Can HP bacteria be cured?

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor epartment of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital

Helicobacter pylori infection of the stomach is often silent, so it is difficult to detect, this is the cause of chronic stomach pain or stomach ulcers, even stomach cancer.

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that lives and grows in the human stomach. In a strongly acidic environment such as the stomach, HP bacteria survive by secreting an enzyme called Urease that helps neutralize acidity and survive.
This is also one of the main causes of peptic ulcer and stomach cancer. Stomach lesions caused by Helicobacter pylori form over many years and progress relatively slowly: sometimes it takes more than 30 years from infection with the bacteria to when symptoms begin to appear.

Treatment of gastric HP bacteria for patients is indicated in the following cases: gastritis associated with MALT tumor, gastric ulcer, gastric cancer. Prophylactic treatment of gastric cancer for people infected with HP in the following cases: a family member has had stomach cancer, has polyps in the stomach, atrophic gastritis. Some cases to consider treatment: Iron deficiency anemia, thrombocytopenic purpura, dyspepsia, long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or people wishing to eradicate the bacteria Stomach HP. Stomach Helicobacter pylori can be destroyed when using a combination of 4 drugs (for 2 weeks), this regimen is simple and effective in 90% of cases. Because this is a type of bacteria, it is necessary to combine antibiotics with a drug that inhibits gastric acid secretion during treatment. Long-term use of antibiotics can cause side effects such as black stools, diarrhea, taste disturbances (metallic taste in the mouth), black tongue, and alcohol withdrawal reactions (the effects of alcohol). antabuse).

Whether HP bacteria can be cured and how long to treat HP bacteria is a concern of many people who have this bacteria and intend to treat it. Normally, the use of antibiotics to treat HP needs to last for at least 2 weeks and can be maintained for 4 to 8 weeks after that to completely cure peptic ulcers. However, HP bacteria are very susceptible to drug resistance.
Whether the treatment is cured or not and for how long depends on the patient's consciousness. If, after completing the treatment regimen, the patient does not pay attention to the lifestyle and daily diet such as: often staying up late, stress, drinking a lot of alcohol, etc., the treatment process will be prolonged and gastritis still persists. HP bacteria can be completely cured if the regimen is followed and a healthy lifestyle is followed.

One month after stopping the HP medication, the patient needs to have a breath test to check if the HP bacteria are completely cured. For this test, the patient was not allowed to take any antibiotics within the previous 4 weeks and needed to stop all stomach acid suppressants 2 weeks before the breathing test. In addition, the patient needs to fast from the night before.
This is a necessary test because there is a high chance that gastric HP bacteria have not been eliminated after taking the first regimen. It may be because bacteria are resistant to the antibiotics used, or because the dose is not enough or used incorrectly. If in the case of HP bacteria still exist, doctors will apply a combination regimen of many new antibiotics.
Treatment of Helicobacter pylori helps to prevent damage to the stomach in all ages and even in people with long-standing bacterial infections. Eradicating HP bacteria early also helps to avoid the formation of lesions caused by stomach cancer. Once HP has been eradicated, the chance of reinfection is very low. Therefore, it can be considered as cured.