H. pylori is a bacterium that can survive in the stomach and cause an infection with symptoms such as stomach swelling and indigestion, being the main cause of diseases such as gastritis and ulcers.
Many people have this bacteria in their stomachs without even knowing it, because in many cases it does not cause symptoms or complications, and its presence is also common in children.
If you think you have H. pylori, indicate the symptoms you are experiencing to learn about your risk:
These symptoms usually occur when H.pylori has caused gastritis or ulcers in the stomach or intestine, which occur mainly when the patient eats a diet high in sugars and fats, and low in fruits and vegetables, which makes the stomach more sensitive and makes it more difficult. Digest.
For simple symptoms, such as nausea and indigestion, your doctor may order blood tests, stool tests, or a breath test with marked urea, which can detect the presence of H.pylori without causing pain or requiring special patient preparation.
However, if there are serious symptoms such as vomiting or blood in the stool, tests such as endoscopic biopsy, which also evaluate the presence of ulcers, inflammation or cancer in the stomach, or the urease test, which can diagnose the presence or absence of H. pylori, are recommended. See how this test is done.
In addition, these tests may be repeated at the end of treatment to see if the bacteria has been removed from the stomach.
H. pylori infection causes a constant inflammation of the lining of the stomach, which eventually leads to small gastric ulcers, which are stomach sores that can cause severe pain and bleeding.
In addition, if not treated properly, H. pylori can cause chronic inflammation of the stomach that increases the risk of developing gastric cancer up to 8 times. Therefore, although H. pylori infection is not a cancer diagnosis, it may indicate that a person has an increased risk of stomach cancer if they do not receive appropriate treatment. Learn more about how treatment is performed.
H. pylori infection is relatively common because the bacteria is mainly transmitted through saliva or oral contact with water and food that have been in contact with contaminated feces. For example, some factors that increase your chances of getting H.pylori infection include:
Therefore, to prevent this infection, it is very important to pay attention to hygiene, such as washing your hands before eating and after going to the bathroom, as well as avoiding sharing cutlery and glasses with others.
In addition, having unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption or an unbalanced diet also increases the risk of getting this type of bacteria.