The major symptom characterizing eczema is skin itching.
It can begin before any visible changes in the skin. These include redness, bumps, crack formation and even exuding wounds. It can affect any part of the body but more commonly over the wrists, elbows, knee flexures and the face.
The itching and soreness can become so pronounced that one cannot sleep.
Scratching is a vicious cycle. It irritates the skin, causing release of more inflammatory substances into the skin which would only aggravate the itching and scratching at the end.