Understand Helicobacter pylori and never be afraid of it again

When it comes to Helicobacter pylori, many people are familiar with it. As people pay more attention to health issues, Helicobacter pylori has gradually come into people's view, and we often talk about it with stomach diseases. Many people go to the hospital for a physical examination and find that they are positive for Helicobacter pylori antibodies, and they are very panicked:

"If I am infected with Helicobacter pylori, will I definitely get stomach problems?"

"I don't have any obvious symptoms after being infected. Do I need treatment?"

"If it is not treated, will it cause some pathological changes?"

1. What is Helicobacter pylori?

Normally, the human stomach is in a highly acidic environment, making it difficult for most bacteria to survive, but Helicobacter pylori is an exception.

Helicobacter pylori likes to parasitize in gastric mucus and gastric mucosal cells. It can produce ammonia to neutralize gastric acid so that it will not be killed. Therefore, once Helicobacter pylori enters the human body, it can safely accompany the host throughout his life without treatment.

Gastritis caused by Helicobacter pylori

(Picture from the Internet)

Helicobacter pylori was first discovered in the early 20th century. In order to prove that it might be related to gastritis, Marshall, one of the discoverers, drank water containing more than 1 billion Helicobacter pylori, which resulted in acute gastritis. The medical community also began to conduct in-depth research on the connection between Helicobacter pylori and digestive diseases in order to better understand the role of this bacterium in the digestive tract. Later, scientists gradually found some indirect evidence that infected people are more likely to suffer from digestive tract diseases such as gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers and gastric cancer than uninfected patients.

2. Will you definitely get sick after being infected?

Not necessarily. According to the latest survey results, more than 90% of gastric cancer patients are diagnosed with Helicobacter pylori, which makes this bacterium recognized as the first type of carcinogenic bacteria worldwide. However, among these patients, only 1-3% of them have gastric cancer.

The formation of cancer may be related to many factors, such as dietary habits, genetic mutations and environmental pollution, and the presence of Helicobacter pylori is only one of the reasons. What about gastritis and gastric ulcers? Possibly. Although there are cases of Marshall's personal experiment, ordinary people are not infected with so many Helicobacter pylori. The vast majority of infected people may not have any symptoms at all, and a small number of them may have non-specific symptoms such as abdominal pain and bloating.

3. Is Helicobacter pylori completely useless?

Since Helicobacter pylori increases the possibility of digestive tract diseases, people naturally think that Helicobacter pylori is of no benefit to the human body and it is best not to have it. In fact, Helicobacter pylori is not completely useless.

1. Helicobacter pylori can indicate intestinal flora disorder

For some infected people, infection with Helicobacter pylori is caused by intestinal flora imbalance and lack of other microorganisms that inhibit Helicobacter pylori. Therefore, it can remind people that the intestinal flora has changed.

2. Helicobacter pylori and esophageal adenocarcinoma

Experiments have shown that after using antibiotics to eliminate Helicobacter pylori in the stomach, the proportion of patients experiencing esophageal reflux increases significantly. Moreover, although the incidence of gastric cancer decreases accordingly with the disappearance of Helicobacter pylori, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma increases year by year.

3. Helicobacter pylori and asthma

Clinical data analysis of large-scale asthma patients found that those infected developed asthma at an average age of 21, while those who were not infected developed asthma at an average age of 11. This shows that Helicobacter pylori is closely related to asthma attacks in childhood, and Helicobacter pylori infection may be able to reduce the risk of childhood asthma. In addition, Helicobacter pylori may also be related to the prevention of pollen allergies in children.

4. If you are infected with Helicobacter pylori, do you need to kill it completely?

It should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Once some high-risk groups are found, it is best to treat them promptly. These people include those with gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer or family history, those who have undergone gastric surgery, and those who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or aspirin for a long time.

In addition, children need special attention because their own immunity is poor, their stomach resistance and gastric mucosal protection are also weak. If they are not treated in time after infection, they are prone to gastric cancer. Eradication of Helicobacter pylori can effectively reduce the risk of illness or aggravation of these groups.

Since Helicobacter pylori increases the possibility of digestive tract diseases, people naturally think that Helicobacter pylori is of no benefit to the human body and it is best not to have it. In fact, Helicobacter pylori is not completely useless.

5. What should people who need sterilization pay attention to?

Take medicine as prescribed by the doctor, and don't miss it once. The reason why many patients have failed to sterilize multiple times is that they did not take the medicine as prescribed by the doctor. Taking the medicine intermittently leads to the emergence of drug resistance, which leads to sterilization failure. At present, quadruple therapy is considered to be the most effective means of preventing and treating Helicobacter pylori infection: the combined use of PPI, two types of antibiotics and bismuth, taken continuously for 10 to 14 days. After four weeks of eradication treatment, you can go to the hospital for a 13C or 14C urea breath test to determine whether it is successful. If any adverse reactions are found during treatment, you should seek help from a doctor in time.

6. How to prevent Helicobacter pylori infection?

In order to prevent Helicobacter pylori infection, we must first understand its three common transmission channels, namely fecal-oral, oral-oral and iatrogenic transmission. Therefore, it is very important to develop good hygiene habits, wash hands before and after meals, and sterilize food and tableware at high temperatures; avoid mouth-to-mouth transmission. Since children are susceptible to Helicobacter pylori infection, when adults feed children, it is best not to spit out chewed food to avoid infection; regularly change toothbrushes, etc. These methods can effectively prevent Helicobacter pylori infection.

In addition, Helicobacter pylori can be detected in the saliva, vomit, and feces of infected people. Contaminated medical devices can also cause the spread of Helicobacter pylori, so contact with these should be avoided.

In addition, keeping fit, maintaining a good physical and mental health, and eating regularly can also effectively reduce the risk of developing symptoms after infection.

Although most infected people have no symptoms, identifying common symptoms of Helicobacter pylori infection can help us detect it in time and treat it as soon as possible. Possible symptoms include: acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, severe bad breath, heartburn, bloating, loss of appetite, etc.

In short, timely detection, early medical treatment, and listening to the doctor's advice to decide whether to eradicate. Maintaining a good attitude, we can neither take chances with Helicobacter pylori nor be afraid of it.