I'm incredibly fair-skinned and I got an unfortunate and accidental sunburn this past Saturday: I'm usually intensely aware of sun protection but I literally got sunburned through a patio umbrella. It's definitely not the worst sunburn I've ever had, though. It's the kind of sunburn that those without fair skin say, "Oh, you just got a little pink."

This morning when I woke up it felt kind of sore, which surprised me since Sunday it was so calm, so I went and picked up some ibuprofen. I got back and figured I should take a cool shower and start applying my sunburn treatment standards.

As I'm sure most of you already know, the shower set off Hell's Itch. Initially I thought it was just my burn reacting poorly to my soap, which it hadn't done before but I wasn't sure, so I dried off and applied aloe lotion and such. I'm sure all of you know how that turned out.

Oh, powers that be: what an appropriate name for this condition.

Cue me running around my condo like a maniac, cursing, twitching and flailing. I absolutely refused to scratch, like my life depended on it (I don't know from where I pulled the willpower), so I'm sure that was a boon. Thankfully I'd purchased the ibuprofen but opening the bottle was a challenge as my hands were shaking so much. Still running around flailing and miming the act of scratching, I finally found out about this under-researched ailment.

I've now taken Benadryl in addition to the ibuprofen, rinsed off the lotions, and am hoping the meds kick in harder soon. The itching is still there and I'm twitching while I'm typing this but I'll be damned if I'm going to scratch.

I'm just glad that this subreddit exists so I now know more about this debilitating condition...and I hope relief comes soon because, yes, this is Hell.