Treatment or management of organic acidemias vary; eg see methylmalonic acidemia, propionic acidemia, isovaleric acidemia, and maple syrup urine disease.

As of 1984 there were no effective treatments for all of the conditions, though treatment for some included a limited protein/high carbohydrate diet, intravenous fluids, amino acid substitution, vitamin supplementation, carnitine, induced anabolism, and in some cases, tube-feeding.

As of 1993 ketothiolase deficiency and other OAs were managed by trying to restore biochemical and physiologic homeostasis; common therapies included restricting diet to avoid the precursor amino acids and use of compounds to either dispose of toxic metabolites or increase enzyme activity.

OAS must be managed in conjunction with the patient's other allergies, primarily the allergy to pollen. The symptom severity may wax and wane with the pollen levels. Published pollen counts and seasonal charts are useful but may be ineffective in cases of high wind or unusual weather, as pollen can travel hundreds of kilometers from other areas.

In addition, patients are advised to avoid the triggering foods, particularly nuts.

Peeling or cooking the foods has been shown to eliminate the effects of some allergens such as "mal d 1" (apple), but not others such as celery or strawberry. In the case of foods such as hazelnut, which have more than one allergen, cooking may eliminate one allergen but not the other.

Antihistamines may also relieve the symptoms of the allergy by blocking the immune pathway. Persons with a history of severe anaphylactic reaction may carry an injectable emergency dose of epinephrine (such as an EpiPen). Oral steroids may also be helpful. Allergy immunotherapy has been reported to improve or cure OAS in some patients. Immunotherapy with extracts containing birch pollen may benefit OAS sufferers of apple or hazelnut related to birch pollen-allergens. Even so, the increase in the amount of apple/hazelnut tolerated was small (from 12.6 to 32.6 g apple), and as a result, a patient's management of OAS would be limited.

Organic acidemia, also called organic aciduria, is a term used to classify a group of metabolic disorders which disrupt normal amino acid metabolism, particularly branched-chain amino acids, causing a buildup of acids which are usually not present.

The branched-chain amino acids include isoleucine, leucine and valine. Organic acids refer to the amino acids and certain odd-chained fatty acids which are affected by these disorders.

The four main types of organic acidemia are: methylmalonic acidemia, propionic acidemia, isovaleric acidemia, and maple syrup urine disease.

To confirm OAS, the suspected food is consumed in a normal way. The period of observation after ingestion and symptoms are recorded. If other co factors like combined foods are required, this is also replicated in the test. For example, if the individual always develops symptoms after eating followed by exercise, then this is replicated in the laboratory.

Alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by the inability to identify and describe emotions in the self. The core characteristics of alexithymia are marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment, and interpersonal relating. Furthermore, people with alexithymia have difficulty in distinguishing and appreciating the emotions of others, which is thought to lead to unempathic and ineffective emotional responding. Alexithymia occurs in approximately 10% of the population and can occur with a number of psychiatric conditions.

The term "alexithymia" was coined by psychotherapist Peter Sifneos in 1973. The word comes from Greek α ("a", "no", the negating alpha privative), λέξις ("léxis", "word"), and θυμός ("thymos", "emotions", but understood by Sifneos as having the meaning "mood"), literally meaning "no words for mood".

Alexithymia is considered to be a personality trait that places affected individuals at risk for other medical and psychiatric disorders while reducing the likelihood that these individuals will respond to conventional treatments for the other conditions. Alexithymia is not classified as a mental disorder in the fourth edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders". It is a dimensional personality trait that varies in severity from person to person. A person's alexithymia score can be measured with questionnaires such as the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ), the Online Alexithymia Questionnaire (OAQ-G2) or the Observer Alexithymia Scale (OAS). It is distinct from the psychiatric personality disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder or borderline personality disorder, with which it shares some characteristics, and is likewise distinct from the abnormal conditions of sociopathy or psychopathy.

Alexithymia is defined by:

1. difficulty identifying feelings and distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal

2. difficulty describing feelings to other people

3. constricted imaginal processes, as evidenced by a scarcity of fantasies

4. a stimulus-bound, externally oriented cognitive style.

In studies of the general population the degree of alexithymia was found to be influenced by age, but not by gender; the rates of alexithymia in healthy controls have been found at: 8.3%; 4.7%; 8.9%; and 7%. Thus, several studies have reported that the prevalence rate of alexithymia is less than 10%. A less common finding suggests that there may be a higher prevalence of alexithymia amongst males than females, which may be accounted for by difficulties some males have with "describing feelings", but not by difficulties in "identifying feelings" in which males and females show similar abilities.

Psychologist R. Michael Bagby and psychiatrist Graeme J. Taylor have argued that the alexithymia construct is strongly related (negatively) to the concepts of psychological mindedness and emotional intelligence and there is "strong empirical support for alexithymia being a stable personality trait rather than just a consequence of psychological distress". Other opinions differ and can show evidence that it may be state-dependent.

Bagby and Taylor also suggest that there may be two kinds of alexithymia, "primary alexithymia" which is an enduring psychological trait that does not alter over time, and "secondary alexithymia" which is state-dependent and disappears after the evoking stressful situation has changed. These two manifestations of alexithymia are otherwise called "trait" or "state" alexithymia.