1. Food Testing Directed Diets
If you are diagnosed with specific food allergies after prick skin testing and patch testing your doctor may remove specific foods from your diet. In some individuals this helps control their EoE.

2. Empiric Elimination Diets
Eliminating major food allergens from the diet before any food allergy testing is also an accepted treatment of EoE. The foods excluded usually include dairy, egg, wheat, soy, peanut, tree nuts and fish/shellfish. These diets have been shown to be very helpful in treating EoE, although they can be very difficult to follow, especially without the help of a dietician with experience in dealing with EoE. Foods are typically added back one at a time with follow up endoscopies to make sure that EoE remains in control.

3. Elemental Diets
In this diet, all sources of protein are removed from the diet. The patient receives their nutrition from an amino acid formula as well as simple sugars and oils. All other food is removed from the diet. A feeding tube may be needed since many people do not like the taste of this formula. This approach is generally reserved for children with multiple food allergies who have not responded to other forms of treatment.

4. Medical Therapy
No medications are currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat EoE. However, medications have been shown to reduce the number of eosinophils in the esophagus and improve symptoms. Corticosteroids, which control inflammation, are the most helpful medications for treating EoE. Swallowing small doses of corticosteroids is the most common treatment. Different forms of swallowed corticosteroids are available. At first, higher doses may be needed to control the inflammation but the higher doses are linked with a greater risk of side effects. As a result, once esophageal inflammation is adequately controlled the dose of swallowed corticosteroid is tapered to the smallest dose necessary to maintain control.

Proton pump inhibitors, which control the amount of acid produced, have also been used to help diagnose and treat EoE. Some patients respond well to proton pump inhibitors and have a large decrease in the number of eosinophils and inflammation when a follow up endoscopy and biopsy is done. However, proton pump inhibitors can also improve EoE symptoms without making the inflammation any better. Researchers are now looking into using them to manage EoE. Careful monitoring by a physician knowledgeable in treating EoE is very important.