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Medical Author:

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

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Medical Editor:

Bhupinder Anand, MD

In this Article

• What is eosinophilic esophagitis?
• What are the symptoms of eosinophilic esophagitis?
• How does eosinophilic esophagitis cause dysphagia?
• What are the other causes of dysphagia or solid food?
• How is eosinophilic esophagitis diagnosed?
• How is eosinophilic esophagitis treated?
• What about elimination diets for treating eosinophilic esophagitis?
• What is the future of eosinophilic esophagitis?
• Eosinophilic Esophagitis At A Glance
• Patient Comments: Eosinophilic Esophagitis - Symptoms and Signs
• Patient Comments: Eosinophilic Esophagitis - Experience
• Find a local Gastroenterologist in your town
• Eosinophilic Esophagitis Index

The major symptom in adults with eosinophilic esophagitis is difficulty in swallowing solid food (dysphagia). Specifically, the food gets stuck in the esophagus after it is swallowed. Less common symptoms include heartburn and chest pain. In children, the most common symptoms are abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting , coughing, and failure to thrive.

Eosinophilic esophagitis decreases the ability of the esophagus to stretch and accommodate mouthfuls of swallowed food probably as a result of the presence of so many eosinophils but also, perhaps as a result of some scaring that occurs in the wall of the esophagus. As a result, solid foods (particularly solid meats) have difficulty passing through the esophagus. When solid food sticks in the esophagus, it causes an uncomfortable sensation in the chest, The sticking of food in the esophagus is referred to as dysphagia. If the solid food then passes into the stomach, the discomfort subsides, and the individual can resume eating. If the solid food does not pass into the stomach, individuals often must regurgitate the food by inducing vomiting before they can resume eating. Rarely, the solid food becomes impacted, that is, it can neither pass into the stomach nor be regurgitated. The impacted solid food causes chest pain that can mimic a heart attack, and repeated spitting up of saliva that cannot be swallowed because of the obstruction in the esophagus. Individuals with impacted food are unable to eat or drink. To relieve the obstruction, a doctor usually will have to insert a flexible endoscope through the mouth and into the esophagus to remove the impacted food.

How eosinophilic esophagitis causes symptoms of abdominal pain, vomiting, and failure to thrive in children is not clear.