Popular Science Let Me Tell You丨Helicobacter pylori? A precursor to gastric cancer? Here are the preventive measures→

Spread scientific ideas and promote scientific spirit

The 2024 Hainan Province Science Popularization Explanation Competition came to a successful conclusion a few days ago. "Science Popularization Hainan" broadcast the speeches of the contestants who entered the finals to spread the voice of science popularization more widely.

Today, let us follow Feng Hengsheng from Longguang Central Hospital in Lingshui Li Autonomous County to learn about

"The Uninvited Guest in the Stomach: Uncovering the Secret of Helicobacter pylori"

Today, I want to share with you a "little devil" that is well-known in the medical field - Helicobacter pylori, abbreviated as Hp.

Imagine that there is a place in our body where strong acid is rampant and almost no bacteria can survive. However, Helicobacter pylori is an exception. It is the only known bacterium that can survive in the stomach . With its tenacious vitality, it has become an "uninvited guest" in the stomachs of about 50% of the world's population.

Let's unravel the mystery of Helicobacter pylori, a Gram-negative bacillus that is spiral or curved and has multiple flagella, which allow it to swim flexibly and settle in the acidic environment of the stomach.

Its most powerful feature is that it can produce urease, which decomposes urea to produce ammonia, thereby neutralizing stomach acid and protecting itself from erosion. Hp not only has a strong ability to survive, but can also "set up camp" in our bodies through various routes, such as oral-oral transmission, fecal-oral transmission, and stomach-oral transmission. Sharing tableware, kissing, and mouth-to-mouth feeding of children can all become "accomplices" in the spread of Hp .

What kind of trouble can this tiny bacterium bring us?

Hp infection almost always leads to chronic active gastritis. As the disease progresses, about 15%-20% of infected people will develop peptic ulcers, and 5%-10% will experience symptoms of indigestion. Even more worrying is that about 1% of infected people may eventually develop gastric malignant tumors .

We are not helpless in the face of this "little devil" Hp. We can easily "catch" it through a series of scientific testing methods, such as carbon 13 or carbon 14 breath test, stool antigen test, serum antibody test, etc.

Once Hp is diagnosed, we need to "judge" it and take appropriate "execution" measures. Currently, quadruple therapy is the preferred option for eradicating Hp, including proton pump inhibitors, two antibiotics and bismuth. These four drugs work synergistically to effectively inhibit gastric acid secretion and increase the pH value in the stomach, thereby enhancing the effect of antibiotics and eliminating Hp in one fell swoop.

To prevent Helicobacter pylori infection, we can take the following measures:

Pay attention to food hygiene, adjust eating habits and lifestyle, and improve immunity. For example: use serving chopsticks to avoid transmission, disinfect tableware regularly, and maintain a light diet.

These seemingly simple measures can effectively reduce the risk of Hp infection.

Facing this "uninvited guest", we don't need to panic, but we can't take it lightly. Through scientific testing and reasonable treatment, we are fully capable of completely removing this "little devil" from our body, leaving it nowhere to hide.

Source: Hainan Province Science Popularization Explanation Competition 2024. Reproduction without authorization is strictly prohibited!