my 15 year old went swimming sunday now its wednesday. he took a shower because his sunburn was itching a little. after shower the itching got worse and he coudnt scratch because of the sun burn and one spot would itch then a different one would it was bad now he is very cold and still has some itching and burning PLEASE HELP us find some relief so he can go to bed.
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Q: sun burn with itching please help
Answers (10)
9/ 9/09 7:38am
I'm suffering from this horrible itching thing as I type this right now. My back was the affected area and when it first started to itch I tried lotion because it felt like tiny pieces of dry skin irritating my burn. That was a mistake as the lotion made it worse. To the point where I couldn't do anything. It dropped me to my knees and I was screaming in agony from this horrible itch. After the lotion i tried some "after burn" cream that i got from the store. Again it only helped to make the sensation worse. I had to run for the bath tub and I laid down in hot water. (as hot as you can stand it) it will hurt a lot at first because of the burn but the longer you soak in the water the less the dry skin makes you itch. Until you get out that is. I got some benedryl and that combined with soaking in a hot tub very often has brought the itching back to a somewhat tolerable level. These are the steps that I have been and will continue to use. Its not a 100% fix but with a sunburn that bad nothing will be except time.
1. Soak in warm/hot water for a long time
2. Use some benedryl but be careful because it will make you very drowsy
3. Never forget the sunblock again
I hope this helps and I'm so sorry that your son is feeling this right now. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.... well maybe my very worst enemy lol. Good luck.
9/ 8/08 12:22pm
My sypathy to your son and you.
I was a chronic sunbather ( golden brown from june to sept) until my mid 20's when i overdosed on sunshine and baby oil. That first night i had no pain or burn or fever, only a freezing chill i could not clear ( in mid july). A couple days later while sweating at work my body began to itch an itch that you cannot scratch. i ran to a shower but as the water would sooth, the drying would only increase the "itch". 2 benadrils to knock me out for 6 hrs.
The condition repeated for a couple days but, eventually eased.
10 years later i still have the condition reaccour when i make the mistake of not wearing sun block.
My recomendation. I am still able to spend the day on the boat with no shirt but sunscreen is a must. much like im sure your son will, i still choose to attempt a no shirt no screen day once in a while and i always pay the price. if you do get too much unprotected sun try and stay dry and sweat free. i have tried all sotrs of lotions and creams and nothing helps when you get that far.
looks like its been a while since this happened but if you have found any medical advise i would loove to hear it
Pat Maher
1/ 8/09 11:19pm
I am 17 years old. Every year since I was 14 i had to take a tip to the emergency room atleast once, sometimes twice. I tried many things for releif, including showers hydrocartizone, and even benidril. Nothing stoped me from goin to the hospital. I was misrealble. Every wheres on my body itched and i wasn't able to sleep for days. I have been diagnosed with photodermititus. Your sons story sounds just like what i go through. Unfortunitly i was told there is no cure. The only thing you can do it to avoid getting sunburn. I am still hoping and searching for somekind of a cure. Its very misreable. it feels like a horrible itching sinsation, as if needles were poking me everywhere at the same time. I was also freezing. I thought hot showers would help but when i got out of the shower it became worst. All i can say is go to the emergency room. That was the only way i can get releif. Its was so misreable i swore i was cracking up. The emergency room gives me a shot everytime.
8/10/09 2:47pm
In my late teens, I got a really bad sunburn and later experienced the unbearable itching you described. Ten years have passed, and whenever I get another a the terrible itching returns after taking a shower. It's 15-30 minutes of torture. Take whatever precautions you can to avoid getting more sunburns.
6/ 6/10 4:27pm
****** ANY READER... IF YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE IS EXPERIENCING THE 'HELL-ITCH'
APP 48HRS AFTER BEING SUNBURNT, DO THE FOLLOWING - WHICH SEEMS COUNTER-
INTUITIVE BUT WORKS!!!: *****
------ TAKE A WARM/HOT SHOWER OR BATH (bath is better) AND THE ITCHING WILL
STOP..!!!!!!!!!!!!!-------
Do not be concerned about harming yourself, your/your loved one's sunburn
will have healed enough by now to allow for WARM - EVEN HOT water to be
applied. Thjis method REALLY DOES WORK as it appears to open the pores of the
skin (rather than cold water closing them) and release/ease whatever the
TERRIBLE thing is under the skin which causes the itching.
6/15/10 2:30am
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the craziest itch ever- exactly like you said, 48 hours after the burn- the itch/pain/drop you to your knees and pray for death burn (I'm 6'3", 210 pounds & quite tough!).
The hot shower/bath seems to have worked, along with about 10 benedryl that I chewed to hasten the effect (after the first two did nothing after an hour).
I don't need it to start again so I will try to sleep now.
Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5/11/11 11:27pm
Thank you you saved me i thought i was never going to get through this couple shots of Nyguil and an hour soaking in a really hot bath i was cured again thank you i tried the vinger and oat meal and itching lotions but none of it helped the hot bath did the trick.
7/12/10 9:51am
Hi Everyone,
My brother went through this this past weekend. He's 22, and is a tough guy but he was screaming in agony. It was terrifying, actually. After jumping in a cold shower and then applying about a tube and a half of hydrocortizone, the pain/itch still did not subside. I was frantically googling what this could have possibly been. Eventually it stopped (after about 15 minutes). All the same sypmtoms as described in this post- about 48 hrs after sunburn (which was pretty bad but not blistering or anything). Does anyone know?? Thanks!!
7/14/10 12:55am
I have had the unbearable ithing years ago after a bad burn. Lotion/aloe almost instanyl made the itching worse. I just went through it yesterday though not as bad as in the past. I found someone elses post about using peppermint oil, so I got some even though my bad itching was mostly over. It did seem to help and the person who posted about it swore that it worked. The hard part might be finding it locally but I got some at GNC and they are all over the place.
8/ 6/10 3:00pm
YOU HAVE TO GO GET YOURSELF DERMOPLAST !!!! I burned 2 days ago and today out of nowhere I got the intense sick to my stomach itching that no scratching could relieve. I went to CVS and the pharmacist immediately took me to the aisle with this miracle spray and I asked her to spray it on my back righ there in the middle of the store! Bought 2 cans and I am going back to stock up on more!!!! This is what they use in the hospital and has 20% Benzocaine in it and that is why it works!
1/24/11 10:46am
okay...so the hot bath worked, at least temporarily for me, i still feel minor tingling on my back (where i have the sunburn and intense itching after about 48 hours) is there anything else to do other than suffer until its completely gone? it took me literally all night to find something to at least temporarily cut it out. This is probably the worst feeling I have ever had. I'm 21 years old and have never had this effect from a sunburn before. how awful! 
7/ 5/11 12:33am
POLYSPORIN ITCH RELIEF LOTION!
I was cursed with the itching last year. It started at 5am, which happened to be around when I was trying to go to sleep. Little did I know I was pulling an all-nighter.
5:00am:
I tried aloe gel.. first a little.. then a lot... when I'd worked up a layer about two inches thick I was pretty certain it wasn't going to work.
5:30AM:
I was able to achieve instant relief while standing in a cold shower. (I did not know about, and therefore, did not try a hot shower as some other have suggested.)
The cold shower was only comforting as long as I stayed in the shower, and I rapidly became immune to its soothing affects.
6:30AM
I called my mommy. I remained in the shower until she arrived.
7:30AM:
After speaking with the pharmicist, she brought oatmeal bath, aloe vera gel and a random bottle of polysporin itch relief lotion she happened to spot on the shelf. The pharmacist didn't even mention it!!!
7:31AM:
Dumped the aloe gel into the garbage
7:40AM:
Flailed, kicked, screamed and cried my way through a 20 minute soak in the oatmeal bath. It didn't work.
8:05AM:
Sheer panic as I began to realize that I only had one last chance to find some kind of relief.
I cried like a baby and prayed to every god and super hero that I could think of as my girlfriend put this stuff on my back.
It took a few minutes to kick in (during which my world was ending because I thought I was completely screwed.)
8:25AM:
Relief came as the lotion dried. It formed a shiney, dry, protective layer that allowed me to actually LAY DOWN AND SLEEP!
Although I hope I never experience this horrific itch ever again. At least I know there is something out there that worked for me. I hope very much this works for you too. You are not alone!!!!
8/10/11 1:52am
for any recent soul who is going through hells itch. what i did is i got fried on sunday really bad. went to bed kinda itchy woke up this morning slightly itchy. after the day went on. i started to get more and more itchy. when my step sister came home. she told me to get in the shower. so i did. a warm shower (luke warm about the temp of the body) made it worse!! (not saying hot showers dont help just luke warm showers) so i turned it to cold. that helped stopped me from itching so god dam bad. but it would return after a few seconds of leaving the cold water. i tried to fight it. all my will power muscles were all flexed. some i never even knew i could flex because it burned and hurt so much. so after a little bit i smoked a bowl of pot. kept water on cold. for a bit then i went out didnt put a shirt on only pants. pot made it so i could hardly feel it. then i wrapped my self in a blanket tightly. that bowl and the blanket helped me the most. exposed skin itches the most. then i took a nap because the bowl helped me relax and i took a nap. and right now its not that bad any more. so keep ur body heat in and dont expose the sun burnt skin. nothing will cure this the only thing u can do is take cold and hot showers and just wait it out all u can do really. aloe didnt help me at all. if it does then its not hells itch. hopefully this helps for the unlucky souls who has to go through the itch that will break the strongest of men.
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I haven't slept in two days becausee of a sun burn, it might even be longer until actually sleep. It itches so intensly that I try to sleep I end up shaking and it gets so hot. I have tried absolutely everything to cure it. I have tried aloe, and two types of Solarcain, vinegar, aloe lotion, and the bathing thing and every other trick online. I tried those remedies multiple times. Nothing has helped. A damp cloth, and vinegar made it more irritaed, but I have severe sensitive skin. I was vacationing in Tucson and re-applied 45 SPF sunscreen twice in two hours, but I didn't know that it was old. It was my friend's sunscreen. Next time I will never ever use old sunscreen and a tip for others I learned the hard way: If you borrow some sunscreen from a person ask them how old it is. I never want anyone ending up in this situation. It's been complete torture.