Helicobacter Pylori: What is and how to treat it

Helicobacter pylori is important because it is now approximately 30 years ago that it was found to be essential in the appearance of ulcers, especially ulcer of the duodenum and stomach ulcer. But it is also related to other pathologies, what doctors call dyspepsia, which is when a person has a stomach ache and does not have an injury.

It is also related to gastritis, and it is important to know that this bacteria, although it lives in many of us, can sometimes cause digestive discomfort. That is the fundamental cause why the helicobacter, which is a bacterium that has been with us for many years, now knows that it is important to know and treat it.

Is helicobacter pylori always bad?

We have to take into account that a large percentage of the population has helicobacter pylori. Does that mean that all those people have digestive discomfort or have a stomach disease? The answer obviously is no. That means that the helicobacter pylori in some people is not important and therefore not everyone should look at us if we have it.

Although it is true that when it is present it is advisable to treat it. In any case you can live with helicobacter all your life if you do not have discomfort, although it is true that the World Health Organization advises treating it to prevent digestive diseases.

What is the right treatment?

The helicobacter pylori is a bacterium and therefore the treatment must be through antibiotics. Although it is not always easy to eliminate it and this is for 2 reasons; First of all because it needs at least two different antibiotics for its treatment and also because during the last years it has been shown that there are bacterial resistances so it is not always eliminated at the first, some patients need a second treatment or even a third treatment.

Therefore, it is very important to know which antibiotics to select, how to take them and how long to take them.. It is also essential to always check that the helicobacter has been eliminated and this is done very easily by a breath test.

How is it transmitted and how can it be prevented?

Helicobacter pylori is almost always acquired in childhood and in these cases is determined by some water contaminated by bacteria. In adults it has been seen that there may be infections with person-to-person transmission, especially in saliva, although this is less frequent. To prevent helicobacter pylori infection in developing areas, it is important to control that the water is not infected.

Certainly in areas like ours, with normal development, prevention is much more difficult, especially in adults. In fact, family testing is not advised when a member is infected, unless that member also has digestive symptoms.