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There is no clear evidence how these this bacteria enters and spreads and prevention is also difficult. Still some researchers are trying to develop a vaccine to prevent the disease or infection. Some of the most important points to remember are:

1. A peptic ulcer is a sore in the lining of the stomach or duodenum.
2. The majority of peptic ulcers are caused by the H. pylori bacterium. Many of the other cases are caused by NSAIDs. None are caused by spicy food or stress.
3. Helicobacter Pylori can be transmitted from person to person through close contact and exposure to vomit.
4. Always wash your hands after using the bathroom and before eating.
5. A combination of antibiotics and other drugs is the most effective treatment for Helicobacter Pylori Peptic Ulcers.

There are two types of antibiotics to kill Helicobacter Pylori bacteria such as acid-suppressing drugs like H2 Blocker and Proton pump inhibitors in order to reduce the stomach acid, and protect the stomach lining.

H2 Blockers:

These blockers work by blocking histamine, which stimulates acid secretion. They help reduce ulcer pain after few weeks. Proton pump inhibitors suppress acid production by halting the mechanism that pumps the acid into the stomach. H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors have been prescribed alone for years as treatments for ulcers. But used alone, these drugs do not eradicate Helicobacter Pylori and therefore do not cure Helicobacter Pylori-related ulcers. Bismuth subsalicylate, a component of Pepto-Bismol, is used to protect the stomach lining from acid. It also kills Helicobacter pylori.

The initial treatment would be the combination of antibiotics, acid suppressors, and stomach protectors. Antibiotic regimens recommended for patients may differ across regions of the world because different areas have begun to show resistance to particular antibiotics.

The most effective treatment for this disease is triple therapy, which is a two-week course. It involves taking two antibiotics to kill the bacteria and either an acid suppressor or stomach-lining shield. Two-week triple therapy reduces ulcer symptoms, kills the bacteria, and prevents ulcer recurrence in more than ninty percent of the patients.

This treatment turned out to be quite complicated because the patient has to take 20 pills or tablets per day for this Triple Therapy and it causes few side affects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dark stools, and metallic taste in the mouth, dizziness, headache, and yeast infections in women. Most of the side affects can be treated with medication withdrawal, but this is the most affective method of treatment. There is Dual-Drug therapy such as antibiotic and acid suppressor, which is not much affective when compared with Triple Therapy drugs. The following are the drugs used to treat Helicobacter Pylori Peptic Ulcers:

1. Antibiotics: Metronidazole, tetracycline, clarithromycin, amoxicillin
2. H2 Blockers: Cimetidine, Ranitidine, Famotidine, Nizatidine
3. Proton Pump Inhibitors: Omeprazole, Lansoprazole, Rabeprazole, Esomeprazole, Pantoprozole.
4. Stomach-lining Protector: Bismuth subsalicylate.

If an ulcer is seen, the doctor will immediately send the patient for test for confirmation of the causative organism is Helicobacter pylori. This test is important because treatment for an ulcer caused by H. pylori is different from that for an ulcer caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Helicobacter Pylori is diagnosed through blood, breath, stool, and tissue tests. Blood tests are most common. They detect antibodies to Helicobacter pylori bacteria. Blood is taken at the doctor’s office through a finger stick.

Urea breath tests are an effective diagnostic method for treating Helicobacter Pylori. They are also used after treatment to see whether it worked. The doctor makes the patient drink a urea solution that contains a special carbon atom. If Helicobacter Pylori is present, it breaks down the urea, releasing the carbon. The blood carries the carbon to the lungs, where the patient exhales it. The breath test is 96 to 98 percent accurate.

Stool tests may be used to detect Helicobacter Pylori infection in the patient’s fecal matter. Studies have shown that this test, called the Helicobacter Pylori stool antigen (HpSA) test, is accurate for diagnosing Helicobacter Pylori.
Even tissue tests are also done using the biopsy sample that is removed with the endoscope. They are of three types such as:

1. The rapid urease test detects the enzyme urease, which is produced by Helicobacter Pylori.
2. Histology test allows the doctor to find and examine the actual bacteria.
3. Culture test involves allowing Helicobacter Pylori to grow in the tissue sample.

After diagnosing Helicobacter Pylori in blood, breath, and stool tests are often done before tissue tests because they are less invasive. Even though blood tests are not used to detect Helicobacter Pylori following treatment because a patient’s blood can show positive results even after Helicobacter Pylori has been eliminated.

The doctor will diagnose the symptoms are caused by these ulcers using upper gastrointestinal series or an endoscopy. An upper GI series is an x-ray of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. The patient drinks chalky liquid called barium to make these organs and any ulcers show up more clearly on the x ray.

An endoscopy is an exam that uses an endoscope, a thin, lighted tube with a tiny camera on the end. The patient is lightly sedated, and the doctor carefully eases the endoscope into the mouth and down the throat to the stomach and duodenum. This allows the doctor to see the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum.

The doctor will use the endoscope to take photos of ulcers or remove a tiny piece of tissue to view under a microscope. This procedure is called a biopsy. If an ulcer is bleeding, the doctor can use the endoscope to inject drugs that promote clotting or to guide a heat probe that cauterizes the ulcer.

The most common symptoms of Helicobacter Ulcer, which also result discomfort are such as:

1. It is a dull, gnawing ache (it is a destructive agent)
2. This comes and goes for several days or weeks
3. It occurs two to three hours after a meal
4. This occurs in the middle of the night only when the stomach is empty
5. It is relieved by eating
6. This is relieved by antacid medications.

The other symptoms of Helicobacter Pylori such as:

1. Weight loss
2. Poor appetite
3. Bloating (swollen)
4. Burping (to make a belch (baby))
5. Nausea
6. Vomiting

Some people experience only very mild symptoms, or none.

Emergency Symptoms:

If the patient is affected with any one these symptoms, the person must be taken immediately to the doctor.

1. Sharp, sudden, persistent stomach pain
2. Bloody or black stools
3. Bloody vomit or vomit that looks like coffee grounds

The following are the signs and symptoms of serious problems, such as:

1. Perforation: This ulcer burrows through the stomach or duodenal wall
2. Bleeding: When acid or the ulcer breaks a blood vessel
3. Obstruction: If the ulcer blocks the path of food trying to leave the stomach

This bacterium weakens the protective mucous coating of the stomach and duodenum, which allows acid to get through to the sensitive lining beneath. Both the acid and the bacteria irritate the lining and cause a sore, or ulcer.

This bacterium is able to survive in stomach acid because it secretes enzymes that neutralize the acid. This mechanism allows Helicobacter pylori to make its way to the “safe” area in the protective mucous lining. Once there, the bacterium’s spiral shape helps it burrow through the lining.

Helicobacter Pylori is a type of bacteria, which is responsible for Peptic ulcers in majority of cases.

Helicobacter pylori infection is common in the United States. About 20 percent of people under forty years old and half of those over sixty years have it. Most infected people, however, do not develop ulcers. Helicobacter pylorus does not cause ulcers in every infected person and it is still not known.

Most likely, infection depends on characteristics of the infected person, the type of Helicobacter pylori, and other factors are to be considered. The actual cause of this disease is still not known whether it is through food or water. This infection may also spread through mouth-to-mouth contact such as kissing.

Peptic ulcer is a sore on the lining of the stomach or duodenum, which is the beginning of the small intestine. Peptic ulcers are common: One in ten Americans develops an ulcer at some time in his or her life. One cause of peptic ulcer is bacterial infection, but some ulcers are caused by long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), like aspirin and ibuprofen. In a few cases, cancerous tumors in the stomach or pancreas can cause ulcers. Peptic ulcers are not caused by stress or eating spicy food, but these can make ulcers worse.

This is how the food flows down from esophagus (gullet) into the stomach. The stomach makes acid which is not essential, but helps to digest food. After being mixed in the stomach, food passes into the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). In the duodenum and the rest of the small intestine, food mixes with enzymes (chemicals). The enzymes come from the pancreas and from cells lining the intestine. The enzymes break down (digest) the food which is absorbed into the body.

The small intestine is made up of three segments or parts such as Duodenum, Jejunum, and Ileum. The small intestine is 22-foot long muscular tube that breaks down food using enzymes released by the pancreas and bile from the liver. Peristalsis also is at work in this organ, moving food through and mixing it with digestive secretions from the pancreas and liver. The duodenum is largely responsible for the continuous breaking-down process, with the jejunum and ileum mainly responsible for absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream.

The stomach releases food into the duodenum, which is the first segment of the small intestine. Food enters the duodenum through the pyloric sphincter in amounts that the small intestine can digest. When full, the duodenum signals the stomach to stop emptying.

The duodenum receives pancreatic enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver and gallbladder. These fluids, which enter the duodenum through an opening called the sphincter of Oddi, are important in aiding digestion and absorption. Peristalsis also aids or helps in digestion and absorption by churning up food and mixing it with intestinal secretions.

The first few inches of the duodenal lining are smooth, but the rest of the lining has folds, small projections (villi), and even smaller projections (microvilli). These villi and microvilli increase the surface area of the duodenal lining, allowing for greater absorption of nutrients.

The rest of the small intestine, located below the duodenum, consists of the jejunum and the ileum. These parts of the small intestine are largely responsible for the absorption of fats and other nutrients. Churning movements facilitate absorption. Absorption is also enhanced by the vast surface area made up of folds, villi, and microvilli.
The intestinal wall is richly supplied with blood vessels that carry the absorbed nutrients to the liver through the portal vein. The intestinal wall releases mucus, which lubricates the intestinal contents, and water, which helps dissolve the digested fragments. Small amounts of enzymes that digest proteins, sugars, and fats are also released.

In duodenum, food is diluted with pancreatic enzymes and bile, which decrease stomach acidity. The contents continue to travel through the lower small intestine, becoming more liquid as they mix with water, mucus, bile, and pancreatic enzymes. Ultimately, the small intestine absorbs most of the nutrients and all but about one liter of fluid before emptying into the large intestine.

Duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine may be used instead of duodenum.

The duodenum is a short portion of the small intestine connecting the rest of the intestine to the stomach. It is about ten inches (25 cm) long, while the entire small intestine measures about 20 feet (6.5 meters). It begins with the duodenal bulb, bordered by the pyloric sphincter that marks the lower end of the stomach, and is connected by the ligament of Treitz to the diaphragm before leading into the next portion of the small intestine, the jejunum.

The whole duodenum is made up of four distinctive parts. The initial three forming a “C” shape. It begins with the superior duodenum, which extends from the pyloric sphincter laterally to the right and posteriorly for about two inches (5 cm). The next section, the descending duodenum, is the middle of the “C”. The inferior duodenum passes laterally to the left, and the last portion, the ascending duodenum, joins the jejunum at the duodenojejunal flexure.
Even though the duodenum is a tiny part of the small intestine, it is the site where of most of the food is breakdown and passes through it. The duodenum is lined with Brunner’s glands, which secrete alkaline mucus that supports the intestinal enzymes and aids in the absorption of nutrients. The pancreatic duct, which introduces bile and pancreatic juice into the small intestine, is directly connected to the descending duodenum. Pancreatic juice contains enzymes that help breakdown food, while bile aids in the digestion and absorption of fats. The duodenum is responsible for secreting hormones that trigger the pancreatic duct to release pancreatic juice and bile.

Duodenum also plays a very important role, which serves to neutralize the acidity of the chyme that exits the stomach, an intermediate product in the digestive process. Both the Brunner’s glands and the pancreatic duct secrete alkaline fluids to temper the acidity of the chyme. In addition, the mucus secreted by the Brunner’s glands helps protect the duodenum from the acidity, making the duodenum much less sensitive than the rest of the small intestine to the acidic chyme. Therefore, the duodenum helps protect the rest of the small intestine by neutralizing the chyme to some extent before it passes into the jejunum.

Chyme: The fluid passes from the stomach to the small intestine, which consist gastric juices and partly digested food.