Dr. Richard Sperling with Austin Gastro on H. Pylori

Gastroenterologist, Dr. Richard Sperling, explains Helicobackter Pylori (H. Pylori), how people become infected with this bacteria, how it is diagnosed, and how it is treated. H. Pylori infections can result in conditions such as chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric cancer, and lymphoma of the stomach. Common symptoms range from no symptoms at all to abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, lack of appetite, or bloody/black stool. There are invasive and non-invasive ways to diagnose H. Pylori. The non-invasive ways include H. Pylori breath test, stool samples, and blood test. Another way to diagnose H. Pylori is upper endoscopy with biopsy of the stomach lining to detect this bacteria. Treatment often includes multiple antibiotics and an acid blocker, followed up with testing to ensure that the treatment has effectively killed all of the H. Pylori bacteria. Reinfection can occur, but is rare once effectively treated.