Description: Information for people with the condition: Find out more about the symptoms, the course of the disease and the treatment of swallowing difficulties
symptoms (243) treatment options (28) eosinophilic oesophagitis (12) swallowing difficulties (9) information for people with the condition (7)
SWALLOWING DIFFICULTIES: EOSINOPHILIC OESOPHAGITIS? INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE WITH THE CONDITION
Swallowing difficulties Eosinophilic oesophagitis What is eosinophilic oesophagitis? Eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the oesophagus. The origin and cause of the disease are not yet completely understood. The word oesophagitis is a combination of “oesophagus,” the technical term for the gullet, and the suffix “-itis,” which is used in medicine to denote inflammation. This inflammation of the oesophagus is characterised by the infiltration of what are known as eosinophilic
The main symptoms of EoE in adults are swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) and/or pain when swallowing (odynophagia). In addition, chest pain, heartburn and retching often occur. In the worst case scenario, EoE can even cause a large chunk of food, in particular a piece of meat, to get stuck in the oesophagus. The technical term for this is “food bolus obstruction” or “food bolus impaction.” If the piece of food (bolus) cannot be coughed up or regurgitated, a doctor needs to use an endoscope (a thin flexibl