What is eczema?
Eczema is a form of dermatitis. Dermatitis means inflammation of the outer layer of the skin. Though commonly used to describe atopic dermatitis, it is characterised by a variety of skin conditions that cause the skin to become dry, red, irritated and itchy.

What are the types of eczema?
Eczema has been classified into various subgroups: the commonest one is atopic eczema (atopic dermatitis). Other types of eczema include: contact dermatitis, xerotic eczema (winter itch: eczema that worsens in winter), seborrheic dermatitis (also called as cradle cap in infants and is closely related to dandruff) and other less common variants such as pompholyx (occurs only on palms, soles, and sides of fingers and toes), discoid eczema, venous eczema, dermatitis herpetiformis, lichen simplex chronicus etc.