Sometime, patients with symptoms of heartburn due to chronic acid reflux (also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease) do not improve with appropriate medical treatment. These patients often undergo a diagnostic endoscopy of the esophagus and stomach, including a biopsy. Occasionally, the biopsy may show a condition called “eosinophilic esophagitis”, in which many eosinophils have invaded the esophageal lining. This condition is often caused by food allergy. Unfortunately, conventional allergy skin testing or blood testing may not reveal the food that is responsible. In this situation, a special type of food allergy test is indicated, referred to as a food patch test.  This test involves the application of small samples of suspect foods to the patient’s back which are then removed 2 days later. This type of testing is not performed by all allergy clinics. If you have been diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis, ask your doctor whether the food patch test might help you.
Dr. Howard Schanker was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Medical School at SUNY–Downstate in New York City, receiving his M.D. degree in June of 1977. His fellowship training in Allergy and Clinical Immunology was obtained at UCLA, where he won the Young Investigators Award from the American College of Physicians.
Dr. Jonathan Corren was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with honors in Biology and then completed his medical training at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine.
Dr. Rita Kachru was raised in the Chicago area. She graduated from the combined 7 year medical program at the University of Wisconsin–Medical College of Wisconsin. She is board certified in Allergy–Immunology, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine.