H. pylori is a bacterium that can survive in the stomach and cause symptoms such as belly bloating and indigestion, being the main cause of diseases like gastritis and ulcer.
Many people have this bacterium in the stomach even without knowing it, because in many cases it does not cause symptoms nor complications, being common its presence also in children.
If you think you may be with H. pylori, indicate the symptoms you are feeling, to know what your risk is:
- 1. Pain, burning or constant stomach upset Yes No
- 2. Excessive bowel movements or gasses Yes No
- 3. Feeling of swollen belly Yes No
- 4. Loss of appetite Yes No
- 5. Nausea and vomiting Yes No
- 6. Feces too dark or with blood Yes No
These symptoms usually arise when H. pylori causes gastritis or ulcers in the stomach or intestine, which occurs mainly when the patient makes a diet rich in sugars and fats, and poor in fruits and vegetables, making the stomach more sensitive and making it difficult to digestion.
How to confirm the diagnosis
In cases of simple symptoms, such as nausea and indigestion, your doctor may order blood tests, stool tests, or the breath test with labeled urea, which can detect the presence of H. pylori without causing pain or requiring special patient preparation.
However, if there are severe symptoms such as vomiting or presence of blood in the stool, exams such as endoscopy with biopsy, which also evaluates the presence of ulcers, inflammation or cancer in the stomach, or the urease test, which minutes later is capable of to diagnose the presence or absence of H. pylori. Here's how this test is done.
In addition, these tests can be repeated at the end of the treatment to see if the bacteria has been eliminated from the stomach.
What are the consequences of infection
H. pylori infection causes a constant inflammation of the lining of the stomach which, over time, eventually results in small gastric ulcers, which are sores in the stomach that can cause intense pain and bleeding.
In addition, if not treated properly, H. pylori can result in chronic inflammation of the stomach that increases up to 8 times the risk of developing some type of gastric cancer. Thus, although H. pylori infection is not a cancer diagnosis, it may indicate that the person is at increased risk of having stomach cancer if not treated properly. Understand more about how treatment is done.
How to get the bacteria
H. pylori infection is relatively common because the bacterium is mainly transmitted through saliva or oral contact with water and food that have come into contact with contaminated feces. Thus, some factors that increase the chances of getting an H. pylori infection include:
- Drink contaminated or unfiltered water;
- Living with a person infected with H. pylori;
- Living in a house with many other people.
So to prevent this infection, it is very important to take care of hygiene, such as washing hands before eating and after going to the bathroom, and avoid dividing cutlery and glasses with other people.
Also, having unhealthy lifestyle habits like smoking, drinking too much alcohol or having an unbalanced diet also increase the risk of getting this type of bacteria.
