Sunburn with horrible Pins and Needles Sensation

[cf_gal]

Hi...I am a 28 year old female.  I rarely sunburn and can count the number of times on one hand.  However, three days ago, I spent about three hours at the pool.  I covered myself in sunscreen prior to going and while there.  When I came back, it appeared I had a nice tan.  Then, as the hours passed, my back and the back of my legs became very red.  Since I was in the sun, I spent even time on both sides of my body so as to get an even tan, but for some reason only my back side burned.  

The real issue here is that now, after three days, I am experiencing extremely uncomfortable sensations that feel like pins and needles in addition to the fact that the burn hurts to touch, is hot, and red (although some redness has now gone away and some of the heat radiating from the burn has subsided).  Is this normal for a sunburn?  I haven't had enough of them to know really.  But, I have literally been awake all night and in tears because I cannot bear this sensation of pins and needles.  Is there anything that I can do to make this stop?  I am desperate.  I work and cannot function without sleep.  I cannot take off work as right now as I have deadlines that must be completed on time.  Please...is there anything that might help???  This is terrible.

Thank you for assistance.


This discussion is related to Sunburn .

[TheArtfulDubber]

So I get this about once a summer, almost any time I burn. The writhing, twitching, contorted body. The mental breakdown and tears while you are sitting through what can only be described as torture. I have an incredibly high tolerance to pain and this utterly cripples me for hours.

Know how I managed to solve the problem? And I don't mean tolerate, I mean solve?

I get drunk. Well, maybe not drunk but buzzed. It sounds juvenile but ******* if it doesn't work, and quickly. The booze numbs my nerve endings and dehydrates me. Typically two glasses of bourbon neat or on the rocks does the trick, and lasts long enough that the sensation subsides. If I feel it start to come back? No problem, pour another. I'm not joking, if you've experienced this you know it's not a laughing matter.

NO CREAMS, NO ALOE, NO HOT WATER, NO COLD WATER, NO SCRATCHING. Just a few stiff drinks stops it right in its tracks for me.

[TheArtfulDubber]

So I get this about once a summer, almost any time I burn. The writhing, twitching, contorted body. The mental breakdown and tears while you are sitting through what can only be described as torture. I have an incredibly high tolerance to pain and this utterly cripples me for hours.

Know how I managed to solve the problem? And I don't mean tolerate, I mean solve?

I get drunk. Well, maybe not drunk but buzzed. It sounds juvenile but ******* if it doesn't work, and quickly. The booze numbs my nerve endings and dehydrates me. Typically two glasses of bourbon neat or on the rocks does the trick, and lasts long enough that the sensation subsides. If I feel it start to come back? No problem, pour another. I'm not joking, if you've experienced this you know it's not a laughing matter.

NO CREAMS, NO ALOE, NO HOT WATER, NO COLD WATER, NO SCRATCHING. Just a few stiff drinks stops it right in its tracks for me.

[JSmit]

I had this a few summers ago, and I know the terrible feeling.  Here is a link to a Reddit page that seems to have some helpful advice for this hell's itch.  https://www.reddit.com/r/HellsItch/

[JessicaEstelleCheney]

Hi I am like this now but I learned from the hospital that aleo vera with lidocaine in it actually helps with this pain and feeling yes it may itch but to scratch it just pat it but it actually helps u sleep due to the fact that lidocaine is a topical pain killer and trust me it works and lukewarm water baths with baking soda in it helps as well thanks to this aloe vera after sunburn with lidocaine and vitamins A&E I have been able to sleep and do what I need to do don't applly this more than 3 or 4 times a day tho but in my opinion if it's a small area then do it as often as u like but space it out also some fabrics can be causing it to feel like pins and needles wearing clothes to tight or to big can irritate it and make it itch worse so be careful of how ur clothes fit

[H3ro]

I am currently going through the 'Hell's Itch' and can only agree with everyone that it is the worst thing ever. I am 22 years old and never had to take pain killers in my life no matter (I am doing bodybuilding which made me pain tolerant, especially the pain related to muscle recovery and injuries) what but this 'Itch' made me desperate. It certainly is pins and needles with occasional stabbing, which last a couple of seconds and make you arch your back (my burn is on the back by the way - it is burnt more severely on the lower back but the pins and needles and in the upper part). The skin is already turning brown with only a little of pinkness left on it, which would normally be the end of a sunburn. I even managed to do a session of training yesterday and it certainly wasn't anything like the 'Hell's Itch'.

It started 37 hours after the sunburn and the stabbing woke me up at 5 am in the morning today. Tried some after sun lotion - HUGE MISTAKE!!! Then tried to find some help on the internet and thanks to you people I was able to stop running around the house like an ex drug addict. First I tried cold shower (30mins) and bath (20mins), which relieve it for the moment but once you finish the pins and needles are back.  However, what helped me to reduce the pain to a manageable level was - HOT SHOWER!!!. Only 10mins in the hot shower (gradually made it warmer) helped A LOT. I let the water dry off naturally (which took about 20 mins). The first minute after the shower was wonderful, no pain at all. It slowly  started to come back and in 10 minutes it was already as bad as it got (however, it was manageable and much, much, much better). An hour later I took some pain killers, which made me pass out for a couple of hours.

In my experience, DO 1. take a hot shower - I tried it after reading this thread and it helped me. 2. Try to limit your movements. 3. Knock yourself out with something (drugs, alcohol or whatever works for you) but it only helps by keeping you unconscious while the time passes.
DO NOT. 1. Apply any creams or lotions; 2. Rub the area or scratch it.

At the time of writing 9 hours have passed since the beginning of the sensation and I hope it does not come back to it's peak. I can only hope it will be over in 24-36 hours as mentioned by you guys.

[finosugrad]

How long does this last? My 14 year old son is having this same issue. He burned three days ago.  He gets 20-30 min of intense pain, which seem like his nerves are attacking him.  We went to Urgent care, they gave him steroids and an antibiotic.  No help.  We went to the ER, with my son having hell's itch while there, and the doctor told me it is psychological and that my son is exaggerating for attention. My son can handle pain.  Note we live in florida, so doctors commonly see sunburns.  They gave him 2 Xanax, discharged us, and he finally fell asleep once home at 2:30 am.  They wrote him a 1 day prescription of ativan.  I assume today will be equally bad.  How long will this last?

[Sullybaby]

HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL.......I'm so thankful for this thread. Gives me complete justification for my erratic and insane behavior in front of my wife and kids. Now that the burning needles slowly being inserted to every square  inch of my back have subsided I was able to compose myself enough to find this thread. Having a lifetime of sports injuries from shoulder separations, blown out knees, multiple surgeries, broken arms, to slipped disks I feel like they all pale in comparison to those damn satan needles. Like everyone else the needles came 48 hrs after my sunburn. My fire needles came right after I got out of the shower and I thought that might have been what triggered it. I felt like all sense of rationality abandoned me. I was like a crazy possessed person running around the house saying things I didn't know I was capable of saying. Really the worst part about it was the lack of sympathy I got from my wife. All she could say was "thank goodness you don't have to have kids"....... I'm pretty certain this is worse than child birth. Pure torture!!! The only thing that seemed to help a little was the cold. I would go from the ice cold shower to strings of otter pops laid on my back to laying over the AC unit. I repeated this for what seemed like an eternity and it seemed to subside for the time being. I also applied apple cider vinegar from my wifes recommendation because apparently she had this "same" thing when she was a kid and that helped her (yeah right). Anyone who knows......knows!!! I will be applying 100 sunblock for the rest of my life to avoid ever going through this again. God help you if are going through this and please take pity and sympathy if you have a loved one going through this.......you have NO idea the hell they are in!!!!

[Steve_Hells_Itch]

Hells Itch!!  Wonderfully describes this torture