eczema

IPA: ˈɛksʌmʌ

(biology, medicine) A non-contagious acute or chronic inflammation of the skin, characterized by redness, itching, and the outbreak of oozing vesicular lesions which become encrusted and scaly.
(usually) Synonym of atopic dermatitis
(sometimes) Synonym of dermatitis

Examples of "eczema" in Sentences

The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of skin conditions.
Pustular eczema (_eczema pustulosum_, _eczema impetiginosum_) is probably the least common of all the varieties.
The term eczema is now applied very generally to eruptions of all kinds that depend on internal disorders or constitutional conditions and that tend to recurrences and inveteracy.
Papular eczema (_eczema papulosum_) is characterized by the appearance, usually in numbers, of discrete, aggregated or closely-crowded, reddish, pin-head-sized acuminated or rounded papules.
Erythematous eczema (_eczema erythematosum_) begins as one or more small or large, irregularly outlined hyperæmic macules or patches, with or without slight or marked swelling, and with more or less itching or burning.
Squamous eczema (_eczema squamosum_) may be defined as a clinical variety, the chief symptoms of which are a variable degree of scaliness, more or less thickening, infiltration, and redness, with commonly a tendency to cracking or fissuring of the skin, especially when the disease is seated about the joints.
Now, the term eczema usually refers to atopic eczema, or atopic dermatitis (atopic means “allergic”), which is a complex genetic disorder that results in defective skin barriers, reduced innate skin immune responses, and exaggerated immune (T cell) responses to environmental allergens that lead to chronic skin inflammation.