Hell's Itch

I've had quite an eventful year so far. The most recent event being my short holiday to Magaluf, Mallorca. A co-worker of mine decided to go away for the summer, and the other girls in work thought, "Hey, about we go over for a few days to see her?" I haven't been abroad in around 9 years, so of course I agreed. The flights, hotels and the place itself seemed relatively cheap for a holiday, something I could definitely afford anyway.

So on the plane, the pilot announces the current temperature below as we near Palma; 32 degrees celsius. I can barely take England's "summer" heat, so 32 was incredibly high to me! Upon landing, the girls and I were so tired that we decided to have a rest by the pool.

To cut the story short, my incredibly sensitive, fair skin got burnt, despite the fact that I did in fact use sunblock (factor 30 I believe).

The sunburn alone was quite painful; it was difficult for me to sleep on my back, side or front comfortably, but I managed to get a few hours. I returned home a couple of days later, and was fine to work apart from the slight pain when I moved a certain way.

Unfortunately, this was not the end of the pain just yet.

On Sunday morning, I woke (with a slight hangover, I admit) and noticed the skin on my back was beginning to peel. I didn't touch it, because just days before my chest had been peeling and I stupidly pulled skin off, which made it incredibly dry and sore.

So there I was, Sunday morning, minding my own business when all of a sudden, my back started to itch. I scratched it, but it itched more and more. The itching was incredibly annoying, so I asked my mum to put some Aloe Vera cream on it. This only made it worse.

I genuinely cannot describe how bad the itching got from there. I screamed, I punched at the walls, I cried my eyes out and at one point I was in so much pain, my brother pointed out "you're dribbling all over yourself" without even realising I was doing it. Lovely.

Desperately, my mum and I searched the internet for some solution to this. I couldn't sit still for a moment and I had begun shaking terribly, the pain of the itch was so intense. We found many solutions - pure peppermint oil, diluted in either water or other, more mild oils ( none of which I could get hold of, it being a Sunday and all) calamine lotion (which, again, we had none and all the shops were closed) and even vinegar. We gave the vinegar a try, which in the first 30 seconds felt like a huge mistake because of the burning sensation. But the itch stopped, and I finally felt free.

For about 20 minutes.

The relentless itch had returned, and again I was crying on the floor, pacing about the house and helplessly begging my mum to help me. Mum found another site which recommended a lukewarm shower, no soap. I sat in the shower for around 40 minutes, relieved that the itch had again calmed down, but not enough for me to stay in there. I got out, and the itch flared up again. I considered spending the night in the shower, but my mum said we should try something else.

While I had been in the bathroom, she had soaked a towel and put it in the freezer. She took it out and put it on my back - the relief was amazing. The itch still bugged me now and again, but not even half as much as it was without the cold towel. However, the heat of my skin quickly warmed the towel and again I was in agony.

I decided to try a bath as a last resort - surely if a shower can calm the itch, a bath can? Nope. I screamed and trashed about, before shouting down to my mum that I had to see a doctor; the day was rapidly drawing to a close and I knew I wouldn't get any sleep this way.

My aunt came and picked me up to drive me to the nearest walk in centre. Unfortunately, it being a Sunday, the walk in services were no longer available. There was only one other option - A&E.

The drive was intense as I had left the towel at home, so there was nothing to cool my back. I was terrified I would accidentally somehow cause a crash with my involuntary jerks and twitches, but thankfully we got there in one piece.

I spent two and half hours in A&E. Normally, I don't mind waiting; I'm quite a patient patient (ha). But this was beyond unbearable. I felt I was about to begin tearing my skin off, ripping it with something sharp just to stop the itching. Luckily, I had brought a hooded jacket with me, so I ran into the toilets and soaked the entire back, wrapping it around my shoulders. The relief was immense, and I felt I could take the wait a little better.

I finally got called in to see a doctor, and I struggled to explain what was happening. I told him about the sunburn, then tried to describe the itch. It honestly felt like I was being bitten a thousand times over by millions of poisonous ants. So the doctor gave me pain killers and antihistamine tablets. I cannot express enough just how well those antihistamine tablets worked - I felt better almost immediately. I got home and crashed, exhausted from a day of thrashing about in agony.

If anyone is currently going through this and is shakily reading this post, I highly recommend antihistamine tablets - further research after my ordeal showed that we emit too much histamine which is what causes the unbearable itch, also known as Hell's Itch, Suicide Itch and many other names. Some say that hot showers do the trick, others recommend an ice cold shower. As far as I know, antihistamine tablets are the best solution for long-term relief - it's now Tuesday and I've never felt better.

If anyone else has any other solutions, feel free to comment below!

PS. and remember, always wear sunblock!