Recent studies in the United States have linked clinical H. This area of research is worthy of further investigation. Although H. Several studies have suggested sheep as a possible source of H. The most recent reservoir suggested for H.
However, evidence is lacking that H. Nevertheless, the hypothesis is appealing since flies are known to carry many other infectious diseases. Knowledge of the epidemiology and mode of transmission of H. Another simple technique involves a breath test. For this you are given a drink containing a substance called urea.
Whether or not Helicobacter pylori is present in the stomach can be detected by collecting a sample of your breath a short time after drinking the drink. This test is used to find out whether treatment has been successful although it needs to be done at least one month after the course of treatment has finished.
Stool tests for Helicobacter pylori are also now widely used and as accurate as breath tests. These involve analysing a small portion of stool for Helicobacter pylori proteins and can be used to confirm that infection has been cleared after treatment. Doctors can also test for Helicobacter pylori while patients are having an endoscopy. A very small piece of the lining of the stomach a biopsy is sent to the laboratory for a number of different tests to check whether or not H.
All tests for Helicobacter pylori, except the blood test, may be quite inaccurate if people have had a recent course of antibiotics for any reason, or have taken some of the other drugs which are used to treat ulcers. Your doctor will certainly ensure that you do not have a test for Helicobacter pylori if other medicines you might have taken recently would give a misleading result. Before we knew about Helicobacter pylori, ulcers did heal up with acid-reducing drugs only to return when the treatment was stopped.
We now know that treating Helicobacter pylori not only helps ulcers to heal but, more importantly, it greatly reduces the risk of ulcer recurrence and all doctors are agreed that patients with Helicobacter pylori should have treatment for the infection if they have, or ever have had, an ulcer. Although Helicobacter pylori is the cause of most ulcers, others may occur as a result of regular use of certain pain killers such as aspirin or ibuprofen as well as many drugs prescribed for other conditions.
This is why you should always ask your doctor whether any prescribed drugs you are taking may have an effect on your stomach. Until recently, most people with severe indigestion often had an endoscopy an examination of the stomach with a small tube and camera to look for an ulcer. However nowadays, instead of sending a patient straight to endoscopy, most doctors will check first to see if they have Helicobacter pylori and if so, treat it with antibiotics.
Generally, if the patient has actually had an ulcer, we know that treating Helicobacter pylori is likely to prove successful but other cases where the condition has not actually caused an ulcer, there may be no improvement. It is fair to say that only an endoscopy can confirm whether you have an ulcer.
In addition, people with indigestion who also have worrying symptoms such as weight loss, persistent vomiting or trouble in swallowing still need to have an endoscopy to rule out other conditions.
Treatment consists of a one-week course of three different tablets, two of which are antibiotics whilst the third is a tablet to cut down the amount of acid in your stomach. These are all taken together twice a day. Your doctor will ask you whether you are allergic to any particular antibiotics before treatment is started, and if so, an alternative, equally successful treatment can be given.
Most people experience no side-effects from treatment but some notice minor problems such as a strange taste in the mouth, a feeling of sickness, diarrhoea or perhaps a headache. With one particular antibiotic that is often used, you should avoid alcohol.
Treatment is much more successful if the whole course of tablets is taken exactly as prescribed and your doctor will encourage you to continue to take the tablets unless the side effects become unpleasant.
If you do not complete the course of treatment, not only will the treatment be less successful, but the bacteria may become resistant to the antibiotics, so they will not work if given again.
Even when treatment has been successful in clearing the condition, sometimes symptoms take a little while to settle down. If the treatment is shown to be unsuccessful in clearing Helicobacter pylori, it is possible to have further courses of therapy with different antibiotics. Until recently most people with severe indigestion often had an endoscopy an examination of the stomach with a small tube and camera to look for an ulcer.
However nowadays, instead of sending a patient straight to endoscopy, most doctors will check first to see if they have Helicobacter pylori and, if so, treat it with antibiotics. As a result, many doctors consider the disadvantages of taking a course of antibiotics, with the resultant side effects, are just not worth the likelihood of it helping your condition. However, there are doctors who would recommend treating Helicobacter pylori even without an ulcer being present.
They do this in the hope of making a small number of such people feel better. Treatment for the condition is usually very successful but sometimes symptoms take a little while to settle down. Ulcers, gastritis, and stomach cancer are often diagnosed with a combination of the following tests:. If an ulcer is found, patients may be treated with a variety of medications, including some or all of the following:. Most H. However, research suggests that some H. This means H. A study in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology found some patients in the U.
The American Journal of Gastroenterology reported a high number of resistant H. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem across the globe.
The CDC say that more than 23, people die each year as a result of an antibiotic-resistant infection. Many people may have heard of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA , but there are many other types of bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. Everyone can do their part to help fight the problem of antibiotic resistance. The CDC say that people should:. Fortunately, H. Quick treatment will help prevent damage to the stomach and the possible problems of ulcers, gastritis, and stomach cancer.
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