Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:46 AM
Sep 26, 2019 News
Persons affected by constant indigestion, stomach pain and heartburn should never take these symptoms for granted.
This was recently posited by Canada-based Gastroenterologist, Dr. Trevor Seaton, who recently told this publication that such conditions could be an indication that an individual’s digestive tract has been infiltrated by Helicobacter pylori [H. pylori]. H. pylori is a type of bacteria which can enter the body and live in the digestive tract for many years.
While many people can go to their graves without the bacteria severely impacting their health, Dr. Seaton noted that there are some cases when persons do develop stomach ulcers. There are even a few rare cases in which these stomach ulcers can develop to cancer too, he revealed.
While these bacteria can be easily treated with antibiotics, Dr. Seaton, who has been lending his expert services to the Annandale, East Coast Demerara Doobay Medical and Research Centre [DMRC], said that the problem with treatment is that sometimes physicians do not confirm that patients are properly treated.
Confirming that the treatment has been effective is crucial since, according to Dr. Seaton, a repeat of the same regimen of antibiotics will always prove to be ineffective.
“I have seen people who have been treated three or four times by doctors who confirm H. pylori and treat them again, but they [doctor] treat them with the same treatment they got the first time,” said Dr. Seaton. He explained that “If we confirm that the treatment failed we need a completely different regimen or cocktail of medication.”
“The problem is not the treatment because people are being treated quite correctly here, but usually after treatment it is hard to confirm that the treatment worked,” said Dr. Seaton, as he went on to note that most treatments only work 80 to 90 percent of the time.
“This means that one in 10 or two out of 10 times the treatment does not work.
“What we usually do is about six to eight weeks after the patient has taken antibiotics, we should confirm that the treatment has worked. If it didn’t work it basically means that you would need a different set of antibiotics.”
An initial test for H. pylori is usually done by examining a blood sample in a laboratory. This method of testing is useful in a person who has not been previously treated for bacteria.
“You can’t use the blood test again and the mistake people are making is that they’re getting the blood test which is an antibody test and the antibody will stay for years…once you have been treated the antibodies will stay positive for a while so you can’t use the blood test again,” said Dr. Seaton.
The alternatives are stool or breath tests. The stool antigen is offered at DMRC, Dr. Seaton said.
Once the bacteria are effectively treated, Dr. Seaton said that all of the associated symptoms will be eradicated.
“The ulcers will heal once we get rid of the H. pylori and they won’t come back but if you don’t treat the H. pylori, 80 percent of them will be back within six months to a year. So the people who have what they describe as ulcerated stomach and recurrent symptoms often get it because they were treated for their ulcers, but the H. pylori was not eradicated.”
According to Dr. Seaton, most persons who are tested positive for H. pylori have the bacteria from childhood. The possibility exists that the bacteria can be passed to them from their parents.
“We don’t know how people get it later on in life, but we do know that if you get rid of it, it is unusual to get it back; it is not likely that you will get it from your spouse or anything like that,” he said.
JAGDEO ADDING MORE DANGER TO GUYANA AND THE REGION
Apr 18, 2024
SportsMax – West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has been named Wisden’s leading Twenty20 Cricketer for 2023, as she topped all and sundry, including her male counterparts. Alan Gardner looks...Kaieteur News – Compliments of the Ministry of Education, our secondary school children are being treated to a stage... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]