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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/Item_Store on 2026-02-14 23:35:20+00:00.

My family and I are on the last day of a cruise to the ABC islands in the very southern Caribbean. We had a stop in Aruba on Wednesday, during which we spent a lot of time at the beach.

I was expecting to get sunburnt, which is not abnormal for me, and I applied a borderline-ridiculous amount of SPF 50 before enjoying the water. By the end of the day, I was unsurprisingly burnt, but it seemed manageable. No blisters or anything, just red and tender back/shoulders.

The next 2 days were fine. Some discomfort, but totally livable. Towards the end of day 2, it was time to shower, so I did so and hopped out to dry off. This was mistake #1.

Suddenly, all over my back/shoulders/arms, I felt the most intense itching and pain I've ever experienced. Like someone had white-hot push pins and was playing whack-a-mole with my hair follicles at the speed of a jackhammer. I crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony and unable to speak, at which point my wife suggested putting on aloe vera. We did so, which was mistake #2.

Now, the itching doubles or triples or quadruples- I can't really tell because I couldn't think straight let alone communicate what I was feeling. In addition, my back also felt like someone poured acid on it. Complete agony.

This persists for probably 6 hours, during which I did a combination of grunt, scream, pace, take scalding hot showers to overwhelm my nerves, and consider jumping overboard to end it all. I've had multiple kidney stones and would take all of them again, simultaneously, over this experience.

I'm now at a stage where I still have frequent pins and needles, but I can talk and sit relatively still. After researching what happened to me, I learned of "Hell's Itch", which is a rare neurological reaction some people have to excessive UV light exposure. Guess what the most common trigger is? A shower ~48 hours after the exposure. Guess what the worst thing you can do to relieve it is? Apply aloe vera to the burn site.

Tomorrow I have about 16 hours of travel to do, and all I can do is pray that it doesn't flare up. I'm doped up on everything you're supposed to be to treat it (except for a supplement called beta-alanine, which I do not have access to) and perpetually terrified of being in the sun ever again. This incident has absolutely left a mark on my psyche.

TL;DR: I got sunburnt, took a shower, experienced the worst pain I've ever experienced (Hell's Itch), and will never go in the sun ever again.