Dr. Mohammad Ahsan Iqbal :
H. Pylori may be a common sort of bacteria that grows within the alimentary canal features a tendency to attack the stomach lining. It infects the stomachs of roughly 60 percent of the world’s adult population. H. Pylori infections are usually harmless, but they’re liable for the bulk of ulcers with in the stomach and small intestine.
H. Pylori often infects patients’ stomach during childhood. Infections with this strain of bacteria can cause disease in some patients without showing any symptoms, including peptic ulcers, and an inflammatory condition inside their stomach known as gastritis.
Majority of people with H. pylori infection will not have any signs or symptoms. It’s not clear why this is often, but some people could also be born with more resistance to the harmful effects of H. pylori.
When signs or symptoms do occur with H. pylori infection, they may include an ache or burning pain in your abdomen, abdominal pain that’s worse when your stomach is empty, nausea, loss of appetite, frequent burping, bloating and unintentional weight loss.
It’s still not known exactly how H. Pylori infections spread. The bacteria has coexisted with humans for several thousands of years. The infections are thought to spread from one person’s mouth to a different person. They may even be transferred from faces to the mouth. This can happen when an individual does not wash their hands thoroughly after using the toilet. H. pylori also can spread through contact with contaminated water or food.
When the bacteria penetrate the stomach’s mucous lining and generate substances that neutralize stomach acids. This makes the stomach cells more susceptible to the harsh acids. Stomach acid and H. pylori together irritate the stomach lining and should cause ulcers in patients’ stomach orduodenum, which is the first a part of their intestine.
Children are more likely to develop an H. pylori infection. Their risk is greater because of not maintaining proper hygiene. Individuals risk for infection depends on environment as well as living conditions. Risk is higher if they live in a developing country, share housing with others who are infected with H. pylori, live in overcrowded housing, have no access to hot water and are of non-Hispanic Black or Mexican American decent.
Ulcers. H. pylori can destroy he protective lining of patients stomach and small intestine. This can lead stomach acid to build up an open sore (ulcer). About 10% of people with H. pylori will develop an ulcer. Inflammation of the stomach lining: H. pylori infection can irritate victim stomach, causing inflammation (gastritis). Stomach cancer: H. pylori infection is a serious risk factor for several types of stomach cancer.
In regions where H. pylori infection and its symptoms are common, doctors also test healthy people for H. pylori. There is a benefit to testing for H. pylori infection when patients have no symptoms of infection is contentious among doctors.
If patients are concerned about H. pylori infection that they may have a high risk of stomach cancer, they should consult to their doctor. They can decide together whether they may benefit from H. pylori screening.
Individual will normally need to take a combination of two different antibiotics, together with another drug that reduces their stomach acid. Decreasing acid in stomach helps the antibiotics work more effectively. This treatment is often referred to astriple therapy.
Following drugs are used in a triple therapy treatment: clarithromycin, proton-pump inhibitors (PPI), such as lansoprazole (Prevacid), esomeprazole (Nexium), pantoprazole (Protonix), or rabeprazole (AcipHex), metronidazole (for 7 to 14 days), amoxicillin (for 7 to 14 days).
H. Pylori treatment may differ depending on their previous medical history and if one has allergies to any of these medications. After treatment, patients will have a follow-up test for H. pylori. In most of the cases, only one round of antibiotics is essential to cure the infection, but they need to take more, using different drugs.
There’s no proved that food and nutrition play an important role in preventing peptic ulcer disease in people infected with H. pylori. But also, spicy foods, alcohol, and smoking may worsen a peptic ulcer and prevent it from healing properly.
(Dr. Iqbal is consultant, Nephrology, Policlinic Puteri, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).
