Many patients visit the OPD with pain in the upper part of their stomach. This pain often persists for a long time, and some people may experience vomiting or even black stools. Such cases might involve chronic conditions or a gastric ulcer. Gastric ulcers are commonly caused by a specific reason.
We will discuss what it is, how the infection occurs, its effects on our body, how it is diagnosed, and how it can be treated.
What is H Pylori?
- pylori is a bacteria that affects our stomach. It is commonly seen that this infection spreads through contaminated food or water. In India, it has been observed that more than 50% of people are infected. This means that over 500 million people in India could potentially have this infection.
However, the good news is that if someone has the infection, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will face complications.
Usually, our body is capable of controlling the bacteria. But if the body is unable to control it, such patients may develop complications.
H Pylori Complications
- pylori infection often leads to chronic gastritis, which means inflammation in the stomach. In chronic gastritis, the patient may feel pain in the upper part of the stomach. This pain can worsen after eating, and the stomach might feel bloated, a condition we call “bloating.” If chronic gastritis is not treated in time, it can progress to a gastric ulcer.
When H. pylori infects the stomach, it increases acid production. This excess acid can lead to ulcers in the stomach or the upper part of the small intestine, known as the duodenum. In many endoscopy reports, you might have seen mentions of “gastric ulcer” or “duodenal ulcer.”
Patients with gastric or duodenal ulcers often experience pain in the upper abdomen, which worsens after eating.
In some cases, ulcers can cause bleeding. If bleeding occurs, the patient might vomit blood or have black stools.
In rare cases, ulcers can perforate, which is called “ulcer perforation.” This causes severe stomach pain and is a medical emergency that usually requires surgery to treat.
Serious Complication of H pylori
The most serious complication of H pylori infection is the development of gastric cancer. If H. pylori is not treated, the inflammation may continue to worsen in some patients and eventually lead to cancer.
Gastric cancer can be diagnosed at an early stage through endoscopy, and early treatment is also possible.
For patients with chronic gastritis, we perform special endoscopy procedures or image-enhanced endoscopy. These help us detect gastric cancer in its early stages, and in such cases, the cancer can often be cured using endoscopy itself.
In general, surgery is required to treat gastric cancer. However, if it is diagnosed early, endoscopic treatment can be an effective option.