Hell's Itch Almost Killed Me...
I thought I knew what a sunburn was. Then I experienced “Hell’s Itch.” I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.
I’ve had plenty of sunburns before, so when I went out to a river with some friends for about 4 hours under the blazing sun, I honestly thought I knew what I was getting myself into.
I didn’t.
That day, I came home and everything seemed fine. I showered, went to bed normally, and figured I’d just have a bad sunburn for a few days.
The next day wasn’t even that bad at first. A little itching, some discomfort, nothing crazy.
Then, that evening, out of absolutely nowhere, it started.
It wasn’t normal itching.
It was this insane, deep, uncontrollable tingling/itching sensation that felt like my entire skin was attacking me from the inside. I remember thinking, “Okay, this has to go away eventually.”
It didn't.
That’s when I learned about Hell’s Itch.
And honestly, the name is disturbingly accurate.
You can imagine the worst possible itching you've ever experienced, except you can't scratch it away. You can't escape it. You can't just ignore it. Every few seconds it feels like your skin is sending another signal telling you to scratch, while scratching only makes everything feel worse.
I used to think sunburns were just painful and annoying for a few days.
Now I understand why people describe Hell’s Itch as something they wouldn’t wish on their worst enemy.
I tried basically everything I reasonably could to make it stop.
Ibuprofen helped.
Hydrocodone helped with the pain and made it more bearable.
Diphenhydramine helped me somewhat.
I also used cannabis, which took the edge off for me.
I tried lidocaine and other topical products as well, hoping that something would numb the sensation.
Some things helped a little. Nothing made it disappear.
And that was the worst part.
You can take something and think, “Finally, maybe I can get some relief,” only for the itching to come roaring back.
I couldn't eat.
I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't stand still.
I couldn't focus on anything.
I was basically just trying to survive the next few minutes at a time.
It honestly felt psychologically traumatic. At one point I realized I was about 5 pounds lighter than the day before, mostly because I had barely been able to eat or drink normally through the ordeal.
I’ve heard people say that after experiencing Hell’s Itch, they never forget it.
I believe them.
This experience completely changed how I look at sun exposure. I used to think, “I've gotten sunburned before. I'll be fine.”
No.
Take the sunscreen seriously.
Reapply it.
Don't assume because you're outside for “only a few hours” that you'll be okay.
And if you're using tanning oil or anything that increases your UV exposure, understand what you're actually doing to your skin.
Because I learned the hard way.
I will never willingly go through this again.
To anyone else who's experienced Hell's Itch: you have my respect. Because that shit was genuinely hell.
And to everyone who hasn't experienced it yet:
PLEASE WEAR THE DAMN SUNSCREEN.
You really, really don't want to find out why they call it Hell's Itch.
When I woke up the next morning my temp was at 94.5, which is temp when your organs slowly stop working, so yeah it almost killed me...stay safe guys please.
