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About EoE!

Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) 

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the esophagus.

 

What is the esophagus?

​The throat splits into the trachea, which carries air to the lungs and food to the esophagus.

 

How does EoE affect the esophagus?

White blood cells called eosinophils build up in the esophagus, causing inflammation in the esophageal tissue. Patients with EoE may have difficulty swallowing because the swollen lining of the esophageal tube prevents food from moving downward, making swallowing painful. When food gets stuck in the throat (a condition called food impaction), patients are unable to eat or drink, though they are still able to breath through the trachea.

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How common is EoE?

EoE occurs in approximately 1 out of every 700 people. But because it is a newly recognized disease, it is being diagnosed more often. Previous gastrointestinal problems thought to be caused by diseases like reflux (GERD) may actually be the result of EoE.

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What causes EoE?

Researchers are not certain about the exact cause of EoE. Like other immune/allergic diseases, genetics and environment may play a factor in the development of EoE.

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Who is at risk for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)?

EoE can affect anyone, but it is more common in males and people who have other allergic diseases (hay fever, eczema, asthma, food allergies, etc.) or family members with EoE.

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What are the common symptoms of EoE?

Symptoms of EoE vary from person to person but some common symptoms are:

  • Reflux that does not respond to medication (acid suppressors)

  • Difficulty swallowing

  • Food impactions (food gets stuck in the esophagus) - more common in older patients

  • Nausea and vomiting

  • Impacted development (including poor growth, malnutrition, or weight loss)

  • Abdominal or chest pain

  • Feeding refusal/intolerance or poor appetite - primarily in infants and young children

  • Difficulty sleeping due to chest or abdominal pain, reflux, and/or nausea

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My Personal Journey with EoE

(from the Founder of Pics4EoE)

In my personal experience, I would get food caught in my esophagus and have to regurgitate it to continue eating. To regurgitate, I would create pressure to push food back up my throat into my mouth and spit it out (because it wouldn't go any further down my esophagus into my stomach). When I couldn't get the stuck food to move, I would salivate and continue to regurgitate for hours. This culminated when one day, I had a piece of pork stuck in my throat, salivated for over a day, and couldn't swallow any more food. That is when I was seen by a pediatric gastroenterologist and eventually was diagnosed with EoE after an endoscopy and biopsy.

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To learn more about how the cause, who is affected, treatment, the prognosis & more visit:

       https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/eosinophilic-esophagitis/ ​​​

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Information Provided on This Website Is Credited to and from:

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American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) https://apfed.org/about-ead/egids/eoe/ 

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American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)

https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2025/01000/acg_clinical_guideline__diagnosis_and_management.16.aspx

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Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

https://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(24)00977-7/fulltext

 

National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/eosinophilicesophagitis.html 


John Hopkins Medicine 

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/eosinophilic-esophagitis

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