Pruritus is the hallmark symptom. It results from inflammatory mediators, barrier disruption, dryness, and nerve activation. Severe itch may be worse at night. Dryness occurs because the impaired barrier allows excessive water loss. Scaling and flaking occur as the inflamed, dry stratum corneum sheds abnormally. Excoriations occur when scratching breaks the skin. Lichenification occurs when chronic rubbing or scratching thickens the skin into leathery plaques. Weeping may occur in acute inflammation or infection. Honey-coloured crusting may suggest secondary bacterial infection. Pain is more concerning than itch alone. Pain may indicate fissuring, severe inflammation, infection, eczema herpeticum, or cellulitis. Sleep disturbance reflects uncontrolled itch and should be treated as clinically important. Psychosocial distress may include shame, anxiety, avoidance of social activities, frustration, depression symptoms, caregiver strain, or reduced quality of life. For NCLEX-RN (Canada), items rarely announce the topic in the first sentence. Anchor to objective data, trajectory, and the safest next step for the role named in the stem before distractors compete. On the exam, writers often pair stable-sounding options with unstable data—notice the mismatch before you commit. If the...