| If you belch or have burning in your stomach or | | | | patients with a negative blood test or biopsy for |
| chest, particularly when your stomach is empty, | | | | that germ. They are clearly wrong because many |
| you have either an infection, a tumor, or a | | | | other bacteria can cause the same symptoms, |
| condition called GERD in which you belch and have | | | | including including H. helmannii, H. felis, H. rappini, H. |
| pain and don't have the foggiest idea why. Your | | | | cinaedi, H sp. Strain Mainz, H. fennelliae , H. |
| gastroenterologist probably will want to put a tube | | | | pullorum, H. hepaticus, H. Billis, H. canis, H. Hills, H. |
| down your mouth and into your stomach, but the | | | | mesocricetorum sp nov, cytomegalovirus and |
| biopsy that he will do to find the germ can often | | | | mycoplasma.These germs also grow in saliva, so |
| miss the germ when it is there.At least 24 | | | | they can be transmitted between family |
| different bacteria have been shown to cause | | | | members and pets. So some doctors prescribe |
| stomach ulcers. Since doctors do not have any | | | | antibiotics to all people with belching and stomach |
| way to check for all 24 different bacteria, all | | | | burning, and check the other members of the |
| people with belching and burning in the stomach | | | | household for symptoms. The standard |
| should be given the one-week course of | | | | treatment, one week of clarithromycin 500 mg |
| antibiotics that is used to treat the most common | | | | twice a day, metronidazole 500 mg twice a day |
| cause of stomach ulcers, called Helicobacter | | | | and omeperazole 20 mg once a day, is safe and |
| Pylori.I recommend that you get an upper GI | | | | effective.At least 12 weeks later, you need a |
| series X ray to rule out a tumor, which almost | | | | follow up blood test for helicobacter. If your |
| always comes back negative. Then you get a | | | | symptoms are gone and the titre drops, you are |
| blood test for Helicobacter Pylori and you should | | | | probably cured. If your helicobacter titre is still |
| be treated with antibiotics, even if the blood test | | | | high, your helicobacter is probably resistant to |
| is negative, because there are at least 23 other | | | | metronidazole and you need to be treated for at |
| species of bacteria that this test does not detect. | | | | least ten days with amoxacillin 500 mg four times |
| Otherwise, you will be stuck with a diagnosis of | | | | a day, tetracycline 500 mg three times a day and |
| regurgitation, called GERD, and you will take | | | | omeperazole 20 mg once a day. If you have |
| medication for the rest of your life.Twenty years | | | | regurgitation of stomach acid into your esophagus |
| ago, everone believed that stomach problems | | | | (reflux, hiatal hernia), you may need to be treated |
| were caused by stress. In 1983 they laughed at | | | | with 20 mg omeperazole once a day. Some |
| Dr. Barry Marshall when he reported that stomach | | | | people who are not infected with helicobacter |
| ulcers were caused by infection with helicobacter | | | | may benefit from taking clarithromycin or other |
| pylori and could be cured with antibiotics. Fellow | | | | antibiotic for a longer period of time. Check with |
| physicians were so mean to him that he | | | | your doctor.Helicobacter may also cause liver |
| responded by swallowing a vial of helicobacter and | | | | disease, blood vessel diseases such as clotting and |
| almost died. This year he won the Nobel Prize for | | | | heart attacks, and certain skin conditions such as |
| his discovery and his courage.Now almost every | | | | rosacea.For journal references on this article see |
| reasonable physician agrees that all people who | | | | Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for |
| have belching and burning in the stomach and a | | | | 25 years and practicing physician for more than |
| positive blood test for helicobacter pylori can be | | | | 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, |
| cured with antibiotics, but many | | | | including sports medicine. |
| gastroenterologists stubbornly refuse to treat | | | | |