What causes this particular type of sunburn itch?

[Bizzarolibe]

So...I just graduated with a degree in environmental biology. I have a working knowledge of basic (I mean, VERy basic) animal (and human) physiology, but most of my courses were more "big picture" kinda things. Oh, and lots of stats.

Anyway, so 2 days ago I got this sunburn on my back. It's not horrible, but it is a healthy pink. Pretty painful. Now, I have this...condition. When I get a decent sunburn, I itch, but it's not the "normal" sunburn itch. It happens exactly 2 days after the initial sunburn. It is what I have come to know as "hell itch". I've found descriptions on numerous forums that describe this itch to a "T". It drives you insane. You become a madman/madwoman for about a day. You cannot scratch it. Any type of lotion/cream/ANYTHING causes it to itch more, ESPECIALLY the creams designed specifically for sunburn.

Now here's the deal: I'm not a sissy. I'm very outdoorsy. I can take some pain. But I can't take the "hell itch". I need to know: what causes it? I know that your body is getting rid of the dead skin cells and new skin is...blah blah blah, yeah I get that but that doesn't give me any specifics. What is the biological mechanism that drives this itching? My thinking is, if I know what causes it (specifically), I'll better know how to treat it.

For example, if it's a histamine response to the dead skin cells/debris that are still present in the skin, I would think a strong anti-histamine (prescription strength hydroxyzine perhaps? I mention this specifically because I have a small stash of it from an old prescription) would help. I also know dry skin is a leading cause of itching, but as I mentioned before lotions/skin moisturizers seem to make it unbearably worse. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. And remember: this is NOT the normal sunburn itch.

[Dylanmelody]

I've had the "hell itch" quite a few times in my life. Now I've been on holidays to sunny destinations and spent weeks soaking up loads of sun and getting a lovely colour - and no hell itch or minor rashes of any kind occur (I can go quite a pale white during the winters so I am prone to sunburn if I'm not careful). Then there are other accounts where I have been away, particularly as a child, where tanning was not on my list of things to do, shade was preferred minus being in the pool, and yet I have lost my mind to the madness of the hell itch. It is this inconsistent nature that makes it all the more frustrating to me when I can feel it coming and I always find myself screaming why this time? What have I done differently? What lotion did I use this time? What did I EAT? Etc... Exhausting. Anyway my theory is that it is not caused so much by exposure to sun-rays or the healing of sunburn, but by excessive sweating due to high body temperature for extended periods, which may be why it is inconsistent to how severe your sunburn is, and why some of us have got the hell itch even without having being sunburnt or tanned at all - which I have. Similar to "prickly heat", the itch could be caused by sweat glands working overtime and becoming blocked, and when this happens, you have trapped sweat underneath the skin, and as a result you are left with the unbearable hell itch that simply won't go away (again, this is just my theory). For example, I am currently experiencing what might be the beginning phase of the hell itch on my upper back and around my shoulder blades. I have been lying on my back for this whole holiday, exposing only my front to the sun and my back is the only irritated part. What with my back being pressed against my sunbed all week, maybe this area has produced and collected the most sweat. Now I have stupidly allowed myself to sweat quite a bit (just trying to enjoy the sun but apparently I'm not allowed!), and have dipped into the pool maybe every hour or so with my body temperature in mind, but I don't think I have made enough visits to the pool to stop blockage to my sweat glands. dipping into a pool will bring your body temperature down, but if you've left it too late and your sweat glands are already blocked up, I'm guessing chlorine will just add to your problems as the pool water soaks into your open paws. My advice if you suffer from this but don't want to go home with no colour, try and prevent sweating in the sun as much as possible, even if it means dipping in the pool every time you feel like you're drying up from your last dip in the water, or finding some shade every 20 minutes and cooling down. If you are using a high factor sunblock like 40 or 50 as a defence against the itch, you'll end up spending more time sweating in the sun trying to get colour through the thick sunscreen - sunblock won't stop you sweating so it won't defend against the itch. Short 20-30 minute periods of sun with a lower factor cream may put you at more risk of slight sunburn, but likely a better defence against the hell itch, and I'd rather be burnt than have the itch and that's saying something. if you do feel the itch coming, avoid sweating, avoid the pool, stay in the shade... the pool can't help you now. Lastly my email is mellod.***@**** please if anyone can confirm that my theory is correct, or if you have a more accurate theory let me know! The answer to avoiding this god forsaken itch is invaluable to me. Especially considering no doctor has ever been able to help me either.

[Jwyman127]

UPDATE:  The peppermint oil WORKS. I tried it for the first time a couple weeks ago; what a relief! I will always us this in the future.

[Mbraun145]

I have to say I never in my life experienced anything close to this until a few hours ago. I'm about 48 hours after getting burned and a simple itch turned I to madness. I literally was going insane.   I never heard of hell itch and have always gotten sunburn on my initial day out in the summer but nothing like what I just experienced.  It was driving me mad and I couldn't read articles online fast enough. Without going to get a prescription for a serious steroid my only option seemed to be the peppermint oil I read about. I ran to my car and sped to the nearest place I could find. GNC carries a bottle and I was taking my shirt off on the way out of the store and just dumping it on my chest. It took a few min but what a difference. I still have a minor twitch and itch but nothing like it was.  The peppermint oil saved me a trip to the ER. It was really that unbearable. And I totally agree that you have to experience it to really understand what we are talking about. The peppermint oil is definitely worth trying if you want some relief.

[Klsh]

My 19 year old son got this for the first time today.  We had no idea what we were dealing with, and he was acting like he was in sheer agony.  I called the doc and the nuse said to bring him in to look at it and make suggestions.  Well, he that he'd and twitched and vocalize in such a fashion that the doc suspected drug use or psychotic breakdown, calling the police and and ambulance.  My doc actually chuckled at me when I said that my son just needed relief from the pain and itch, saying there was a lot more going on and that it was "all psychological."  Angry we convinced the team called on for help that he didn't need to go to the hospital and the EMTS got him to calm down by tying ice packs wrapped in a pillowcase around his back.  Being very disturbed by the medical community's lack of knowledge combined with our doctor's lack of compassion I turned to the Internet for answers.  The first article we found suggested the extremely hot shower and what relief!  Relief both in knowing others have experienced this exact scenario, relief in knowing he wasn't nuts or overreacting and best of all, almost instant relief from the hellish itch. I am almost certainly going to find a new medical group though.  I thought they knew my family better,trusting in them with that belief-but their attitude and actions
revealed the truth.

[RandomScot]

That's terrible. You should make a serious complaint. Your son could have ended up in an extremely serious and life threatening situation if you had followed this 'professional' medical advice (BS). Next time, try to get him some Hydroxyzine. This is my first day of having this terrible condition - went to ER and was prescribed Hydroxyzine and it is working really well. Taking 10mg 3 times a day.
Good luck!

[BigJ127]

I've lived with this condition my whole life (red-head, fair skin... ugh).  When I got sunburns as a child, I would endure this itch every time.  I still do now.  I am very good about using sunscreen every time I go out in the sun.  What's interesting is that I thought that I would only get hell itch when I got burned, but as it turns out, there's another component to this.  I went to the Caribbean last week.  Dowsed myself with SPF 50 sunscreen every day (with bronzers this time so I could get a little color too).  I did well, didn't burn, but actually did manage to get a reddish 'tan' color.  I was happy . . . until the last couple nights.  It turns out that I don't actually have to burn to get the itch.  Just the fact that I got so much sun, my skin must've gotten damaged and is now healing itself.  I got the itch really bad on one section of my back last night, and wasn't prepared.  Took benedryl and got maybe 2 hours of sleep, ugh.  This is important to know now, so I don't try so hard to get a tan.  I need to just learn that it's just not worth it.
Here are a few tips that I've learned over the years (some of which you've already seen in this blog):
1. NEVER go in a chlorinated pool when you get the itch.  That may cool you off while you're submerged, but the chlorine will wreak havoc and make it MUCH MUCH worse.  It is hereditary, and I saw my dad try that years ago.  I wanted to cry watching his reaction after the pool - nightmare!
2. Don't scratch.  It will come back 10 times worse.
3. Aloe, creams, etc. DO NOT WORK.  I have not tried the peppermint oil, though.  Will need to give it a try if i need to again. I've also read that A & D ointment helps too - helps the skin heal faster.  Again, I haven't tried this, but I don't give it much stock.
4.  Load up on the Benedryl.  You will be drowsy/groggy, but definitely worth the alternative.  Start taking it as soon as you get the burn and know that the itch is coming . . . and you WILL know.
5.  If it's really really bad, seek medical attention so you can get a steroid injection or prescription strength meds.  I've never gone this route either, but probably should have a couple times.
Hope this helps anyone unfortunate enough to have to deal with this nightmare.  Good luck and god bless.

[lolabianca]

Hi,  I just came back from Phuket, Thailand with my family. When we 1st go there my son 15 yo got sunburnt on his shoulders, not really bad, but pink and stinging. So I put aloe vera gel on, as you do and thought he would be ok as long as he didn't get burnt again. So the next day it seemed to have gone down and he was happily swimming again, in the ocean and pool.  The next day 48 hours after the initial sunburn (thats important I see)  he started to complain of being itchy.  We had decided to walk to the next beach, about 30 minutes away, for lunch. He was particularly grumpy. We suggested getting a longboat to a small island nearby to feed the fish and snorkel. He didn't want to go and seemed very uncomfortable, pulling on his t-shirt. I asked him what was wrong and he said his back is so itchy, it was p---ing him off.  (the 1st time I've heard him swear so I knew it must be bad).  So I decided we should get a taxi back to the hotel.  There was a pharmacy in the town, so I went in asked for something for his sunburn and itching.  She gave me a cream for burns.  When we got home, I slathered it on him and gave him cold towels over his shoulders.  It seemed to be getting worse.  I told him to have a cool shower and I had some strong ibruprofen slow release tablets with me and decided it might help reduce whatever imflammation might be happening.  About an hour later he seemed to calm down. So we stayed indoors in the a/c for the rest of the day and that night I gave him more cream and another tablet.  The next day he was still itchy and i suggested a swim in the pool to cool down.  Thirty minutes later he was in all sorts of trouble.  We went back to the room and he was twitching and jumping around, he wanted to have scolding hot showers, he suggested getting a hot knife and cutting off his skin or finding an iron and ironing his back. He was punching the couch.  I don't know why but because I have a problem with high histamines I thought maybe he was having a histamine reaction.  So i ran back to the pharmacy and told her what was happening and she gave me a steriod cream.  BUT I BOUGHT ANTI HISTAMINE TABLETS!
Within an hour the hells itch started to ease off, so I knew i was on the right track, so i started to google and found this page.  Thank God!  Also we were right next door to a herbal treatment centre that sold 100% pure peppermint oil!  Eureka!   I read that it could help, I didn't know whether to put it on diluted or not, so i dabbed it on straight.  Anyway it burnt him, but it stopped the itch.  So for the next 3 days i gave him an anti histamine tablet and put on the peppermint oil.  That worked.  It was unbelievable.  Only can be described as Hells Itch!  Thank god for this blog.  Dont buy creams, go straight for the peppermint and antihistamine tablets.  And god help you if you get it and I'm not religious!