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So I hung out on the beach with a friend this past Saturday and got a little burnt. Thankfully not too bad since I took my shirt off in 15 minutes increments but about 48hrs in I started getting the itch but nothing like I had about 8 years ago.
8 years ago I had my shirt off all day long on a boat without any sunscreen. I didn't know it then but I had gotten sun poisoning and severe sunburn. When I got home I was so exhausted and couldn't understand why. 2 days later it started. The worst thing I had ever experienced in my life. The ungodly Hell's Itch. I missed 3 days of work and it got to the point that I had thought about calling 911 because I was in so much pain I thought I would go mentally crazy. I have migraines and have broken bones before but this is by far the worst experience I have ever been through. I'm assuming since some people call it suicide itch either people have committed suicide going through it or you definitely think about it.
I would like to know who has gone through this and how did you handle the situation.
For your current itching problem, if it gets really uncomfortable, go to the doctor. They can prescribe a steroid cream or oral steroids to treat it. If it's not that bad, try hot showers, as hot as you can stand it.
After this, protect yourself from sun exposure. Some of us just have to cover up outside.
I don't have that reaction to sunburns, but I do have a really bad reaction to sunscreen...my skin turns dark red, swells up, burns and itches terribly. The first time I had the reaction, I figured it would go away quickly and I ended up dealing with it for a month, at the end of which all the skin on my face, chest and arms cracked up and peeled off. The second time (I used a sample of a face cream without realizing it had sunscreen, since it didn't say so on the packet) I went to the doctor and got steroids, which made it get much better much faster. I went that time since I had put the cream on my throat too and the swelling was affecting my breathing. Now I've learned not to use any cream without testing a little spot on my arm first and waiting a day before I put it anywhere else.
I have had many sunburns when I lived on the East Coast, the sun and humidity are worse than sunburns on the West Coast as I have lived thru these. For now I would dab white vinegar on the burn and you won't smell like a salad. Next beach trip a nice umbrella does wonders. I think calamine lotion too. I have had many burns but never went to the doctor. Be careful in the future.
Soak a cloth in vinegar (white or apple cider) and let it sit on your burned areas for quite awhile. Do not rinse the area after you remove the cloth. Apply plenty of moisturizer, unscented would be best. Coconut oil is the best in my opinion. The vinegar will help the burn and of course coconut oil provides the moisture your skin needs.
Just to clarify, I know how to treat sunburn. I'm not asking how to treat it.
I'm also not talking about a little itching post sunburn. I'm talking about severe sunburn and having what's called "Hell's Itch". Google it.
Just curious if anyone on here has been through it.
The reaction I have to sunscreen is basically a chemical burn and the itching is bad enough that I'll scratch in my sleep until I bleed. But oral steroids help a lot with it. That's why I thought it might help with the itching you were describing.
I saw on the news last week about jellyfish larvae that will make a person who is allergic itch like crazy.
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