Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a long-lasting disease that afflicts the skin. This condition is not contagious; it cannot be passed from one person to another. The term dermatitis implies skin's inflammation. The term atopic involves a group of diseases where there is usually a genetic tendency to acquire other allergic problems, like hay fever and asthma. In eczema, the skin turns unusually itchy. Scratching produces swelling, weeping clear fluid, cracking, redness, and finally, scaling and crusting. As some children suffering eczema grow older, their skin condition is alleviated or disappears altogether, although their skin usually remains dry and easily irritated. In others, eczema continues to be a significant problem in adulthood.

The cause of eczema is not known, but the disease seems to appear from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Children are more prone to acquire this condition if allergic conditions like asthma or hay fever affect, or have affected, one or both parents. While some people outgrow dermal symptoms, nearly three out of four children suffering eczema go on to acquire asthma or hay fever. Environmental factors can bring on symptoms of eczema at any time in individuals who have inherited the atopic disease trait.

Eczema is also linked with a failure of the organism's immune system: the system that identifies and helps fight bacteria and viruses that attack your organism. Scientists have discovered that patients suffering eczema have a low level of a cytokine protein that is vital to the healthy function of the organism's immune mechanism and a high level of other cytokines that produce allergic responses. The immune mechanism can become confused and produce dermatitis even when there's no major infection.

In the past, specialists believed that eczema was caused by an emotional condition. We now know that emotional factors, like stress, can worsen the condition, but they are not the cause the disease.

Also, a wide variety of skin care products include preservatives. Patients who are allergic to one of such preservatives may have either localized or widespread dermatitis. Antigen-avoidance lists that facilitate patient instruction about what products to avoid are available from the manufacturers of patch test allergens. With these printed guidelines alone, people must read skin care solution labels carefully, searching for the names of their allergens as recognized by patch tests as well as for any cross-reactors and synonyms of these substances. After the identification of an allergen, a nurse can play a key role in helping people understand their dermatitis and its treatment. Nurses are in a perfect position to spend time educating people about how to uncover the sources of certain allergens and, subsequently, how to avoid them.