Stomach Ulcer and H. pylori

Helicobacter pylori also known as the H. pylori bacteria, is the main cause of stomach ulcer in most of the cases. The protection of stomach and duodenum can be badly weakened by this organism that leads to the changes in the digestive juices and the irritation in sensitive linings.

Most of the people in the world are infected by this organism, but not all of them are suffering from the stomach ulcer or peptic ulcer. Researchers believed that there are some other factors that cause the gastritis with the combination of H. pylori. Following are the factors increase the risk of ulcer with H. pylori:

How H. pylori bacteria can be diagnosed?
When a person is found with ulcer, doctors perform different tests for diagnosing the causes of the ulcer. For the diagnosis of H. pylori, blood tests and stool tests are performed. Some times tissue samples are taken from the intestine.

  • Urea test
    Doctors can also use the urea test on the patient of ulcer. In this test, the patient needs to swallow the urea containing capsule. The chemical Urea is the combination of nitrogen and carbon that naturally produced in the body. If the ulcer is the result of H. pylori, the both elements of urea break up from urea, and the carbon dioxide is absorbed by the lining of the stomach. These elements travel through the blood and finally foes to the lungs. Its samples are taken from the breathing, and the carbon dioxide is measured from these samples. This test is about 95% successful in detecting the H. pylori. Therefore, it is mostly used through the world.

  • Endoscopy
    While diagnosing the H. pylori the by the upper endoscopy, the biopsy specimens from the duodenum and stomach are taken. These samples are examined in the lab for the proper diagnosis of ulcer caused by the H. pylori bacteria.

  • Stool Test
    This test is used to diagnose the H. pylori in the fecal matter. This test is also known as the Helicobacter pylori stool antigen (HPSA) test, which is recommended by most of the researchers as the best option to diagnose the H. pylori.

    How to treat H. pylori ulcer?
    Generally, the H. pylori bacteria treatment includes the use of antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors (PIP). The proton pump inhibitors are:

    These antibiotics amoxicillin and clarithromycin are used for two weeks to diagnose the disease. If the patient has the allergy for penicillin, the amoxicillin is substituted by the metronidazole drugs.

    The treatment of H. pylori does not recommend only single medicine but the combination of different therapies. The triple therapy is the most popular therapy for the H. pylori treatment in which two antibiotics or suppressors are used to kill the bacteria. The noteworthy benefit of this therapy is that this therapy can go over two weeks, and it is about 90% effective therapy.