H-Pylori, A Silent Bacteria

No, I haven't turned into the skirt! Health writer, but I saw a quote recently that really sums up why I'm writing about these topics lately.

“Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are scary to you, things that eat you up.” -John Edgar Wideman

(Electron micrograph of H. pylori possessing multiple flagella (negative staining) from Wikipedia.org)

I had never heard about H-Pylori or Helicobacter pylori before last Monday. Better yet, I never imagined that we would be affected by this bacteria. When I mentioned it to people only maybe one in five knew what I was talking about. The only person who knew about it was my boss and that's because his mother is a nurse and works for gastrointestinal doctor. Yet, according to everything I've read 50% of people have it.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that my son tested positive.

It all started a couple of months ago when my son told me he had "throw up" in his throat. Since he's only 7 he didn't know exactly how to describe what he was feeling. At first I couldn't figure it out, but then the third time he said he tasted "sour throw up." That's when I thought, "Acid reflux! But he's so young!!"

I took him to see his pediatrician and she thought the same thing, but before we left she said, "Let me test him for bacteria in his stomach to be on the safe side."

Boy! Am I glad she did. I'm also glad I didn't just diagnose him myself and that I took him to the doctor. For children the test is done from a stool specimen. It was easier and less gross than I thought because my son took matters into his own hands and presented me with the container already closed so I could just bag it for the lab.

On the Monday after I came back from vacation I got a call that he had tested positive for H-Pylori and that they needed to start treatment asap. I was shocked and confused. I immediately googled H-Pylori when I was off the phone with the nurse. I couldn't understand how he could have contracted this bacteria that I thought sounded more like a 3rd world illness.

The more I read about it the more I learned. We really only learned about H-Pylori in 1989. It's a bacteria that lives in the stomach and attacks the lining. One of the first symptoms is acid reflux. If it goes untreated it can turn into stomach ulcers and in an extreme case, cancer. Sometimes a person will have no symptoms at all but they can carry the bacteria and spread it.

Even though it is more common in developing countries it still affects many in the Western world. It's usually passed from family member to family member because it's spread most commonly by saliva. So when we share food, drink from one another's cups, parents kiss, you get the idea.

I took my son back to the doctor to receive the prescriptions for treatment and that's when I was informed that the whole family needed to be tested now. Since it's passed on from one member to the other we all have to be tested and then treated if we have it. My daughter had to do the stool test and my husband and I do a breath test. Interesting. I haven't researched why that is yet.

I took my daughter's sample in yesterday and I did the breath test. Neither I or my daughter have had any of the symptoms, mainly the acid reflux, but my husband has complained of acid reflux several times in the past. The treatment consists of 2 antibiotics at the same time with an antacid medication for 14 days.

I kept wondering how in the world we could get a bacteria that is prevalent in developing countries. I keep reading about all the different ways that it originates. I mean, I know I am not a domestic diva, but I am very clean when it comes to cooking. I wipe down my counters with antibacterial wipes. I'm also the kind of person who wipes her hands with a wipey or uses antibacterial liquid after pumping gas or pushing a buggy at the store. I also use a paper towel to open the restroom door when I leave and usually keep the towel with me and use it on the hand rail as I go down the stairs. I think I take precautions.

As I read about unclean food and unclean cooking I immediately thought about how much we eat out. It reminded me of my friend's dad, an older guy from a small town, who says he doesn't like to eat out because he doesn't know how clean a restaurant really is. I think it's something we just take for granted and we eat out a lot in this country. It made we wonder if that could have been one of the culprits. Yet another reason to cut down on eating out, for weight reasons, money reasons, and now even serious health reasons.

When the doctor was telling us that the bacteria is spread in the family and that we all had to be tested my son asked, "So did I save the family?" If he hadn't had the symptoms then we wouldn't have ever know about h-pylori and I hate to think that he could have suffered from ulcers in the future and at such a young age. Now we can all be tested and treated if necessary. In a way, he did possibly save us.