Eczema is sometimes called dermatitis, which means inflammation of the skin. When you have eczema, areas of your skin become red, inflamed and itchy. If you then scratch a lot, it can cause patches of your skin to become thickened over time. This is called lichenification. Corticosteroid ointments and creams are often used to treat these areas of thickened skin. Ointments or bandages containing ichthammol are sometimes applied over the corticosteroid, as they help to reduce itching.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/medicine/ichthammol-ichthopaste-bandage