The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions. These include dryness and recurring skin rashes that are characterized by one or more of these symptoms: redness, skin edema (swelling), itching and dryness, crusting, flaking, blistering, cracking, oozing, or bleeding. Areas of temporary skin discoloration may appear and are sometimes due to healed lesions. Scratching open a healing lesion may result in scarring and may enlarge the rash.

Eczema may be confused with urticaria. In contrast to psoriasis, eczema is often likely to be found on the flexor aspect of joints.^{[citation needed]}

In some languages, dermatitis and "eczema" are synonymous, while in other languages "dermatitis" implies an acute condition and "eczema" a chronic one.^[4] The two conditions are often classified together.

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