The term eczema may be broadly applied to a range of recurring skin conditions or rashes along with redness in the affected part, slight edema of the skin, significant itching with crusting, racking, flaking or oozing. But eczema is classified as a form of dermatitis and/or inflammation of the upper skin layer in human beings requiring eczema treatment.

Among the many forms of eczema that we come across, there are basically two distinct varieties, namely, the more Common and the less Common eczemas that are discussed below.

The More Common Eczemas

• Atopic Eczema is associated with itchy rash that is noticeable on the face, neck, inside of elbows, buttocks and the scalp. It has a hereditary trait, often running in families whose members usually have histories of asthma and hay fever. It is a common curse of developed countries. • Contact dermatitis originates from two causes - the allergic and the irritant while in some cases both are involved. Also, continued exposure to sunlight aggravates the situation to some extent, giving rise to phototoxic dermatitis requiring serious eczema treatment. It is one of the most common occupational skin diseases (irritant type) in the developed world. In fact, around three quarters of cases of contact eczema are of this type. • Xerotic eczema is quite common among the seniors whose dry skin often becomes so itchy (particularly in winter) that it turns into dry eczema. Sometimes the dryness of the skin becomes so acute that it resembles a dry, cracked river bed. • Soborrhoeic dermatitis is a kind of infantile dermatitis where a recently born baby's scalp gets patchy, scaly and crusty. It also looks yellow in color but hardly causes any discomfort to the baby. It is quite common in most of the developed countries where almost fifty percent of the infants become affected with the disease.

The Less Common Eczemas

• Dyshidrosis affects the palms, soles and the sides of the fingers and toes in the form of tiny opaque bumps called vesicles. The itching aggravates at night and worsens in warm weather. • Discoid eczema is known by its circular spots that ooze and have dry rash and marked boundaries. It often affects the lower legs and the condition tends to come and go. • Venous eczema as the name suggests, affects people suffering from varicose veins, impaired circulation and foot edema. Apart from itching, there is redness of the skin as well as darkening and scaling. Leg ulcers often follow the venous eczema. • Dermatitis herpetiformis is associated with intense itching of arms, thighs, knees and back. It is sometimes linked with the celiac disease. • Neurodermatitis is characterised by an itchy area of the skin that gets thickened and pigmented. It usually gets aggravated by habitual rubbing and scratching. • Autoeczematization is related to an infection with parasites, bacteria or fungi and viruses. Cases are quite rare and uncommon.

Eczema is believed to be difficult to cure requiring serious eczema treatment. However, efforts can be made to relieve the severity of itching and the associated uneasiness. A significant part of clinical advice to people suffering from eczema is total abstinence from all kinds of soaps and detergents since eczema tends to remove the moisture of the skin, turning it extremely dry.