r/HellsItch

What do I do this is worse than anything that has ever happened to ANYONE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Keeping this brief, but it's right there in the title. I've had this nonsense 4 times. (One day I'll learn my lesson?) -- I usually resort to the *take a really hot shower* method to quell the agony long enough to be able to fall asleep. This time I tried Beta Alanine, as it seems to come recommended by various folks on reddit. 3g did the trick. Absolute miracle lol. Symptoms subsided in 20 minutes and didn't come back for about 5-6 hours. Once they returned, I took another 3g and have been good ever since. Thank god for reddit. lol.

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.

Has anyone had hells itch in basic training? Or will they give you enough sunscreen where it won't be possible? If you have had it please comment.
I leave in about a month and I am terrified of getting it while i'm there

Hi guys. M (34)

It started when I was 18, that time I often visited a tanning salon. And everytime i went for a shower i had this sensation what you guys describe as hells itch...it got better. This year germany summer was great and we went to different countries and in between the holidays I also went to the tanning salon to keep up my tan.

Last time I went to the tanning salon is about 5 weeks away. I had mild sunburn 4 weeks ago when I was in Spain... after my skin started to peel I started to having the hells itch again... but the only trigger is the shower, lot of sweat or friction with fabric. It starts to itch like hell, little stabs in random spots where I got sunburned.. it usually takes about 2 hours of pure hell - then it fades away itself... im afraid to take a shower...I tried to take a shower with cold water, hot water, ph-neutral soap, without soup - everytime the same thing starts to happen. I started to catwash myself Rinsing my armpits and private parts with handtowal and soup... so I least stay clean a bit and don't start to stink... but I want to shower normal again... it's 5 weeks now im feeling like my life quality is fading away.... anyone else experiencing what im having?

We had an above ground pool installed. I hoped that taking a good dose of Benadryl and a dose of Beta Alanine would prevent problems.

Oh God no it didn’t. It’s been a couple of hours and I’m still itching and prickling and itching on my legs. (it chooses a different spot every time.) I know it will pass that’s the only thing that keeps me from doing something drastic. Like peeling my skin off with a paring knife. (Not really)

I’m going to see an allergist soon and I hope that he or she will take me seriously. I went to one with my sister to check a suspicious mole on her back. I mentioned AP to her. She sneered at me as if I was talking about Bigfoot or telephone psychics.

This is awful. Thank you for listening and understanding.

First time i ever had hells itch was in 2020, got a gym membership and they had a tanning bed. The staff did not know anything about them and didnt warn me about the risks of staying in too long so I just hopped in and cooked until the lights turned off. (I admit that I should have done more research and now I know how bad tanning beds/tanning can be for you, I was extremely uninformed and just didnt want to be pasty white anymore lol) I ended up suffering for nearly 5 days, tried everything and nothing seemed to work.

I am now in the same boat as I was back then, went swimming with some friends and ended up with a nearly full body sunburn even though I wore sunblock and reapplied it as recommended by the bottle. Got home and my partner saw that I was turning red so we applied some aloe and figured it would be fine. This was two days ago, most of today was fine, slight itchiness that usually comes with a sunburn but as soon as I got home from work I began to feel the fire ants eating me from under my skin. I legitimately started crying because I didnt want to go through that hell again, I felt like I was going through ptsd flashbacks.

Thank god I googled and found this sub, went to my local gas station and picked up a couple cans of C4 and it has been a miracle. I never thought anything would be able to help with this. Im nearly in tears from how at peace I feel knowing that I wont have to live through what I dealt with back then.

Thank you so much to everyone in this sub and for the wealth of knowledge that it has given me, I am forever grateful.

TLDR: second time with hells itch, first time I just suffered through it, this time I found this sub and it saved me

I've gotten Hell's Itch 3 times within the span of about 8 years, I've gotten sunburnt on essentially every part of my body, but Hell's Itch only ever manifests whenever I get bad sunburnt on my back, neck, and shoulders (literally everywhere I can't reach lmao, goes without saying its beyond terrible), is this common? I've read some people say they get it on their chest which I was very surprised by at first, just because I never thought about it. Has anyone gotten it on their limbs? Is it just whenever/wherever you guys get sunburnt or does it have to be a particularly bad sunburn?

So I drink some C4 and it’s significantly helped. Thank you! But how long will it last?

Like how long after drinking one can of C4 will the itch be gone? until it comes back?

…what was your delivery method for the beta-alanine?

As a community, have we isolated the variables here? I’ve read several people saying beta-alanine helped them, but that their delivery method was an energy drink, so we can’t be sure it was the beta-alanine that did the helping.

I’m really curious about this.

I’ve had Hell’s Itch three times in my life, and two of those times I sought medical attention. My last episode was Spring 2011, but I had some unprotected sun exposure today, and I’m just feeling a bit nervous.

Growing up I would always see people in public that were hella burnt and I always mentally cringed, like how can you handle that pain?

Well, today I came across this subreddit in the middle of a flare of what I now know is Hell’s Itch, or the suicide itch, which I find is a more fitting name, and I finally understood. What I experience with sun burns is NOT normal.
I am very fair-skinned and I religiously apply sunscreen during the summer months. My partner thinks I’m crazy, constantly applying and reapplying, and it’s a running joke in my otherwise leather-skinned family. I’ve always wanted to be tanned and my mom always says, “if you just let yourself burn it will turn into a tan.” But I’ve always experienced this excruciating pain with burns and never thought it was worth it. They are always out in the sun without protection and my brain could not understand how they could handle the pain afterward. Well now I know. They don’t experience it the way I do.

Anyways, I slipped up this past weekend and got a gnarly burn on my back. Oh boy. I’m currently 48 hours out, and if I had not finally found you guys, idk what would have happened. I’m currently laying in a steaming hot bath after mistakenly applying aloe.

Thank you guys. Honestly. Tomorrow I’m going out to buy a case of C4, and for gods sake, liberally applying sunscreen this weekend. I think I’ve scared the shit out of my partner tonight pacing around the house screaming bloody murder.

Sorry for any mistakes here i cant it is to mutch I am on vacation two days ago light sunburn now hell I can't I'm with family in a shopping center has suddenly started what can I do quickly I can't stand how long can that last?

I've gotten hell's itch twice in the past.

The second time, it came on at like 1am at night which was super inconvenient cause it was time to sleep. 10/10 pain. It was definitely triggered by shower which I figured out quickly. Tried bunch of creams and aloe and obviously that all made it worse. What worked for me is laying down prone and laying ice packs all over my back and which numbed it to the point i could not feel the skin at all even when touching it, and that gave me a solid 30 mins of lasting relief after taking them off. By 4am after doing that repeatedly, I ended up going out for an 8 mile run and that actually worked. I'd say a really intense workout or run helps to overstimulate yourself and it was good enough to distract me from the pain. When I was done with that it seemed to last and i then just laid down on the floor all sweaty and got at least 3 good hrs of sleep. Kept doing these 2 things next day and that got me thru it.

NOW, 3rd time. Got sun burn Saturday afternoon. I was proactive and did no showers at all, no creams at all, drank a bunch of c4 drinks (beta alanine), and took bunch of ibuprofen, and now I'm at Tuesday afternoon and I've seemed to make it thru with the exception of some minor tingling last night.

So the lessons that worked for me:

If it's already happening, ice packs on burns for extended time till it's completely 100% numbed and that'll give you at least 30 mins of last relief, or super intense and long run or workout to overstimulate myself is what gave me most lasting relief. Hot shower works but pain comes back immediately.

Best thing is if you can be proactive before it starts. No showers, staying completely dry, no creams/aloe, and drink a bunch of c4 for 3 days has gotton me thru it!

Hello, last saturday, I forgot to put on sunscreen and got myself a nice back, shoulders, and breast sun burn. Very red and bright, we laughed about it with my partner, it was a heavy sunburn but anyway, I’m able to sleep and it doesn’t hurt enough.

2 days later, the monday, it itches a bit more, a bit everywhere, it’s withstandable, but still annoying, so I decide to get get some after sun lotion to easy the itch and hydrate the sunburn. I put a little dose on my belly, it eases the itch for like 1s, then it comes back a big stronger in that zone, i don’t think anything of it, then as I go home, I feel it itching more and more,

so i get in my bathroom and smear the lotion everywhere on my body, (you see it coming)...

and then my whole upper body itches from everywhere, it gets my jumping left and right, until i get in the shower, where water flow stops it.

I remember having had a similar situation years ago, where a doctor had recommended aloe vera gel, so i put aloe vera gel, and ... it gets even worse!!!! So then i water it off, and try to scrape the gel away with a loofah! EVEN WORSE!!!!! After that i decided to stop trying things and look it up on the internet, (too late to call my doctor and didn’t want to call emmergency services), and it brought me to hell’s itch, i took 1 ibuprofen, and antihistaminics, and after 15-20m, it started becoming toleratable again.

But here’s the thing, i’ve been reading this subreddit, and I can’t relate to the sharp deep pains people are describing, the symptoms and the cure definitely fit with it, but i definitely can’t relate to people mentionning having PTSD from it.

Did I get a mild case of it? or am i misdiagnosing myself? Did i get lucky and get in the shower fast enough not to get the hard part?

Has anyone else experienced this?

Around 2 ish days ago I went swimming and got a mild sunburn after neglecting to reapply sunscreen. Now I'm regretting it as I'm now doubled over in pain and can't seem to get the itches to go away.

I've tried everything from nsaids, antihistamines, steroidal creams, aloe, and beta alanine. The only thing that has stopped/alleviate the pain has been a scalding hot shower, yet I have work for the next few days and unfortunately can't work from my bath.

Any tips please!