helped, but then THE ITCH came back way worse, tried a couple of different creams but nothing really helped, ended up passing out from the "pain" and itching around 6 am and got a couple og hours sleep. This morning i took another shower thinking the worst was over, BAD IDEA! My girldfriends mom had some steriod cream we put on, i seemss to help a bit, now its ok, driking lots of waterm taking pain killers and trying to keep myself busy.
What i learned; NO showers! use clots og sooting cream, try not to tuch it, put on a shirt, sit in a cool place that will give you goose bumbs (thanks to the person who suggested that!), hopefully it will not come back full force.
Will report back later
Oh My GOODNESS! This is the most unbearable sensation I have ever felt. Almost burst into tears a few minutes ago overwhelmed by the unceasing itch. Aloe doesn't seem to be doing anything for me and it is the one with the anti-itch bah! My girl friend always made fun of me for wearing a shirt at beaches and around bodies of water...she won't anymore after the blisters and now this! :-( Too intensive to try and drive to the store too without crashing from trying to stop the itch.
If this happens to you use Gold bond maximum relief!!!!!!
OMFG this sucks, but for me a lottle bit caladryl helped and some aloe vera im dying but i can remain sain i have a big fan on beside me and a shirt on.
Just an update. My itch is almost gone, no bad attacs since last time i wrote. Slept with a thsirt on the first night, no tshirt last night, and had a shower this morning, but i avoided getting water on my back (the itchy area)
This will end people!
ohh man i am going CRAZY RIGHT NOW!!! i am twitching, running around my house and applying lotion on my back all at the same time. the crazy thing is, if you just calm down and sit in one spot and watch some tv for a little bit, it will get better. at first you think "WTF ITS GETTING WORSE!" but later on it gets a lot better. i actually went to the emergency room earlier today because it was so bad i was crying. I haven't cried in 2 years due to pain, and i cry from an ITCH!?!? but seriously im just writing this to keep my mind off of the itchiness and it is actually working. it feels better as we speak. just lather up in aloe and sit still. my doc also prescribed me some hardcore itching pills ( i forget what they are called) but they seem to help as well.
Without a doubt, the most painful and maddening experience I have ever gone through. It feels like the itch is deep under my skin, it won't go away no matter what I do.
It's a sensation that is impossible to explain to anyone else unless they've had it. This isn't your run of the mill itch. This is the itch from hell. It feels like Satan is rubbing his genitals all over my back and upper shoulders. INDESCRIBABLE PAIN.
So far, the only thing that has helped have been HOT SHOWERS, Benadryl, Ibuprofen, and whatever other pain killers I could find in my medicine cabinet. I took whatever I could get my hands on. I didn't care about overdosing, in fact, right now, I'd probably enjoy passing out.
Good luck everybody, I know how you all are feeling. Hang in there.
We can all empathize with this poor guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTd-MNsjgV0
Enjoy
the best thing for stopping the itch is sour cream and jogurt it is known medicine in Bosnia and it works always :) just apply it to your back as cream nothing works like it
I have had sunburn itch several times, and my one trick always works. First, spread a thick layer of aloe on the itching area. Second, wrap the area with Cellophane. Last, lay down directly on the itching area. After 30 minutes, the itch will start to go away. Unwrap and repeat again, then lay directly on the itch again for an additional hour.
After the first 30 minutes, the itch is much less. After the second wrap and additional hour, the itch is all but gone.
I just had this last night. Got some (very light) sunburn on my chest on Saturday afternoon. Not really painful at all, just slightly sore. Monday morning it was a bit sensitive but not really painful unless it got rubbed wrong by my shirt.
Then the itch hit while I was at work, about 6:20 on Monday.
Initially it wasn't that bad and I'd just scratch it lightly through the shirt, but eventually I realized I couldn't work well so I rode back home on my bike. I got back and it kept getting worse, so I looked up some info and someone said hot showers helped. I didn't have anything to put on it like aloe (and was in no condition to go get any) so I took a nice long hot shower. Instant relief...
...until about an hour later. Another long hot shower later, and I was fine again, but this time the itch came back even stronger after about 15 minutes.
At that point I found this site, and reading all the comments helped keep my mind off it just a bit. I tried several things, like rubbing Cetaphil on it to give it a little moisturizing (again, nothing else available). Nothing worked. I also drank a lot of water in the meantime, which I think eventually helped, but not right away.
Finally the one thing that gave it just a little relief: sunscreen! Turns out I had a can of Target brand spray-on sunscreen and spraying that wherever it itched while holding a small clip-on fan at it helped relieve it for a few seconds at a time without having to scratch. Also I was lucky since gently blowing on itchy areas tended to relieve it just a bit.
Finally I got it to the point where it no longer itched too bad and I could lay in bed on my back and try to get to sleep. All of this, from getting back at 6:30 to being able to lay down without being tortured, took until 2:00 AM.
3:00 AM: the itch came back. I hesitated to spray the sunscreen on it because it took so long to get the itch to go down before. Instead I found pressing a pillow into my chest as hard as I could helped reduce the itching. I don't remember how long I was awake, rolling around with the pillow clutched to my chest like a baby, but I finally went to sleep.
This morning, nothing. All gone, as far as I can tell, and back to just the "normal" itching you get when something's healing. I hope.
CONCLUSIONS
-----------
Hot showers: temporary relief, but maybe risky (dries skin, which can make it worse)
LOTS of water: helped in the long run I think
Scratching: NO
Spray-on sunscreen: worked to a point
Blow on it with a fan: in conjunction with sunscreen, reduced itching to a bearable level for a while
Rolling in bed with pillow: desperation
Time: the only thing that really helped
ok so i have read every comment on here and I have to say it helped big fucking time. I went for a 3 hour bike ride on saturday, knew i was burnt so got some solarcaine on sunday and thats when the soreness and slight itching started. but solarcaine numbed it for the entire day and evening. I had a hard time sleeping that night but that was expected. It was my entire back that was burnt btw. then on monday morning I wish I would have found this post to read cause I too took the hell shower and OMFG like everyone said its the start of hell. I took the shower at 8:30 am and from that instant it was crazy. I jumped out lathered up on aloe cream then solarcained it then for like 3 straight hours i was screaming and running around non stop. It literally is the worst fucking pain imaginable. So here's my tips for those who find this post. The itch will begin from what i've read from every one else and my own experience on the 3rd day. I showered all three days and big mistake. If u are burned bad shower that first day with cool water. then maybe wash around the area on the second day. but do not shower just wash up at a sink if need be. on the third day do not shower or you will experience this hell itch. For me the worst part was when i showered the 3rd day at 8:30 am. the pain lasted intensely until about 11 am then i went to the store and bought aloe gel. came home and put it on and it began all over again. All and all the pain lasted about 15 hours for me total. it started at 8:30 like I mentioned after my shower then again at noon when I put on aloe gel. then it twitched all afternoon which still hurt but not as bad as the morning. I had to put some aloe gel on again around 10 pm cause my back was to dry and was starting to hurt again. the pain lasted 35 min after my second applying that night but I found applying pressure against a wall helped big time. I slept ok last night. took advil all day and that helped. smoked some weed (a lot lol) that help relax me. had a few beers until i was tired to help make me sleep. its day 4 and it feels normal. only cause i'm not showering today. i had to change my shirt a few times be careful it can trigger a episode. everything makes it worse. but you need to put something on it to moisturize it. just be prepared when you absolutely have to put something on. the first episode can last hours. I shouldn't have had a shower, and I shouldn't have applied the gel at noon. Actually I shouldn't have bought the gel I would have been ok I think. hope this helps. also I turned my shirt inside out so the inner threads were out as not to irritate. Keeping a shirt on helps. all you can do is just keep calm and apply pressure. I only used solarcaine on day 2 . it fucking killed on day 3 after my shower. but I was desperate and was not aware of this itch that would follow. I would say if you follow some of my advice 15-17 hours is probably the limit of it. showers, aloe gel and cream, solarcaine all irritated it and the provoked the hellitch. I know this is a long post but hey if I can help save someone from enduring this fucking hell I feel like I helped someone. I only wish I would have found this post on sunday. p.s. dont touch the itch at all. it prolongs it. and its true nobody who hasnt' endured this pain will understand. for me day 3 was the only painful day. besides the burn pain on day 2. but solarcaine did help on day 2. not on day 3. and i'm affraid to even put anything on it today which is day 4. i'm not even showering or changing my shirt. I get slight twitches every couple hours but hardly feel them. I"m just gonna drink some whiskey today and relax and try not to irritate it. hope this helps someone. sorry for the length of reading but i figure someone is hurting right now and every bit of info helps. oh and drink lots of water. like gallons of it
i forgot to add in the above post that last night i found a plug in massager I had. the type that is padded and has a few speeds and heat option. well I only used the speed and no heat and it helped when the itch was at its peak. I didnt' use it lots cause it would prevoke the surrounding areas to induce the itch pain. but I found it helped for a little when it was on a specific spot. it helped from me wanting to itch. it was like a safety itching device lol.
update. i left the last 2 comments. ok so i'm now on day 6. I was just released from the emergency room hospital from a massive asthma attack brought on from a cold cough. was fucking hell. this goddamn week is a fucking hell week for me thank god a lady friend is traveling from out of town to see me and give me some much over due sex. have to go through hell to get to heaven i suppose. anyways i haven't had a shower since day 3 when the initial hell itch took place. so i was released today at around noon. came home and had a good bath cause i still didnt' trust my back and the hell itch. thank god i didn't. the water from washing my hair and pat drying kinda made it a little itchy. but then about 20 min ago i started to itch my back a little and wow its still there. its not really that bad cause i haven't put anything on it. also not being able to breathe for a entire day well I can probably take the full hell itch full on right now and laugh at it. lol maybe not but i'm not that brave. so i would have to say take baths for a week. long hair should be washed at a sink with a shirt and towel on your back. i had a naked bath up to my waist and the water from washing my greasey 3 day hair freshened up the itch. so wash lower body in bath and hair at sink. wow i cant' wait for this FUCKING WEEK TO FUCKING END. OMFG. so if you think your going through hell read my posts and i bet it should help. hell itch and full blown asthma attack within days of each other. lol. the beers are gonna taste soo sweet tomorrow as well as my lady friend ;) PEACE OUT , "chin up and stick on the ice"
LOOK AT THIS COMMENT IT WILL GIVE YOU RELIEF!!!
I know how it feels, because I have had the sunburn itch!!!
What worked for me: Get the HEAD AND SHOULDER dandriff conditioner. Get the itch relief kind. RUB IT ON THE ITCH. It tinges and feels sooo good. The itch will dissapear. RE-APPLY
OKAY PEOPLE, if you are going to the doctors ask about a burn cream called it works wonders! my skin was blistering and purple, but now has no pain and only a slight occassional itch. just remember, DONT SSCRATCH IT!!!!!! THAT WILL ONLY MAKE IT WORSE!!! JUST TAKE DEEP BREATHS AND PUT ON ALOE VERA!!! IF YOU DONT HAVE THAT PUT ON CORTIZON!!!!! IF YOU DONT HAVE THAT THEN GO TO CVS!!!!!
A vampire has more color in his skin than I do. Even a professional photographer was stumped once after spending over an hour trying to adjust the color so I wouldn't look so pasty white.
So, after spending a mere hour in a swimming pool with a HEAVY layer of SPF 30 on, my shoulders and upper back came out looking like the signature Dodge Viper red.
Now, 2 days later, I started itching a small bit on one shoulder. Hours later, it hit full force. UNHOLY WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!! There is no cure for this insane itching feeling. To attempt to describe it to someone that has never experienced it is to try to explain to someone that has never been in combat the million levels of fear and excitement that one undergoes. Being shot at by the Taliban was preferable to this deep skin agony.
So, I appreciate all the suggestions from all who have posted. Personally, I have used about 1/3 of a bottle of Eucern skin repair lotion and 1/3 of a bottle of 100% Aloe Vera. Added to that, I took 2 benadryl and 800mg of Ibuprofen. I now will attempt to distract myself until sleepiness takes over as tomorrow, I have a birthday party for an 8 yr old to officiate over.
This is hell. I swear, this must be what people who go to hell have to endure. Holy bloody &$^% hell I'm going to check myself into an insane asylum if this doesn't go away in the next 24 hours. I spent fifty bucks on lotions and the like. hopefully ONE of them works.
While on vacation a couple days ago I got sunburnt on my chest and arms. Mind you, this is not the worst sunburn of my life, but I have resolved that it will be my last. So yesterday, against my better judgment, I decide to head to the gym to work off some of my vacation indulgences. The workout goes along without incident, but as I'm wrapping up I get this slight tingling feeling on my chest. Not thinking much of it I give it a nonchalant swipe thinking it will subside. Wrong. This one swipe seems to ignite a network of little fires all across my sunburnt body. At first I'm almost amused by how much it itches. But I stay calm, I figure I just need to get home and apply some lotion and that will be that. But by the time I get home it has dawned on me that this has the potential to be a much more than a nuissance. I race upstairs, tear off my clothes and slap on some oat-based lotion, but the only relief it provides is when I rub it over my severely itching parts. At this point I'm just baffled. I mean, being from an Irish family I've received no shortage of warnings about bad burns, but where's the Surgeon General on this one? Ok, I think, let me just hop in the shower to see if I can cool myself off. This well-documented blunder ramps my itching up a notch and loosens the hinges on my mental foundation. Panic is starting to set in. I try to achieve some sort of zen control of the whole situation, but that lasts about 5 seconds before I'm cursing myself and my pale-ass ancestors. So I fire up my computer to begin my desperate search for home remedies, but I'm not even sure I'll be able to keep from scratching long enough to type anything remotely coherent. But somehow I manage and I come across a few common themes: aloe vera, hydrocortizone, drink water. Great, but besides the water I got nothing in the house. Now I'm scanning all the threads for the home-made McGuyver type cures the more preposterous of which I'm more inclined to give a shot. So I come across a post that strongly recommends using a tomato. Great, I think, that sounds just weird enough that's its got to be true. So without one moment of hesitation or iota of guilt I race to the fridge and grab my roommate's tomato. I slice it up and just begin rubbing it everywhere. After covering all the burns I pause to catch a glimpse of me in the mirror gripping this tomato. I might feel ridiculous if the next tide of itching wasn't completing overwhelming my thought process. So back to the search engine I go and I find a post that suggests first deadening the itch with ice cubes. Alright, I figure I just have to deaden it long enough to be able to bike to the store to get some proper aloe vera product. So I begin icing myself down and there i some temporary relief. I throw a shirt on and hop on my bike and pedal as fast I can to the nearest pharmacy. As I lock up my bike outside, the itch is returning in full force. There's homeless man hanging around and I realize he's looking at me a little funny. Probably because my shirt is soaking wet, I'm frantically scratching myself, dropping a few F-bombs, and I have tomato seeds stuck to my arms and neck. I burst in the store, make for the lotion section and grab a variety of products. I return home, slab on some aloe-based moisturizer and the itching begins to ebb. It doesn't disappear, but is reduced to a few firings every minute or so -- enough to make it incredibly difficult to forget what I've just gone through. I re-apply the moisturizer about every hour, but the itching never completely abates, making sleep increidbly different. So now I'm on day 2 of the itching, drinking water like crazy and really hoping that I have turned the corner. Meanwhile, I have begun to think about a life where I actually take care of my skin -- like installing a Scrooge McDuck-style indoor swimming pool filled with aloe vera.
THE SHORT ANSWER
1. Drink LOTS of water, seriously the body will hydrate from the inside out
2. ALOE - this will seem worse at first but a few moments of insanity will bring you to a more bearable uncomfortable reality.
3. Put a shirt on, or wrap in plastic wrap -- no BS here people
4. Avoid fans/moving air, avoid cold showers and the like -- this is counter intuitive but is consistent throughout this blog.
It all makes sense now, several years ago I woke up and my family freaked out from how every vein on my head and neck popped out and my entire body turned purple from trying not to scratch and hold back the twitching - tough guy meditation did not work, almost had an aneurism...
Ive had this itching on my back and shoulders all day after burning myself two days ago and its driving me insane!! Ive tried everything; moisturizers, aloe creams, cold baths and showers, drinking an outragous amount of water, rubing ice cubes, even stading in the freezer! And nothing has taken any effect on this indescribalble pain. Its driving me crazy, no one in my family seems to understand the torture of this itching im going through. This has deffinatly taught me a lesson to always wear suncream because I never want to go through this itching again!!
Damn right that sunburn itch is real and drives you insane! I've a very mild case of it right now, but had a whopper of it by freshman year of high school. (I'm now 25.) When a freshman in h.s., I can remember dunking myself in cool oatmeal baths; they were the only thing that helped. Applying aloe helped too, but after the aloe dries up, everything tightens-- and so the slightest adjuments can cause restart the mad itching. That said, I definitely applied lots of aloe still because it's the best healing ointment out there. -- Anyhow, I'm writing on here because I will never forget those hours of insanity I had because of sunbrun itch. And no around understand either!
It is 4:00am right now, I am extremely tired. I can't sleep. I say to myself, "Don't itch, you can do it". B000M! Super bad itch I reach back and rub it. You can't not itch it, its a reflex! I allready tried Aloe Vera. Omg! This. Is. The. Worst. Feeling. I. Have. Felt. In. My. Whole. Entire. Life. If I won the lottery I would donate all my money to research a medicine to help this.
I've read through majority of these posts for some kind of relief from this nightmare but nothing seems to be working :(. Worst thing is i travel all round the world with my job and not a single sun burn abroad then i come home to SCOTLAND and get this sunburn itch. NIGHTMARE
I get this every summer, some worse than others - and every time I've been to the Caribbean. I don't even get very red; I've even had it with almost white skin.
Friends & family will wonder what's wrong, it's not even a glaringly apparent sunburn.
But oh, that infernal itch... and jerking twitches... and sleepless nights.
I reckon I've endured this 20 times, and yes, AGAIN right now, so I've read all the other posts.
My take-aways?
1) Drink LOTS of water, starting the first day of your sunburn.
2) Moisturize HEAVILY from the first day of your sunburn.
Of course, we're all here because we didn't do that: the histamine is now under our skin, firing an epic chemical barrage upon the nerve-endings and our sanity. DON'T MAKE IT WORSE.
3) Commercial Aloe Vera goop, Solarcaine and other OTC treatments have never worked for me: the alcohol and chemicals probably make it worse, after a few minutes. The skin's too sensitive for almost anything that harsh, and the problem is deeper.
4) Fan-sitting, frozen washclothes etc. are fake friends. Why? Remedies you THINK will give you relief actually make it worse! Lots of showers, wind-burn (chapping)and localized hypothermia are subtle skin damage: you don't realize how you're compounding the problem, fraying your nerves as you're losing your mind. At the worst, you even scratching: STUPID IDIOT!
So WHAT WORKS?
5) Go back to #1 & #2. Drink water, and then more. And then more: until you are peeing every 30 minutes or so. If/when you cool shower, COAT YOURSELF WITH A GOOD MOISTURIZER - from the health food store, no/low chems. Let stand 5-10 minutes, soak it in.
6) Get Pure Peppermint Oil! (Again, from the health food store.) Rub in gently, slowly; you won't feel relief for at least 15-25 minutes but OH HALLELUJAH! when it arrives, just what you need. The fire-itch is GONE (repeat as necessary, 3-4 hours later.) Peppermint Oil works in a complicated way, on both your skin AND central nervous system.
7)Bed-REST: drink calming teas, eat cold non-spicy foods, lie in a dark quiet room. Most of this pain is from the histamines attacking your central nervous system: it's a biofeedback loop-cycle of panic-anxiety pain... IT'S ALSO IN YOUR HEAD and STRESS MAKES IT WORSE. Anything you can do to RELAX will make you feel 5-10x better. At the worst points, focusing on mantras, prayers, repetitive mind exercises can conquer the pain. In the meantime, forget work (you'll be useless); clear your schedule for 24-36 hrs. You just have to ride this one out: Think MENTAL STRENGTH! MENTAL STRENGTH!
8) Wear soft, light, comfortable (cotton) clothes OVER the sunburn: a LITTLE 'insulation' (heat) seems to reduce or eliminate the itchy pain-flares after a point. Go figure, but the cold is worse for you!
Above all, realize this is a mental ordeal, a test of stamina. You have no choice, now. Sure, you will be exhausted at the end (12-36 hrs) but just be grateful: this doesn't happen to YOU every summer, does it? Count your blessings.
It is now 6:45 AM and I am still itching. Nothing is working. I heard a baking soda bath helps the itch go away. Is this true?
This happened to me yesterday (2 days after being burned) and the sensation is indescribable. Like a flesh eating bacteria has taken over your skin. Mine started right after applying aloe with lidocaine in it. Jumped in the shower to wash it off, screamed and ran around my house like a banshee. Read this blog (thank you). Numbed my back long enough to get to CVS. Took a benadryl and 3 Advil and a Xanax because I literally went into panic attack mode. Proceeded to sleep for the next 3 hours on a bag of ice. Woke up feeling like a new person. Good luck to everyone enduring this. We all believe your pain even if your families/significant others/friends don't!
arrgghh i have the dreaded itch too.got burnt on monday,applied aloe on tues,and thats when it started !after a sleepless night,and severe twitching attacks every 10 seconds,i now have to leave for my sons parent/ teacher meetings.how "special" am i going to look ??????????????
I am so glad to know I am not alone. This is my fourth experience with the itch from hell. The only thing that seems to help is gently rubbing the affected areas gently with a soft cotton shirt. I have a different soft cotton shirt in the freezer right now and I am hoping that will offer even more relief. To give you an idea of how bad my itch is, it has taken me about 15 minutes to write this post because I cannot stand to stop rubbing my back and shoulders with my shirt for more than about 3 seconds at a time. It has lasted for about 2 hours so far, I am hoping that it will stop soon, as my arms will eventually tire out. To give you an idea of how I am rubbing, it is sorta how you would dry your back with a towel after a shower but much more gently. I feel for all you fellow itchers, I wish you the best of luck.
I have that uncontrollable, painful itch right now. I tried EVERYTHING and nothing was working for me at all! Then, my mother tells me to get into a warm bath mixed with baking soda ( i was super deperate for relief, i think i put at least half of the box in) I just soaked and felt wonderful! Trust me, try it!
I got relatively bad sunburn all over my back, chest and shoulders after playing tennis for a full day with my top off. I had the pain for about 2 days. I thought the pain was terrible until I woke up 2 days after the sunburn with the unbearable itch! No-one can understand the itch unless they have it, as people have said it's like millions of little bugs crawling about your skin. Whenever you scratch it it makes it 100x worse and the itch just comes back a few seconds later but much worse! I had my first "attack" when I woke up but managed to control it and stopped scratching. But later that day I went completely insane and couldn't help scratching. If you've had the itch attacks you'll know what I mean when I say you could really consider suicide! I managed to get my hands on some calamine lotion, I must say it does the trick instantly and cools the skin while taking the itch to a bearable intensity but still with some lingering itchiness. I went to my local physician and they prescribed me to take prednisolone steroids (4 a day for 3 days) and chlorphenamine anti-histamines (3 a day for a week). This is the second day of the itch and right now it is bearable with calamine smothered over my back and on steroids and anti-histamines! I just hope to god it doesn't come back the way it was. I think the main thing with the itch is to try and stay calm and keep your mind off it, watching a film seems to do the trick. Good luck to everyone with the itch!
Oh man, I feel sorry for everyone going through this. I just got over the same thing myself, and it was by far, the worst physical experience I've ever been through. The only word I can think of to really describe it is "maddening." Those who have been through this know what I am talking about, and those that have never been through this, I pray you never have to.
I was only outside for about an hour, and I burned my back. It burned for about two days, but nothing I couldn't take. After about 48 hours though, came, "the itch!" I knew I couldn't scratch it because it would make it worse, but I couldn't even reach my back to do anything about it anyway (living single). I was literally rolling around on the ground, crying, screaming and wanting to just die! I felt like the most helpless person in the world! What a way to show your own fragility! So I tried aloe, itch creams, sprays, vinegar and just about everything I could think of, and all of them only seemed to make it worse! How horrific! The ONLY thing that relieved the itch was a really HOT shower! Problem is, I still have to work and sleep, and I can't spend all that time in the shower! The biggest scare I had was that I was so tired and worn out, but I couldn't sleep with this going on! Finally, I got on my computer and found this post! What an extreme help and comfort! Just reading it made the itch more tolerable! After I read until I could barely hold my eyes opened, I drifted off for about two hours and then woke up in a frenzy! My back was INSANE!!! This was the peak of how bad it was, and it was about 60 hours from the time of the burn. I took another hot shower, got dressed as fast as I could and sped to the 24 hour pharmacy a few cities over! I got Benadryl and Tylenol and didn't even wait to leave the place before I took the max dosage! This helped a little, but the main thing is, that it helped enough so that I could sleep! I repeated the process every morning before work and every evening before bed. My bad itch lasted about 4 days, and it took about 2 weeks for the manageable itching and peeling to go away completely.
So my tip to anyone reading this, take a shower and then PUT ON A SHIRT!!! It helps! Not sure if it is because it helps seal in moisture or if it is just the friction, but it helps. Get some Benadryl and Tylenol and take the max dosage twice a day. Don't scratch, no matter how bad you want to. I promise, it will only make it worse. Try not to panic, and keep your mind busy. Read this post and PRAY!!! If you just started itching, then you have about 4 days of this hell ahead of you. I am sorry you have to go through this, and I understand the torment you are in. I know you're probably considering going to the hospital for them to knock you out, and the idea of suicide has never been more appealing. You will make it through this. 4 days may seem like an eternity, but you're strong enough to pull through! Good luck! I'm praying for you now!
Yep...so thankful for this blog and F my back.
This itch is honestly the worst thing I have ever gone through. I went to the beach two days ago and I got roasted. The following couple days resulted in mild blistering and the regular sun burn pain. I tried many suggestions from above and nearly none of them worked. I finally realized that each person has a different results to each method. Taking a cold show seemed to increase the pain and itch to the point of insanity. Aloe vera and moisturizer did not work for me either, and Solarcaine made it 10x worse. Ultimately, after proving almost every method wrong, I found that laying completely still on The couch and reading a book to take my mind off the itch. In about 1 hour of relaxing, the itch and pain from my sun poisoning was just about gone.
Good luck ;)
my fiance was suffering from sunburn itch. he was flipping out, threatening to punch holes through my rental house walls, and demanding that i buy whatever products i could find to make the itch stop. he took a cool shower, has downed 3 ibuprofen and 2 Benadryl, drank water non stop, is now laying on the floor covered in a thick layer of aloe and plastic wrap, and to top it all off an ice pack and fan. he says he has had relief, but just said the itch may be returning. oh Lord help us all.
i must admit, i didn't believe my future mister, thought he was being a pansy about it all, until i found this blog. totally believe him and wish i could help him find some total relief.
I got a bad sunburn 2days ago all over my back. Just when i thought everything was going be alright because the pain was beginning to subside, i started to itch like crazy. After about an hour of looking like a deranged madman hugging himself violently while trying to scratch parts of my back i just couldn't reach i called in reinforcements and had my girlfriend start scratching with me.this did not help at all, the more i scratched the more it seemed to itch. Finally i figured a cold shower would relieve this itch from hell and headed in with happy thoughts. Holy crap.... Was that the wrong thing to do, it actually made it a 100 times worse. I was beginning to think i was seriously going to loose my mind. I'm not a baby or anything but i actually thought i might cry while dropping to my knees and praying to god to take this away. So with no other options i thought i might bit the net and see if anyone else has gone through this, that's when i came across this site. I think just reading the other posts does help take your mind off of the great itch and helps alot. After reading some posts I ran right down to the local rite aide and got me some burn relief with lidocain and some poison Ivy calamine lotion i wasent taking any chances and wanted to be prepared for what ever the night would bring. Well before i went down to the rite aide i applied the only thing i had laying around the house leftover from when i got my tattoos a few weeks ago, a&d diaper rash ointment and skin protectant and threw a shirt on and out i went. By the time i got back it did not itch at all anymore (thank god). I don't know if it helped or just having a shirt on helped but i am gratfull that the itch from hell has subsided for now. And if it comes back I will try the other products and see if they work as well. I have never experienced anything so torturous in my entire life as this itch, and hopefully never will again. Good luck to all of you suffering through this I hope your itch ends soon.
oh I feel everyones pain here,,,this is the worst thing ever,,,everything here makes it worse,,,the best thing for me was to take a shower, I used as warm water as I could take,,,,as soon as you get out,,DONT SCRATCH DONT SCRATCH DONT SCRATCH,,,it will slowly subside and be bearable ,,,,then just remember DONT SCRATCH DONT SCRATCH,,,,,also a t-shirt really helped me,,,so far this is the only thing that is working,,,,I am just fine as long as I DONT SCRATCH
O my this is the worst thing I have ever had to go through by far, and I have had a torn mcl, heart probe that made me feel like I was haveing a heart attack, and a car accident on my 18th birthday(NOW 20) that has had me going to a chiropractor 3 times a week since. I would chose any of those to do again be for this awful itch!!!! Pool on sunday, pain on Monday, its now Tuesday and I wish some one would shoot me!
My worst mistake was takeing a luck warm bath the night of for like 4 or so hours. Then in a state of panicked this morning when I woke up I jumped in the bath, didn't work so thinking a shower might be better I turned it on hot to losen my skin the cold to cool it off. WRONG thing. The while in the shower not careing about my new 480 dollar phone called my mommy and hated for help. I just moved in to my first apartment didn't think of every.thing I might need for a sun burn so her advice.of aloe or cortizone or calamine lotion wasn't working. Contrary to that
What has helped not touching it drinking water and reading all of these posts and my itch is to a min and hope it stays that way! P.s don't use ice cubes it will dry out your skin and itch worse.
I am going through the same crap right now. I can't even concentrate at work and just want to jump out a freakin' window. Every now and again, I start twitching hard enough to pull muscles.
This is the 3rd time I have gone through this. The only things that have worked for me are to stay as still as possible, stay cool, do something that occupies your mind, drink a ton of water, and take 800 milligrams of ibuprofen (Advil) to reduce the swelling in your skin.
Showers don't work and neither will anything you apply to the skin. You are experiencing sub-dermal healing. It's not on the surface of your skin. The burnt skin on the surface is, for the most part, dead. Your body is building new skin cells underneath of this dead skin.
I have been using a tea remedy and a milk remedy. Boil a large pitcher of water. Put 6 tea bags in. Make sure tea is completely black. Dab onto your skin and do not wash off. It should take some of the redness away and soothe the skin. Or. Put a cup of milk in your bath and this will also soothe the skin.
i
I am so glad that I read this! I feel like I am going insane right now. I got a bad sun burn and I am on day 3 of it and my itching right now is on my chest. I feel like a crazy person! And at one point I was in a horrific screeching cry over it. I just want the itching to stop. I have tried aloe with no relief. I have tried antibacterial spray with no relief. The only thing that seems to work momentarily is an ice pack but at work it would seem odd to have a giant bag of ice in my shirt. This is the second time in my life I've had the sunburn itch. I HATE IT. I'm glad that people know what I am going through! I just want the itching to stop so I will stop being so mean and hateful to everyone. I am in no mood to be cheerful and happy right now. I have the sunburn itch blues.
Ughh just a fay ago i got a horrible sunburn it diddnt hurt much but then the itching kicked in and let me telll you i felt like ripping my skin off and even asked a few poeple if they would kill me! It got to the point where i just wanted to cry here i am sitting at my computer still itching but i tried everyting aloe gel +cold bath+ vinegar i kept the vinegar on my upper chest which itched for half an hour and tried to get my mind off of the itch and it seemed to work for bout 10 mins im sooo damn depserate for help itss so unberableee!
I work outside a lot so the sun is no forein object to me. I am well tanned on my face, neck and arms, However the rest of me is very pale. Two days ago I went to the beach to relax and have a little fun, in my effort to not look so ghostly all over my body i laid in the sun for no more than twenty-five minutes trying to get a little sun on my back and chest.
Later that night i was pretty red and i knew that i would be miserable if i didn't start treatment right away so i started putting lotion on everything that was burned. The next morning i could feel the sunburn pretty good but it wasn't anything intolerable, I took a shower and slathered lotion on a few times throughout the day. I though i had bested the damn thing by the time i woke up this morning. I only hurt in a few spots and i figured i was good.
I took a shower and i could feel all the lotion from the day before just slime up and wash off my body, I only used a little soap to get rid of any additional residue.
then it started, I started to itch and itch. I wasn't prepared mentally for this when it started, i was being pushed beyond my threshold for sanity. I got out of the shower as quickly as i could and tried to pat myself dry, at this point my fiancee came in and was asking me if i was okay. she tried to help put lotion on me as quickly as possible to relieve the insane itching but relief wasn't coming quickly enough. I ran to the pantry and grabbed a bottle of apple cider vinegar and ran back to the tub and turned the water to warm. i probably dumped almost half the bottle in there. i then locked my fiancee out of the bathroom so if i did start crying she didn't see it.
This was just the begininning, I laid down in the vinegar bath to try and and ease the itch and after about 10 to 15 minutes the madness subsided temporarily, long enough to smear aloe all over myself. the itch started to come back then, I felt like my skin was turning against me and i wanted to slice it off, at least then i could go to the Emergency room and would prob be unconscious, but i fought the urge some how. After smoking about three cigarettes the maddening feeling started to subside a little. I have read hundreds of methods on how to make it stop but it seems that there is no sure thing, I don't want to keep putting things on my skin that could make it worse. for now i have decided to ride it out and just use aloe when it starts to get intense again.
My hell is still in progress but i amin search for a real solution, there has to be a way to stop this other than complete sun evasion! but i will share some of the things i have learned.
1. You can shower the day you get the sunburn but after that i wouldn't risk it.
2. Use some sort of intense moisturizer for a few days before you even get any sun. to try and evade extra damage from your skin being dry to start with.
3. Drink plenty of water at least a day before you get any sun and don't stop until your sunburn is all healed.
4. Use sunscreen and lots of it! You don't want this happening again.
5. Aloe does help but it's not a cure all.
6. Remain calm and after you get sunburned go ahead and prepare yourself mentally about the hell that could possibly ensue.
I can can confidently say this is the worst itch and SUCKS so bad. The itch is just so unbearable I wish it had an ultimate cure... Fml
I am going thru the itching part as i type this. I am so itchy. tried vinegar, worked a little, put powder it worked. Now it's back again. I also tried baking soda, more worse.It's like little tiny needles trying to get out. Never again will i go to the beach and fall asleep.
Im not even the one with the itchy burn...my bf has been losing his mind for the past 12+ hours. Hes scratching insanly, grunting, and rubbing wet towels all over his chest like hes on fire! I was able to come up with a routine to keep us out of the emergency room and get him tru the night (so far so good). We have tried everything but it all seems to be adding to the reaction hes having except the routine below:
1. Luke warm bath with white vinegar (NOT hot NOT cold water)
2. Benedryl 75mg every 5 hours
3. Zyrtec (10mg) 1 in a 24hr span
4. Xanax
5. Calamine Lotion
6. Loose fitting tshirt
Rest then repeat!
- Stay away from items with perfume, soap, lotion anything with "cain" in the title, alchol and oil- makes that "I have bugs all over me feeling come"
If you are reading this don't stop! I was itching horribly today on my back, neck, and shoulders. DO NOT SCRATCH IT! It only makes it 3 times worse. Do not take a shower! That was a mistake I made today and let me tell you, you will want to die after taking a shower! Drink a lot of water and do not move much at all. Do something that will help you take your mind off of it. Reading comments here help me a lot. I got a bad sunburn 2 days ago and today was the itchy day. Hopefully it won't itch tomorrow. I would suggest taking medicine to help reduce the itch and pain. Whoever is reading this I mean this stay strong and you're not the only one. And remember do NOT SCRATCH IT!!!
The itch truly is unbearable- just want to jump out of my skin. Tried greek yogurt, tried calamine lotion, tried excedrin, tried pure aloe... No relief! The only thing that has provided a few hours of relief is a cool shower with Dr. Bronner's tea tree soap, air drying, then applying 1% strength hydrocortizone cream and taking 2 benadryl. Wearing a cotton shirt was also helpful, as opposed to no shirt. Good luck!!!
ok so I know how everyone on this site is feeling when i comes to the itching i have had a 3rd digree sunburn and it itched less then this not even first digree mild sunburn i am not even pealing
So how I got this sunburn that makes me wont to scream at the top of my lungs is I disided that I was going to go with my cousins and a few friends swimming at about one o'clock on one of the hotest days my town has every seen with no sunscreen well we were out there until about seven in the afternoon and well i still hadnt put on any sunscreen and I am a very dark haired person but i have the whitest skin out of any of the people in my town because my great grandparents on both sides come stright from dubblin and irland or whatever anyway i didnt know i was burnt till i got home and jumped in a very hot shower which hurt very very very bad and what i usually do is right after i shower i put vinagar on my sunburns but this on i had to babysit so i went to my brothers and forgot about my sunburn well that was 2 days ago and i went swimming at about 8:30 at night right when my burn hit the water i was itching to the point i was shaking and crying like and rubbing my burn trying to rub the skin off i tryed lotions i tryed cold showers to the point i almost gave myself hypothermia i tryed banana boat aloe vera i tryed aloe oil and the fan thing everything just made it worse i was crying for a good 2 almost 3 hours paseing around my house trying not to think about it and trying to let the aloe set in like my brother told me i called my mom and she said find vinagar my brother had some but he miss placed it and now i am trying to go to bed because i have an interview tomarrow but i am to the point that i just want to keep crying and feel like if i dont itch my burn im going to shoot myself in the face i have tryed everything i can find and the itching is uncontrolable and making me go phsyco
I woke up this morning around 2:30 and had an itch on my side. I itch thinking nothing of it and then... my whole back and chest started itching uncontrollably. I thought my burn was getting better since it no longer hurt to touch it but i guess i was wrong. I can honestly say I've never been in so much pain, and I've broken both my collar bones, my arm, ankle, most of my fingers, and 7 toes. It is awful. The only thing that has helped is waiting it out hoping for relief. So if you're willing to sit through pain and look crazy it does work. It's actually kind of amusing looking back at what i did during this 2 hour period. Oh and reading these stories helped a little too.
I have pretty much the same story as all of you, spent two hours listening to baseball by the pool and my pasty white skin is now Cardinal Red. The pain I can handle, but this itch that I am experiencing even as I write this, is making me psychotic. I want to take a cheese grater to my skin. My girl thinks I'm a wimp and so did I until I started reading this page. I wish I would have read all this stuff two days ago. I am in day three of the Glorious Itch, no more showers until this is gone. I hope my girlfriend understands!
A brief addendum to my previous post: the only thing that has brought me any kind of relief ( and I gave up hard partying years ago) is xanax, lots of xanax and a couple of beers. God hasn't forsaken you, but you are on your own for this one.
Still itching,
Scott
This was an awful experience I went trough myself. I wanted to scream and cry. The burning n itching! I showered like 6 times for relief that will only last 10 mins. It was unbearable I drank benadryl for Tylenol for pain but the itching calmed with Aloe cooling gel I put it in the freezer once cold it gave me some relief. I know what your all going trough 2nd day shouldnt b as bad. Wish u all the best. Be strong!
I'm just wondering how long the itching lasts. I got burnt nearly 3 weeks ago and wnet through the whole peeling stage but it wasn't until a few days after i got home that the itching began. It really is awful, i'm on day 4 of THE ITCH, luckily it only comes on at night, but my gosh its just awful!! Please give me some good news, tell me its going to end soon!!
Ok i feel for all of you, read all the comments it sucks for sure second time it happened to me thought i would get tan with tanning lotion but i was so white just made the burn worse the itching stage sucks! tried aloe and a fan helps a little, said F* it and took a few shots (ok quite a few) and i feel so much better, my roomate who is a nurse says it is only gonna help for now but tomorrow it will be worse, and that a HOT shower is the best thing becasue it opens up capilaries or something but i am not thinking a hot shower will help haha but she def knows more than me but for now have some shots smoke a bowl and hopefully u learned your lesson!
Discovered a great remedy after going through the entire house trying to find anything that would work when I came across gold bonds anti itch powder made it into a paste and put it everywhere on my back, immediate relief. who would have thought foot powder do the trick.
I'm going through this right now. I'm fidgiting in my computer chair sharing my experience because after reading I know there is nothing to do. It is so bad, I want to get knocked out for some relief. I didn't think anything could be this awful in my entire life. And forget about scratching people! Once you scratch, the itch comes back ten fold. You just have to let the waves of itchiness come and go...somehow.
My girlfriend is out right now getting me calamine lotion. I'm hoping it helps because i'm losing my shit! Cannot deal with this any longer.
Good luck people, and for people who are sunburnt and have yet to experience "the itch"...have fun.
There is NO WORSE feeling in this world! I'm military and believe this could be the VERY BEST INTERROGATION TECHNIQUE for obtaining information!
I found the following useful. Rub on aloe, put on a snug shirt, take 3 Benadryl with a glass of wine then lay flat on the side that itches allowing the shirt to dry and stick to the skin preventing from getting oxygen. I feel MUCH BETTER!
we all know what we are going through. remember, it will not last forever. i sit here after having read every post on this blog and now, 2 hours later, i feel beyond the insane stage. the waves of itch keep coming, but they also keep going.
it's day 3 for me and i agree that lotions are not going to help at this point. i lotioned up as much as i could for the past 2 days and hopefully that will pay off in the long run.
if you are in itch mode - keep drinking lots of water. don't scratch. but go ahead and twitch to your heart's desire. it works for me.
also, remain calm and optimistic. this too will pass.
take this as an opportunity to focus on healing, pray, and to discover that you can beat the itch.
yes, this itch is truly debilitating. it's 2 am and i can' stop shivering and yet i'm somehow exhausted.
CURES:
Water, Benadryl.
yes, it's tough, but so are you! fight the good fight, and learn this lesson well.
Something I noticed with my own hell itch and with descriptions of other peoples, a lot of the cause of the Hell Itch has to do with hydration. My hell itch came on at 2pm, all day i had drank nothing but a cup of coffee. After trying all the remedies i gave up, and started trying my best to ignore it. I also drank 2 large glasses of water. Within 15 minutes the itch subsided greatly.
Agony - nothing comes close to this. Its 6am. Started yesterday at 3pm and still it's awful. Had zero sleep. Tried all this stuff on here no help! I think time is the only actual healer! Everyone has said and they are right-
1. Don't shower
2. Don't scratch
At all costs avoid these and hope that it ends soon. My biggest feat is what sort of damage is done to the skin as a result??? If the body reacts this violently chances are it's been damaged badly!
Bad times :(
Woke up at 1:00 am and itchy, then look for something to stop it. All I found was preparation H after two hours no more itching
I tried literally everything and I am still itching now. i noticed that rubbing the itch stops it until it the one rubbing it stops. It's not nearly as bad as when it first started i was begging my dad's girlfriend to kill me. the time of the month is a picnic compared to this. i think it has something to do with being pale for a long time. 2 days ago i went to 6 flags and i completely forgot to put sun block on. I had been very pale for 2 years before this and now im as red as a tomato almost all over
This is my second sun burn itching attack and I swear to the mighty god it will be my last. I am a grown man of 25 but sounded like a school girl who just got dumped before prom. My poor mom took the brunt of my yelling but showing her this site made her believe how bad it is. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. Good luck everyone.
Ice packs work good. Lay down and relax. Don't move the burnt area either
Brickyard 400 nascar race in INDY no shirt no problem right? ... Wrong. The unbearable ''ITCH'' from hell arrived today, (2 days after the race). I have 2nd degree burns on my shoulders but my back is itching uncontrollably. I almost punched the wall a few times and cursed everything I saw in the bathroom. This was after I applied REGULAR ALOE AND VITAMIN E OIL. It works ppl just apply then wait. Do not scratch it'll almost drive you to the point of insanity. The blog helped alot too. Good luck guys
I HAVE CONQUERED DEATH BY PAIN!
Let me take you back to April, Zante 2011.
I was quietly minding my own business by the pool in the villa we had rented for the week, I had put on some factor 10 (I think) when my session began and though that because it was April that would be enough for the day.
How wrong was I! I ended up burnt, but not the worst burn I have ever had, although the experience to come was life changing!!
I went to bed that night a little bit tender from the burn so put some cocoa butter (the only thing the wife had brought) to ease the burn and moisturise my skin.
I then woke the following morning with some slight itching which steadily grew until I was out of control, punching the walls and shouting like a lunatic! At this point I'd like to point out that I am a 6ft 2in soldier who is used to discomfort but this was in a class of it's own!
The only relief was constantly getting in/out the shower and having a towel draped over my back, I also was applying cream in between showers but I'm not sure if this was a mistake or not?
After holding everyone up for 4 Hrs and drinking about 8 Litres of water and taking 6 paracetamol it subsided enough to venture outside and head directly for a local pharmacy who gave me some very strong anti-histamines which got necked straight away.
The rest of the day I had a dull itch every so often but nothing in comparison to what went on earlier.
The only upside to this horrific experience is that now the inlaw's keep their distance from me as they think I'm a lunatic! :)
I have however not learnt my lesson and have the hell again today after some topless gardening on Monday (2 days ago) but thanks to past experience and posts by other people I have dealt with it better this time.
Here are my tips:
1. Regular showers
2. Drape a towel over the affected area
3. Very strong anti-histamine (piriton doesn't cut the mustard)
4. Lots of water
5. I liked lotion being rubbed on my back but allot of people don't, and I'm think this may have been the cause on both occasions. i.e. putting on cocoa butter at night then waking in the morning with the hell itch!
6. Bin the cocoa butter!
7. Have lots and lots on control, I liked draping a towel over my head and trying to relax as much as possible and go to that "special place"!
If the people you are with have never experienced this they will think you are a big girl and you only have a "wee itch", only people who have suffered this pain will understand.
Oh and have any females had this? As far as I'm aware it's only been men, which would put it in the "man flu" scale of ailments!!
Good luck everyone, it will subside.
I've gotten sunburned plenty of times throughout my life and have NEVER experienced sunburn itch until today. The shower definitely triggered it. The second I stepped in, I immediately started itching and took the fastest shower of my life to get out of there and get to scratching.
LOTION. lotion lotion lotion. It takes about ten or 15 mins to work, but almost no more itch! There are special lotions just for itch which I will buy but just plain old lotion is saving my life right now.
To apply the lotion to my back, I smeared it on my closet door and rubbed my back against it for a long long time!
Hour 5.
The itching is getting better. Maybe its just cause i havnt scratched or concentrated on it. Havnt used any products yet... Still cant sleep and all shops are closed.
HP
I burned my back about 2days ago, yesterday was the day when all things happened.. I slept about 3H.. Bought all possible medicines from pharmacy, oils, soda, vinegar, ibuprofen, spray, benadryl(for itching), fruits, candles(for meditation), Im soo tired... About 15min i took benadryl and finally im feeling difference a bit.Tried all things, nothing helped.. I never had this sh** before, and i hope this is the last and only time, cos this is something horrible. GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY, and soo far, tips for others, Noo shower, try to not itch your self, begin wrote a blog to get your mind somewhere else, read this blog, and pepermint oil, + some after sun oil, lot of water.
Will write again, later.
Johny
Ok, 3rd Day, and im feeling much much better than 2days before, its still itchy but nothing major....
Suggestions for other, if you are suffering from sunburn itch at night and all pharmacys are closed, just go to midnight shop as i did, and ask for - Drugs to Treat Allergy Symptoms - search one for itch or smth like that. Other thing, there is Nivea after sun + Aloe + Mint + Spray, should be found at 24/7 shops aswell, takes redness and burning down.. I hope I helped somebody.. Good Luck,
Johny
Day 2 of my sunburn an it had seemed to stop burning- like sunburn usually does. However, i was just going about normal business, and much like the publisher of the forum, had an itch. Itched it, and then that was it, i couldnt stop! It was hell, i was crying and going mad, and im no whimp. I led on my front in bed and was having spasms trying to stop the itch. Luckily, the chemist gave me some Calamine Lotion to put on my back, this eased it so much than compared to the agony before, and also i took some anti-allergic medicine, like the stuff for hayfever, and after 15 mins or so i feel much better, even though i still itches as i type this. I know how you guys feel, it IS LIVING HELL and trust me, after this, i will never get sunburnt again! Stuff the tan, im keeping everything on! I hope it goes away tonight, as i have work tomorrow and i cant afford to not go!!!!
I read a lot of these while feeling this UNBEARABLE PAIN. Nobody who hasn't experienced it can understand it, but I do not wish this pain TO ANYBODY ever.
1st: Don't wet it or put cold compressed
2nd: Putting a long sleeve shirt and a hoodie helped me a lot. I think it has to do with less air in contact with it, but I believe the only thing will fully remove this pain is time, as unfortunate as that is. So use these tips or any others that may be working for you until it goes away, good luck & know that your pain has been felt.
After being up for 2 hrs from itching so badly i started to cry, i decided to look on the internet to see if there was something i could put on and i saw this :) thanks guys for taking my mind off it! i have never had something so horrible in my life, its weird because i didnt even get sunburned that bad, it was a little red thats all but the itch is awful.
I tried lots of lotion and aloe vera and it didnt help, i tried laying really still on my bed and it just made it worse, what helped a little was when i gently rubbed my soft pillow over it every time it started itching and then left it on top of it. At least im not shaking from it itching so bad!
I recently got burned to the point of blistering. Before I blistered my burn started to itch/hurt like never before. It got to the point where my boss told me to go home even though I told him I could work. On the way home the pain was so unbearable that it brought tears to my eyes. I've broken bones and tore ligaments, and I would would much rather have that than the pain from my burn. I decided to go to the hospital because I've never experienced pain that much. The ER doctor was at a loss for words when they gave me three, count them three pain killer injections in my behind, and two knock out pills, and I was still wide awake with pain just as bad as when I came in. They washed my burn with cold water, which turned out to make it worse. After some deliberation they found that my history of sun poisoning was the culprit. The sunburn aloe I applied the night before didn't do any justice either. I finally passed out two hours after arriving at the ER from the pain and the massive amount of pain drugs in my system. Two days later I blistered and bled through on of my work shirts. I know how you all feel, and this pain isn't a joke as many people believe. Thanks for listening to me rant. Hope this site helps you find a solution.
HEAT HEAT HEAT That is the ONLY thing that cures it. HOT shower, or if you live in the desert like i do, go out into the HEAT. It made it almost completely go away. Im getting really hot but i WILL NOT take the blanket off my back.
NOTHING else works.
die. its the only way to cure the itch.
so i went camping over the weekend and i decided to go on a float trip thing down the river with my family, i figured 15, 20 minutes top, no need for lotion right? well, it ended up taking close to 3 hours...so ive been red as can be for about 2 days now(i have very pale skin)so red i coouldnt lift my arms over my head because my skin was so tight, and i suddenly started to itch, now ive had sunburns before, but this itch is unbearale, absolutely agggghgh, and the worst part is that the sunburn has affected my skin grafts too, which really reallly suucks. when i had 2nd and 3rd degree burns it didnt itch this bad:(
ive tried everything sensible, drinking plenty of water, put my shirt back on, used aloe and realized it was making my skin much worst because it has alcohol in it...im not someone who cant ake pain or complains about being uncomfortable, im actually joining the military soon, but this is just crazy
The unbearable itch topped with doubts from your family members and allegations that you're overreacting make this one of the worst things I have ever encountered. This website is great becuase even if you can't find a remedy that works, it will at least take your mind off it which is, ultimatley, the best thing in this situation.
I have been suffering with this now for about 4 weeks now and it doesn't seem like its going to stop :o/ it is the third time i have had this once on chest and twice on back. I was determined this time not to be caught out so invested in some high factor superdooper anti-pore blocking sun spray which seemed to be working fine until i forgot to re-lube after a dip in the pool and my back was exposed for less than 15 minutes without cream (but in greece in July with 35 deg heat - thats all it needs)
Needless to say I am suffering something chronic now and want to pass on my obersvations and recommendations if I may . .
1. Showers (hot or cold) only work when your in them.
2. Antihistamines help (maybe a bit of placebo effect as well) but they do seem to give some relief.
3. I play badminton and when I am there and working up a sweat my back feels perfectly normal so heat (or should I say raising your body temp so that you sweat) works - not tried a sauna but this must do same.
4. Certain materials irratate it choose wisely what you wear.
The bad news (for me and my fellow sufferers)is that I have scoured this, and many more similar forums in the quest for an 'holy grail' remedy and have found none. All we can do is try and suffer best we can and gleen as much pain relieving solutions as possible.
My heart goes out to all of you. MEDICAL PROFFESION TAKE NOTE - WE NEED THIS SORTING - QUICKLY!!!
This is my first time with the itch!
I've been jumping over the place, cursing and trying to punch things! Its rage chaps, pure rage!
I'm using aloe and seems to be helping. I have just come of a 2-3 hour sting with a cool wet tea towel that was on my upper back and this has helped also. I doubt I'll be sleeping tonight.
Jesus, this is a long topic.
I'm going through this for the second time in the past two summers.
The first time, and had to make an emergency stop at the grocery store because the itching started while picking the fiance up from work.
She ran in and grabbed calamine lotion, which I immediately ripped off my shirt and applied heavily in the car.
She was freaking out because i was punching the steering wheel, pulling at the seat belt, and had my seat reclined while rubbing my body all over it, like a crackhead.
This is my second time now, and throughout both, I've tried Vitamin A&D lotions, 100% aloe, calamine, ice cubes, and nothing has seemed to really work for me.
I read taking a very hot shower and either air drying, or gently blotting your skin. This has worked for me the second time around... Unfortunately it retuns about 45-60 minutes later.
I've taken 4 HOT showers today, but the itching has finally at least subsided enough for me to get though the day(unless it returns).
You think there would be a physician post on the internet somewhere regarding this awful issue.
Good luck to you all, may god be with you.
Story time-
-5th grade- kept avoiding my mom who wanted to reapply suntan lotion all day. I got a bad burn on my chest and back. 24 hours after the pain of the burn.. The itch came… and like others have said.. It's not just an itch that you can itch… it's a under your skin electrical itch from hell. It's like someone shocks you and it travels out from that point.. But instead of electrical pain.. It's a horrible itch that you can't get at. It comes randomly across the burn area. All I remember from the first time is sitting in the tub with cold water running over me, crying, going insane cause it wouldn't go away. It's like you just want to pull your skin off and hand it to someone and say … "I'm done with this". We went to the hospital…. But by the time we got there and saw a doc.. It had settled to a bearable level. He just suggested aloe and cream to moisturize. Unless someone has experienced it directly.. They don't understand… cause this itch isn't just an itch.
-Senior year High school- went to Key West… snorkeled for 3 hours.. No sun screen. Stupid I know.. But I have never been a sun lover or pool person… these three occurrences of which I am writing are the only times that I have been out not wearing a shirt. I have a sweet farmers tan and that's about it. So 24 hours.. The itch returns… I had my buddy slop on the aloe… which feels good going on .. But once it starts to dry a bit.. It is twice as bad. I stood in a shower with cold water rotating in circles for 2 hours.. Hands clenching in claws hovering over my chest.. Wanting to tear my skin off in misery to end all. We the got in the car to look for a pharmacy to get something that will end the itch. My buddy couldn't help but laugh at my misery… cause you just arch, tense, worm, scream, cry in insanity…. All from what you can only describe to someone as a bad itch. It subsided after half a day.
-3 days ago. Vacation in charleston and beaches to the north… lathered sun screen everywhere .. But my back. I got distracted when my 3 year old was running around. 24 hours later.. That #!@#$!# itch returned. My wife just couldn't understand my insanity from an itch. I just squirmed for a few hours.. I had her try cortizone… which was amazing going on.. Such a sweet pleasure before you will want to hit yourself in the face with a frying pan.. Or leap from something.. .. But then made it worse two fold. I just grabbed a pillow and would scream into it as each wave came in. It again subsided after a half a day. My son got a great laugh out of it all.
So the only thing that "worked" for me.. Was to know that it would end eventually. Showers work.. But once you go to dry off… it will start back up… SO I say just go to the street.. And start running and screaming until it ends. Keep yourself busy somehow… or… light your foot on fire to distract form the itch.. It will feel better. I now know that if I take my shirt off outside.. I have to get out the sunscreen immediately. I have loved finding other people's postings about this… hearing other grown men cry about it makes me feel good about my esteem.
I know how you all feel... its murder :(
i went on a sunbed for 10 mins 2 days ago and went red but i wasn't sore... but yesterday i was working for my dad and i started to itch, when i started work it took my mind of it but as soon as i stopped it fired up even more, when i got home i had a shower then put some aloe on my back and it was torture, it just got worse, i thaught that if i jumped back in the shower it would help... i was wrong :'( i went to the emergancy room and the doctor gave me some hayleve to help, but they didnt help.. i have found it to stop itching while i was reading on this site... the doctor said the itch is the skin healing and it will itch for a few day.... GREAT!! :/ i just have to grit my teeth and bare it..
my friends and family just think its a regular itch and that im being a wuss but untill they have it they dont know what were going through... good luck too you all!! :))
Yeah, I'm feeling the exact same way right at this moment. I also developed some blisters on my shoulders (the area where I was hit the hardest). The best thing to do is put Aloe Vera on the burn BUT you may also want to put some PolySporin on there.
The best thing to do is to develop a litany of "don't worry, it's getting better."
i have same problem, would anyone believe that by just putting 2 shirts on the ich went away, i dont get it, as soon as i take shirt off ich comes back. i am in shade, tried aloe, cold water, ice, etc.
ich only happened after my sunburn was almost gone.
Well I told myself after the first itchy sunburn 2 years ago , that I would never let it happen. It drove me to the brink of insanity. I m in Maui . Day 2. Lather myself with50 proof sunblock. I sat in the water for about 30 mins. Got out and sprayed more sunblock on and laid out. That was som hot sun cause about 4 hours later when I was at home I noticed my back was lobster red. The first thing that came to mind was HELL ITCH. This is no joke 2-3 days after the burn your my get the worst itch ever. It's a horrid twitching itch that drive you crazy. The worst part is my girlfriend is looking at me like I'm crazy. Saying I'm over reacting. SAys I'm being dramatic. Tell me people I'm I being dramatic. I think not. I love my girlfriend to death but I would love to let her fill the itch for just 5 minutes so she would believe me. As for as a cure for the itch. Will all the reading I've done . So stuf works for some people and other stuff works for other people. It's all hit and miss. The one remedy I know that works is......TIME. it's torture but try to relax and let time pass. You can make it. Good luck
I actually laughed so much reading this article and the comments because the EXACT same thing is happening to me in every sentence. This itch is incredibly annoying and so hard to describe to other people, which frustrates you more and then there's your Dad moaning at you for having long showers which make the heating bill spike. Oh, I guess that last part is just in my case. Nevertheless, still didn't help!
I was happily playing Croc on my PS2 (retro games ftw) when suddenly I started getting an itch on my chest. It wasn't so bad at first, I just scratched and continued. But then it became persistent and quite annoying, so I put some aftersun lotion on it. Still didn't help. By now I had already started to go crazy, so I had to do something about it.
The first tip I read on the internet to cure the itching was to hold an ice cube against the itch. This wasn't exactly ideal however, as the itch only ceases as long as the itch area is cold. Soon the ice cube melted, and I was very sad face. I then tried using some aqueous cream, which was a big mistake. I thought it would help, but it did the exact opposite! The itch became to spread and became more persistent. I panicked and chucked some cold water over my chest to wipe the cream off, which made quite a mess actually. I was getting very upset because the itch was out of control and the water didn't seem to help either. Running out of ideas, I just grabbed a towel and started padding the itch, which helped a little bit. I couldn't wipe however, as the burn was still quite sore.
I started to cry helplessly, because I was honestly losing my mind, it's a horrible feeling and you don't know what to do. After that I just put a shirt on and kept prodding the itch rather than wipe, because that still hurt. I also kept using the aftersun cooling gel with aloe vera every time the itching got out-of-hand again. After a while, the itching got slightly better. It's actually still here as I wrote this comment, or story rather by the looks of things now. Oh well, took my mind off the itch for a while. Holy crap, lighting outside *craps pants*.
Anyway, if you are also going through this, I would suggest try to stay as calm as possible and don't lose it. Keep applying cooling gels with aloe vera in them, after about 10-15 minutes they really start to help. I cannot say don't scratch the itch, because it is basically impossible. But trust me, try to resist scratching as much as possible, because the itch will always come back afterwards. If you have to scratch, try padding/prodding the itch with your shirt. It has near-enough the same effect as scratching, but doesn't provoke the itch to come back as much.
Another thing, ALWAYS WEAR CLOTHING ABOVE THE ITCH. If you let to much air to it, the itch will come back. SO! In summary...
1. Try and keep calm.
2. Apply a cooling or aftersun gel with aloe vera
3. Try your best not to scratch the itch. If you can't resist the scratch, try prodding the itch instead.
4. ALWAYS wear an item of clothing over the itch.
I'm scared because the itch is only affecting one burn on my body right now, which is my chest, I also have burns on my shoulders, back, arms and legs. I hope they don't burn too. :c Well at least I know how to deal with it as best I can this time round. I dunno why, but I feel like I should leave my email address in case anybody wants to get in touch!
hardylee@live.co.uk
Maybe I'm just lonely, oh well. Good luck to all you sunburn itchy people! Time to play more Croc. Ciao!
Putting lotion on your back would work great, except for one problem. I'm overweight and can't reach my back. Advice please?
Misery. Absolute misery. Going insane. Want to kick the dog... But it's not his fault... This is what ben Ladin must have had...
Ice packs! lots of ice packs!! OMG!!
Easily the most painful thing that I have ever experienced in my life.
My story of misery is similar to many others on this site. Day 1-2 just a run-of-the-mill sunburn. Day 3 I jump out of the shower and the hell was unleashed. In a matter of minutes I went from a healthy 27 year old male to a raging lunatic on the verge of death. It was the first time in my life that I prayed for God, Jesus or any other supreme being to help me out. The first day in three years that I called off work sick. Aloe? Made it worse. Moisturizer? Made it worse. Aloe spray? Made it worse. Vaseline? Made it worse. The only thing that worked was applying ice directly on the burn, but the constant application of ice was only intensifying my anxiety. And when the ice melted the hell continued on.
Then, with hands trembling from a combination of the ice and the itch spasms, I managed to find this site and read where some guy said that jogging was the cure. Fearing that I might have a heart attack trying to jog under all the anxiety, I instead ran outside and started mowing the lawn. It was almost instant relief (took 5 minutes). The remainder of the day I just continued to do odd jobs around the yard in order to maintain a moderate sweat. While working in the yard, I continued to chug water in order to stay hydrated. Other than the occasional single incident sharp itch/pain, I have been itch free now for about 30 hours.
I was sunburned on my left arm back on Sunday, May 29 and I still have bouts of this painful itch, about once every other day. It's soo painful and annoying!!! It IS August 31, over 3 months later. Maybe I should see a doc???
Reading the last few dozen post...
Did any of you people who CLAIMED to have "tried everything" ACTUALLY go to the health food store and get & try
PEPPERMINT OIL ????
No. Why not? That's what works - forget all that pricey pharmacy cr*p with alcohol and unpronounceable chemical additives: save your money & aggravation. The SOLUTION is simple, cheap and natural: PEPPERMINT OIL.
I've suffered these "burns" my entire life, EVERY summer, and 'Peppermint Oil' was the very first & only remedy that 'broke the itch' and provided almost instant relief.
My skin doesn't even get very red - THE PROBLEM isn't bad sunburn, its a histamine reaction, under your sunburn: something like Postherpetic Neuralgia (from shingles.) Its your central nervous system on overload, with false-pain signals firing away from thousands of chemically-stressed nerves, in a histamine reaction!
Many of these treatments might help some, too:
http://www.inwardbliss.com/postherpetic-neuralgia.php
Remember: Peppermint Oil is FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY. That's your salvation, or at least 70% pain reduction.
Drinking 'Peppermint tea' (a different product) will also help calm your nerves. But there are other calming teas.
I have had sun poisoning 2 times now. The first time i got it was around July...Now it is September. The first time i got it was from a combination of the swimming pool and tanning bed. I am a cheerleader so i decided to go to the tanning bed again to get some white off of me for performances and the unthinkable happened, I now have it again. This angers me very badly. Anyone who has ever been to a tanning bed or seen one knows that there are bulbs on the top and bottom, so the first tim ei got it i cried every night. I was in bed for a week solid. THere was little sun burn pain though. JUST ITCHING!! It was on my back and belly so it was impossible for me to sleep! i have it right now but not nearly as bad! its just on my stomach. I find that anything cold soozes the pain extremely. ALoe, ice, cold water, a fan, lotion, lidacaine, etc. just keep it cooled to soothe the burn and MAKE SURE TO KEEP IT MOISTURIZED. its just dry itchy skin. I think i have finally learned...
1. Hawaii
2. Snorkle
3. SPF 0
4. Horrible, HORRIBLE sunburn
The itching was so bad I thaught I would die.
100% fix......
OATMEAL BATH (lots of oatmeal) WARM WATER + SHOTS OF VODKA AND A FEW BEERS. After an hour in the tube and many, many drinks I was great for the whole night.
Oatmeal bath again in the morning (without drinking). held up pretty good most of the day.
But seriously, for the late night I can't sleep angony, agony insanity of the itch, this cure will get you through the night I PROMISE.
Yup... Freaking sunburn itch! I got burned surfing in hawaii 2 days ago. Showered this morning and felt fine. Went to the beach (kept my shirt on the whole time) came back and showered. A few minutes later the itch of death came upon me. What helped me so far is I took a lukewarm bath and dumped a bottle of vinegar in it and i soaked for like 20 minutes. Had some minor itching after I got out, but it feels just fine now after a few hours. I hope it doesn't come back.
This is my second time with a sunburn itch. Reading all of these articles made me calm. I put aloe on and it made my arms itch too instead of just my chest. last time it was my back. It is unbearable, so next time remember this article and put sunscreen on. Currently my itch is minor, it was crazy áss 5 minutes ago, a shirt works, you just gotta get through some of the itch. By my opinion a itch on the back is the worst, hard to reach places. All of the remedies I haven't tried because I don't have access to them, but a shower, aloe and a shirt kinda helps. I'm gonna ask my mom to buy me the "I survived a sunburn itch" T-shirt.
WOW! ive just spent my second sleepless night scratching my entire back, and 2 days of scratching..... same as a lot of people getting over this, ive considered seeing a doctor, considered going to emergency at times and so on... reading this blog has finally given me hope... just knowing that it will subside eventually has made it easier to deal with, it's easier not to scratch... im going to try peppermint oil once the shops open... i'm catching a plane from Australia to canada (about 14hrs) in two days and im just praying, for the sake of those who have booked the seats around me that it goes away by then... i just can't wait till it goes away... thankyou to everyone in this blog, it's like a support group... maybe someone should start up a 'sunburn itch annonymous' group for those experiencing this... goodluck to all those suffering the same, i feel for you all!
Ok, so i'm the guy from the above post, it's now been two weeks and three days from the initial sunburn, and 9 days of having this itch.... thats right NINE FREAKING days!!! to be honest, some days are better than others, and i've been able to control myself from murdering small children/ animals. i am up at 4am in the morning for about the 6th day out of 9. the only nights i've got some sleep was when i was severely drugged up.
by the way, if you wanted to know, i got 3 seats to myself on the way from australia- canada THANK GOD! but the people behind me were constantly talking about this weird guy infront of them that might be infecting them with some crazy rash or disease by scratching at it on the flight.... plus they were those loud talkers who want everyone to hear what they're saying as if they were celebreties or something... So you can all commend me for leaving these two chronically annoying people alive while i went through agony/madness on the flight... thankyou, thankyou very much. i had to, at one stage get a lotion from the attendants which i could put on, and honestly it was the only thing that helped, and the reason why is that id scratched my back to the point of bleeding in many places and the lotion burned so much that it distracted me from the itch...
I have tried everything and it hasnt gone away. if i had a pretty useless life, this would have driven me to suicide... not even joking.
This post is to let anyone who's going through this for the same period of time know, you're not alone! and anyone of those lucky bastards whos itch has gone away faster can sit there in bed drifting asleep , laughing at me hopefully it will help your post-itch recovery, mending all the damage to your life that the 'Hell-itch' has caused.
I will update this when the itch goes away finally (if it ever does) and let you know how long it went on for... but put it this way, i have decided that instead of trying to find new remedies im actually coming up with a plan just incase i have to deal with this for the rest of my life... A new back perhaps? can you buy new backs? in any case im on the verge of ripping my own back off... or someone elses... or perhaps a small childs... or cute animals...
Good luck everyone... i can only pray for you that it goes away a lot faster than mine...
this is unreal, i am covered in psoriasis and i thought that could be unbearably itchy at times...but this sunburn itch is literally something else,ive been biting and punching my pillows for hours now and its all too much, i want to just go to A&E and them to give me copious amounts of drugs to take the pain away lol
Uhm yeah this happened to me when I was kid I was so sun burnt that the pain and itching came as I rolled around in the bed like I was being stabbed multiple times in the back and screaming for hours my grandfather bought a can of solarcaine and sprayed me with it. This worked wonders and actually worked for the duration of the burn that was circa 1988. Well lets bring you to present day November 27, 2011 I am on a grat vacation with my wife in the Dominican Republic I spent about 2 hours out in the carribiean sun and was white as a ghost it was mildy pink the first day and a half then it turned itchy ugly !!!! To the point I reember as a kid. What has helped so far. Sitting in a Bathtub with running water as the skin is extremely dry thats why its itching. It stings at first but then gradually gets better. Hot or warm water stings at first but the sting takes away the burn for some weird reason.... Now after I get out of the Shower I feel the "Itch" creeping up again and this is where immediate action is required........... Caribbean Breeze Aloe Burn Relief.. Active ingredient 1% Lidocaine. Now mind you all the food remedies and shit are obsolete for me as I am at an all inclusive resort stuck in the DR. So the wife then slathers about a half bottle on my back while I am bent over very lightly. Then as it seems to be soaking in she does it again..... this helps. Now since we are at an all inclusive Alcohol is readily avaliable at a moments notice. Rum and Cokes and shots of rum seem to work wonders as well. This itch has lasted two days and seems to be getting fairly better....... However the Itch is still here and I have yet to survive it but when I do I am buying one of these damn shirts and next Thanksgiving we are going some place cold. Maybe Indiana, Alaska, Aspen, Slovenia, Switzerland or anywhere with snow so I can take my bear back and lay directly in the snow in rememberence of last years ITCH !!!!!!!! Best of luck to everyone I hope this helps.....
Holy crap, it's amazing seeing the amount of people who have been through this. To all the ignorant and unsympathetic people who believe this itch is controllable and bearable: F*ck You.
From personal experience (and also a few hundred posts I've observed) I have learnt to NOT TAKE A SHOWER AFTER THE BURN - whether this be one or two days after the inital damage. Feeling dirty > unbearable waves of extreme itchyness.
To all the big-shots and the corporate fat-cats: for the love of god, please create some sort of remedy for this extremely unpleasant sensation. I (and the countless number of victims depicted on this blog) would pay big money for such a product. Do you hear? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for yo' company. Call it "Sunburn Itch Away" or something snazzy. Only God knows how many people you will save from borderline insanity.
I got up to about march 2011 of these comments. But there was more than enough advice and sympathy in there to keep me from killing myself or going mad from the itch.
The itch kicked in about 3hours ago after I had a shower (a cold one, because i knew hot would not help the burn). I got out and put on some after sun lotion and then the itch hit. First response was ice, lots and lots of ice. It helped only while it was on my skin. Obviously I couldn't go around with an ice pack on my stomach, so i had to figure something out.
Here is my advice:
An after sun lotion with vitamin B5, E and aloe vera.
Lather it on and put a shirt on over it.
If you can, put an ice pack on over the shirt. But be carful not to let your shirt get wet from the moisture. Water (as they say) dries out the skin and you'll want to die all over again.
Then, sit still, breath, and reapply lotion regularly.
I'm now capable of typing, which i couldn't do half an hour ago.
Thanks to everyone for the advice.
"...the skin is extremely dry thats why its itching."
No, it's not. The skin is not "extremely dry," even though you probably do have skin damage. The problem is 'under the skin' where the nerve endings are firing away to your agitated central nervous system - that's why DRUGS (alcohol, -caines, etc.) work.
This nerve-crisis requires nerve relief: that's why the pepper- /mint remedies succeed. Google "post-herpetic neuralgia" (PHN) - the hell-itch has more in common with shingles than w/ a regular sunburn. Remedies for PHN will save your sanity: calm your nerves, that's the project.
"Aloe Vera" doesn't work. The junk sold in pharmacies is just predatory $$ product, the equivalent of McDonald's (non-nutritional "food.") Look at the posts, see the people using it, not getting IMMEDIATE relief? Read the label, "Aloe Vera" is just a stew of generic chemicals not so different from shampoo! Why not try slathering that on, then? It dries your skin, aggravating the problem, so you just use more goop ... waste of money! Confused why? "Aloe Vera" is a chem product, DESIGNED so you keep using it ...alcohol dries out the skin, that's the second of third ingredient! Commercial "Aloe Vera" product is no real relief for the hell-itch, just a pricey placebo sold to fools. Placebos don't work on an overloaded central nervous system!
You're kidding yourself, to "believe" otherwise. AND you won't get real relief, so don't waste your money on junk products.
In addition to Menastil or CorProfen (prescription required), another cheap OTC remedy is:
http://www.painreliefforpain.com/herpes_creams.htm
"Capsaicin – This cream, made from the seeds of hot chili peppers, may relieve skin hypersensitivity. It's the only medication approved by the FDA for treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (post herpetic neuralgia.) Capsaicin (Capzasin-P, Zostrix) depletes your nerve cells of a chemical called substance P, which is involved in sending pain messages to your brain. You periodically rub the cream on the involved area of your skin, usually three times a day. Capsaicin can cause a burning sensation and irritate your skin, but these side effects usually disappear over time. Follow the application instructions carefully because Capsaicin cream can be very irritating if rubbed on nonaffected parts of your body, such as your eyes."
Ok. Got burnt 3 days ago while swimming. Back and blistering shoulders. I had a shower this morning and got a terrible uncontrollable deep itch. It came in waves approx 30 mins apart. After crying and jumping around I took hayfever pills and allergy pills. Solarcaine. Paracetemol. ALOT of water. Now pushing my back into to the couch to cut off airflow. Its now tingling but not making me want to kill myself. Hope I helped and goodluck.
DRINK SPIRITS :D
wow so many ppl with the same experience. this is so fkd. its 1am and i cant get any lotions for 8 hrs. dunno how ill get through this night of itching. only thing i can think of doing to get my mind off it is to get as smashed as i can :\
SUNBURN FIRE ANT HELL ITCH.
Fellow sufferers, I COMPLETELY understand what you're going through as I have been unfortunate/stupid enough to have lived through this THREE times.
I've been burn plenty of times, but it wasn't until my 20's that I ever experienced sunburn fire ant hell itch.
I went on countless forums to find a cure. I was a demonic nutcase trying to find relief. I know you feel like NOTHING works.
Cooling the skin? Worse.
Moisturising the skin? Worse.
Scratching the skin? WORSE!!!
Ignoring it? IMPOSSIBLE.
I wanted to go to the hospital, nothing was working, it was so intense and I was working myself into hysterics.
THE ONE AND ONLY SIMPLE REMEDY TO (MY) SUNBURN FIRE ANT HELL ITCH:
HOT SHOWER.
So many of you are saying to avoid showering, but this TRULY helped.
Have a BOILING HOT SHOWER, as hot as you can stand.
By the time your skin itches, the burtn is healintg & hot water will not damage it further.
DO NOT USE SOAP OR SHOWER GEL.
Just get in the shower & slowly turn the heat up. It may feel uncomfortable at first but it WORKS.
Another quick fix is blasting the skin with a hair dryer set on high heat.
I know it sounds crazy, but applying heat is the key for me!
It works EVERY time for me, and unlike these creams and gels, there is no 10-15 minutes of intensified itchiness before relief kicks in.
My last bout of sunburn fire ant hell itch was 2 days ago & I'm in the clear - THANK GOD!
Go to my blog: http://kathrynjennings.blogspot.com/ to read more!
Wishing anyone out there is a world of itchy agony fast & effective relief!!
You're so correct, this truly was the worst pain I've ever been through in my life! I'm 21 and was back at home visiting my parents for Christmas. I was only in the sun for about 20 minutes on Christmas day. The next day I woke up sunburnt but it wasn't too bad. The NEXT day however I woke up in the early hours of the morning (around 2am) screaming and writhing in pain. Thankfully I was at home and could call my mum (like I used to as a kid) and we applied ice, cold flannels, cream... everything we could find! Nothing helped.
I waited till 7am for the local chemist to open (I waited in the carpark for about an hour). I bought some Dermaid anti-itch cream and then some hydrating cream. I took it home and it didn't help. In fact it made it worse. I then got in the pool... that didn't help, nor did the shower. We went back to the chemist (we were trying to go to a doctor but they were all closed because it was a public holiday) and got some 'SOOV' which comes in a spray bottle and is for burns and itches and also some Polaromine tablets which are an anti-histamine and are drowsy. The combination of these two things helped. I applied them and lay flat in bed with the fan going at full blast. The polaromine knocked me out and I slept for a few hours. I woke up itching again and applied more. I then got up and made myself do things to take my mind off it. That night I also took some tamazepam sleeping tablets to make me sleep the night. The next day the itch was far for bearable. Thank god because I had a flight to catch.
My advice (I'm from Australia so this is what is available where I am) is SOOV, polaromine and sleeping tablets. Plus also wearing a shirt helps, definitely don't shower and dry out the skin and try not to touch the skin. And drink HEAPS of water.
I hope this helps and good luck. I never write on these sorts of forums but the pain was SO bad I hope I can help someone else!
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