ECZEMA
Eczema
is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the upper layers of the skin.
The term
eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions. These include
dryness and recurring skin rashes which are characterized by one or more of
these symptoms: redness, skin edema, itching and dryness, crusting, flaking,
blistering, cracking, oozing, or bleeding. Areas of temporary skin discoloration
may appear and are sometimes due to healed lesions, although scarring is rare.The
term eczema refers to a set of clinical characteristics. Classification of the
underlying diseases has been haphazard and unsystematic, with many synonyms
used to describe the same condition. A type of eczema may be described by location
(e.g. hand eczema), by specific appearance (eczema craquele or discoid), or
by possible cause (varicose eczema). Further adding to the confusion, many sources
use the term eczema and the term for the most common type of eczema (atopic
eczema) interchangeably.(1)
source
(1) wikipedia