Eczema craquelé is also known as winter itch, asteatotic eczema, xerotic eczema, and desiccation dermatitis. It is characterized by rough, dry skin texture with fine scale and fissuring. It is often pruritic, and it can be painful if the fissures are deep.

Xerosis is the predisposing factor to the development of eczema craquelé. The pathogenesis involves a decrease in the amount of lipids in the stratum corneum and a deficiency in the water-binding capacity of this layer. The condition is seen mostly in older adults; however, it can be associated with a number of environmental factors and/or disease states, such as low humidity, frequent bathing, harsh soaps, congenital and acquired ichthyoses, atopic dermatitis, hypothyroidism, Down syndrome, renal failure, malnutrition and malabsorptive states, HIV infection, lymphoma, liver disease, Sjögren syndrome, carcinomatosis, graft-versus-host disease, zinc deficiency, and certain drugs (in particular retinoids, diuretics, and protein kinase inhibitors).