Blog
Tests, Early Diagnosis, and Your Doctors
An upper endoscopy is the only way to diagnose EoE. An endoscopy is a procedure in which a flexible tube with a light and camera on the end is passed through your mouth into your esophagus to see if your esophagus is inflamed.
In EoE, the esophagus may look red, swollen, or narrowed, with white, bumpy patches or an accordion-like appearance.
Visual inspection may not be enough to diagnose EoE, as up to 10 percent of people with EoE have an esophagus that appears normal.
In these cases, a biopsy can help to confirm the diagnosis. During an endoscopy, your doctor will remove small samples of tissue from your esophagus. A pathologist analyzes the tissue samples under a microscope to determine if EoE is present.
If a biopsy shows that there are 15 or more eosinophils in a specific section of the sample, this indicates probable EoE.
Doctors often repeat biopsies throughout the diagnostic process and over the course of the disease to track the condition of the esophagus and see if treatment is helping.
If your doctor suspects that you may have EoE based on your symptoms, they will recommend tests to detect inflammation and increased amounts of eosinophils, the type of white blood cells that give the disease its name. Additionally, they may recommend tests to rule out other conditions or determine EoE triggers.
Other tests that may be useful in providing more information about the cause of your EoE include:
Allergy Tests
Many people with EoE also have allergic rhinitis or food allergies. Allergic reactions to food are a main cause of EoE symptoms. Sometimes, doctors recommend allergy testing to get more information about what’s triggering your symptoms, but these tests aren’t always reliable.
Blood tests, skin prick tests, and food patch tests are typically used to diagnose allergies. However, these tests often fail to expose food sensitivities in EoE because reactions can be delayed or develop over days. Additionally, EoE flare-ups are generally caused by different immune system mechanisms than those that are found in traditional food allergies.
Sometimes environmental allergens, such as pollen, dust mites, or mold play a role in EoE. Allergy testing for these common culprits may be done as part of your evaluation.
Elimination Diet
Doctors may recommend an elimination diet to try to pinpoint which foods are causing your symptoms. This strategy involves eliminating certain foods or drinks from your diet for several weeks and then adding them back one at a time.
If your symptoms return when you reintroduce foods, your doctor may perform follow-up biopsies to see if eosinophils have returned. This can help uncover which foods are causing a reaction.
Once the problematic foods are removed, symptoms usually improve in a few weeks. However, foods that trigger EoE can change over time, which can further complicate the diagnostic process.
Tests to Rule Out Other Conditions
Other diseases can cause eosinophils to build up in the esophagus. Some of these include:
Sometimes, tests may be needed to rule out these conditions. GERD, for example usually presents with fewer eosinophils in the esophagus than EoE, but experts haven’t yet clarified exactly how many eosinophils define severe reflux (stomach acid entering the esophagus) versus EoE.
Related Posts
:quality(85):upscale()/2025/11/05/779/n/1922729/ff7328a7690b8ca9e030b4.90594613_.png?w=1300&resize=1300,800&ssl=1 "10 Early Black Friday Fitness Deals I'm Grabbing as a Shopping Editor")
06
Nov
10 Early Black Friday Fitness Deals I'm Grabbing as a Shopping Editor
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
Whether you're trying to recommit to a wellness routine or holiday shop for your favorite fitness-lover, we've uncovered early Black Fr...
21
Sep
Wake Up Nauseous? Here’s Why, According to Doctors
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
2. You're Not Eating Enough Before BedOn the other hand, hunger can also be a reason you're waking up nauseous, Sonpal says. Your blood...
18
Sep
A Celebrity Ob-Gyn on Why Doctors Still Dismiss Endometriosis
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
On the latest episode of the SheMD podcast, model and actress Lori Harvey revealed that she spent years thinking something was “off” wi...
16
Sep
What Is Rosacea? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
Various treatments can reduce redness and other symptoms, improving your skin’s appearance and reducing the frequency of flares.Once yo...
15
Sep
Multiple Sclerosis: Early Signs and Symptoms
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
A prodrome is a premonitory or warning phase of a medical problem yet to come. It’s an early stage of signs or symptoms that happens be...
13
Sep
What Is Presbyopia? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
Everyone develops presbyopia, and it typically begins around age 40. Presbyopia is a common age-related vision disorder that makes it d...
13
Sep
Modest Drinking Linked to Cancer, Early Death
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
A new scientific analysis suggests even a small amount of alcohol is unsafe when it comes to cancer risk. The researchers found that th...
12
Sep
Prevention and Early Detection Tips
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
Every year, doctors diagnose more than 107,000 cases of colorectal cancer. While survival rates have improved, it's still the second-le...
06
Sep
What Is Razor Burn? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
Most people have had the unpleasant experience of razor burn at some point in their lives. Razor burn is skin irritation that occurs wh...
04
Sep
Sticking to an Early Breakfast Could Help You Live Longer, According to New Research
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
Early birds have long basked in the glory of health superiority, sometimes even tinged with a hit of moral righteousness. It’s easier f...
03
Sep
Erin Andrews on the Routine Doctor’s Visit That Caught Her Cancer and Saved Her Life
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
Erin Andrews is a couple minutes late to our Zoom chat. The veteran Fox Sports NFL sideline reporter was wrapping up her baby boy Mack’...
29
Aug
Stick to Your Doctor’s Orders
-
Posted by
Transform Your Health & Fitness
Blood pressure drugs can definitely be lifesavers. But they also come with side effects, complicating the adoption of any blood pressur...