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What to do about a phantom itch?

What cause sunburns to itch so much? Is it bad to scratch them?

  • Part 1 of the canonical "Itch" series: Part 2: Thus, Thus, Thus, Thus, Thus, Thus, Thus, Part 3: Lastly,

  • Answer:

    Sunburn is caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation damage to your skin.  Too much UV damages your skin cell’s DNA, and your immune system  responds by killing off the bad cells. Because UV radiation doesn’t  penetrate (unlike X-rays for example), it damages only the surface layer  of your skin. This outermost layer happens to be loaded with special  nerve fibers called C-fibers which are responsible for itch. Itch is a mechanism to protect us against insects and other minor  injuries that aren’t significant enough to register as pain. Because  the damage from sunburns happens in this same surface layer, these  C-fiber nerves fire furiously until the skin is healed.This answer is not a substitute for professional medical advic...

Charles Bollmann at Quora Visit the source

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I feel, that when you get sunburn your skin tends to loose moisture and it becomes dehydrated or dry, and dry kin always itch.

Tejas Vartikar Chauhan

It itches so you will scratch it off and make way for undamaged skin. Also ever noticed that everything itches when it heals. Broken arms and surgical scars, scabs. Ect.

Deborah Rosser

You have a lot of nerve endings in your skin. When it is irritated, and sometimes even when it is healing, it itches. It is definitely not good to scratch since you can cause an infection. If I were you, I would apply a cream or lotion to any itchy areas every single time I got the urge to scratch.Thanks for A2A

Bonnie Simpson

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