Win the fight against Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori is a common diagnosis that you should not overlook. Here we tell you the latest news about this disease. Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori, is the name of a bacteria that attacks people's stomachs and causes infections. Its incidence is extremely high; It is estimated that it is present in two-thirds of the world's population.

Although not everyone suffers from illnesses related to bacteria, adults and children alike can develop very serious pathologies due to H. pylori, such as gastritis, peptic ulcer, and stomach cancer. For this reason, gastroenterologists pay special attention to this very common enemy.

How H. Pylori causes infection in the stomach of humans is unclear. However, the main causative agents of transmission are the ingestion of contaminated food and water. In most cases, the bacteria are acquired during childhood.

Symptoms and Treatment

As highlighted, not all those infected with H. Pylori present discomfort or signs of illness; Everything seems to indicate that some people are more vulnerable to the attack, while others have immunity for unknown reasons. Those who do develop symptomatic manifestations usually complain of pain or burning in the stomach, bloating, and nausea. All of these are popularly linked to gastritis.

There are also symptoms related to the presence of the bacteria that are of greater concern and require immediate medical attention from a gastroenterology specialist. These are sharp and recurring pains in the stomach, a feeling of bloating, frequent belching, black or bloody stools, or vomiting with dark-colored blood, similar to coffee beans.

If the pain occurs in greater intensity when the stomach is empty, there is a lack of appetite and weight loss, there is a possibility that the condition is peptic ulcer, a disease closely related to H. pylori. Some indications make researchers think that half of the cases of this type of ulcer have their origin in the infection caused by the bacteria.

If you experience one or more of the discomforts described, the most important thing is that you go to a health professional immediately, since H. pylori infection can be cured. The sooner you seek help, the better your recovery prognosis will be and you will avoid major complications.

The first thing that is required is to confirm the diagnosis. There are several methods used by doctors to check for the presence of the bacteria. These are the following:

• breath test
• Blood antibody test
• Stool examination
• Endoscopy examination with biopsy

When the examination shows H. pylori infection, doctors can choose treatment to combat the bacteria and heal the illnesses that its presence has caused. If this is your particular case, it is normal for the exams to be repeated after the treatment to verify that the objective has been satisfactorily met.

General treatment includes combining antacid medications with a series of broad-spectrum antibiotics and usually lasts about two weeks. The inclusion of both types of drugs is vital since it manages to eliminate the lesions of the peptide ulcer. Furthermore, proper eradication of the bacteria minimizes the possibility of you suffering reinfection from H. pylori.

It should be noted that ignoring the symptoms of gastritis and peptide ulcers such as those mentioned can have serious consequences on your health. If you endure the discomfort or consume antacids to reduce it, without medical supervision, you will not end the infection.

In this way, with each passing day, the lesions will worsen, and the risk that they cannot be reversed increases, which promotes the development of gastric cancer. The sooner you identify H. pylori infection, the greater your chance of preventing the multiple evils that its presence entails.

Actual studies

Currently, great efforts are being made to find a vaccine against this gastric disease. While we wait for the research to complete its purpose, there are preventions you can take to avoid suffering from this disease. There is agreement on some recommendations made by professionals in the study of H. pylori that can help you.

Regarding contagion, day by day you must be very careful with the consumption of food and water; always verify that they comply with the required hygienic conditions. When there is the presence of infection by the bacteria, there are internal factors that enhance the development of related diseases, such as the person's diet and tobacco consumption.