Professional Documents
Culture Documents
H. pylori lives and multiplies within the mucous layer that covers and
protects tissues that line the stomach and small intestine. Often, H. pylori causes
no problems. But sometimes it can disrupt the mucous layer and inflame the
lining of your stomach or duodenum, producing an ulcer.
Excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol can irritate and erode the mucous
lining of your stomach and increases the amount of stomach acid that's
produced. It's uncertain, however, whether this alone can progress into an ulcer
or if it just aggravates the symptoms of an existing ulcer.
Stress. Although stress per se isn't a cause of peptic ulcers, it's a contributing
factor. Stress may aggravate symptoms of peptic ulcers and, in some cases,
delay healing. You may undergo stress for a number of reasons — an
emotionally disturbing circumstance or event, surgery, or a physical trauma,
such as a burn or other severe injury.
Accomplishing these two goals requires the use of at least two, and sometimes
three or four, of the following medications:
Antibiotic medications. Doctors use combinations of antibiotics to treat
H. pylori because one antibiotic alone isn't always sufficient to kill the
organism. For the treatment to work, follow your doctor's instructions
precisely. Antibiotics prescribed for treatment of H. pylori include
amoxicillin (Amoxil), clarithromycin (Biaxin) and metronidazole (Flagyl).
Combination drugs that include two antibiotics together with an acid
suppressor or cytoprotective agent (Helidac, Prevpac) have been
designed specifically for the treatment of H. pylori infection. You'll likely
need to take antibiotics for two weeks, depending on their type and
number. Other medications prescribed along with antibiotics generally are
taken for a longer period.
Treatment for refractory ulcers generally involves eliminating factors that may
interfere with healing, along with stronger doses of ulcer medications.
Sometimes, additional medications may be included. Surgery to help heal an
ulcer is necessary only when the ulcer doesn't respond to aggressive drug
treatment.
b. LIFESTYLE AND HOME REMEDIES
Before the discovery of H. pylori, doctors often advised people with ulcers to
eat a restricted diet and reduce the amount of stress in their lives. Now that food
and stress have been eliminated as direct causes of ulcers, these factors are no
longer of as much importance.
However, while an ulcer is healing, it's still advisable to watch what you
eat and to control stress. Acidic or spicy foods may increase ulcer pain. The
same is true for stress because stress may increase acid. If stress is severe, it
may delay the healing of an ulcer.
Limit or avoid alcohol. Excessive use of alcohol can irritate and erode the
mucous lining in your stomach and intestines, causing inflammation and
bleeding.
The advantage of the breath test is that it can monitor the effectiveness of
treatment used to eradicate H. pylori, detecting whether the bacteria have been
killed or eradicated.
Stool antigen test. This test checks for H. pylori in stool samples. It's
useful both in helping to diagnose H. pylori infection and in monitoring the
success of treatment.
Upper gastrointestinal (upper GI) X-ray. This test outlines your
esophagus, stomach and duodenum. During the X-ray, you swallow a
white, metallic liquid (containing barium) that coats your digestive tract and
makes an ulcer more visible. An upper GI X-ray can detect some ulcers,
but not all.