Today, physicians can use modern diagnostic methods to determine beyond doubt whether Helicobacter pylori is settled in the stomach.
Fear not, false shame not: the safest examination method for Helicobacter pylori is gastroscopy, or gastroscopy, in which the stomach and duodenum can be viewed through a thin flexible tube and tissue samples can be taken painlessly. The “tube swallowing” is somewhat uncomfortable, but is over in a matter of minutes.
Tests to detect Helicobacter pylori.
Other testing methods, such as the breath test, stool test, or blood test, may be more comfortable for the patient than the gastroscopy. However, their results reveal nothing about the condition of the stomach, such as whether gastritis or an ulcer has spread.
Helicobacter pylori: therapy
Diagnosing “Helicobacter pylori” is the first step toward therapy. The most effective way to checkmate Helicobacter pylori is with a triple combination therapy. This so-called triple therapy includes a gastric acid inhibitor and two antibiotics and lasts seven days.
At a consensus conference, leading international Helicobacter pylori experts advocated using pantoprazole as a gastric acid inhibitor and amoxicillin and clarithromycin as antibiotics. This combination prevents failures due to antibiotic resistance of the pathogen from the outset.
Do not discontinue treatment for H. pylori prematurely
The affected person feels an improvement in his or her symptoms after only two to three days of taking the tablets, because the gastric acid inhibitor hinders acid production in the stomach and thus protects the damaged stomach lining.
As a result, the affected person tends to let the therapy slide or stop it altogether. But it is important to continue the therapy for the remaining days, because only after this time do the two antibiotics have the opportunity to attack Helicobacter pylori.
It is particularly easy to carry out the therapy with a 7-day pack that contains all three drugs in the correct dosage.
