WHAT’S BEST FOR TUMMY BUGS?

Q I have just been prescribed a course of antibiotics for the stomach infection Helicobacter pylori. This is my fifth course in 16 years and they make me feel poorly each time. Should I keep taking them and is there any alternative that would help? A About 40 per cent of people in the UK have Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that lives in the sticky lining of the stomach, according to Core, the digestive disorders foundation. A helpful leaflet, Information About Helicobacter Pylori, is available on their website (corecharity.org.uk).

In most of those affected, Helicobacter pylori causes no problems, but about 15 per cent will develop a gastric or duodenal ulcer. These tend to cause indigestion or, occasionally, lead to a more serious condition as they can bleed or even burst. There is also a very slightly increased risk of stomach cancer.

Doctors agree that all patients with Helicobacter pylori should have antibiotic treatment if they have, or ever have had, an ulcer. However, if you do not have an ulcer (which you do not clarify), many doctors believe it is not worth the potential disadvantages of taking an antibiotic (see box, below).

Research published in the British Medical Journal in 2015 states that ‘the efficacy of standard treatment for Helicobacter pylori has decreased’, which may be the reason you still suffer from it. One option is to take a probiotic. The same study showed that ten to 14 days of probiotic supplemented treatment was one of the most effective regimes.

Other published research shows that Protexin Bio-Kult Multi-Strain Probiotic, taken with standard treatment for Helicobacter pylori, helps to increase eradication rates of the bacterium to more than 90 per cent in children aged three to 14.

Probiotics may also help with the side effects of antibiotics. This is particularly the case with broad spectrum ones such as those used to treat Helicobacter pylori, which cause diarrhoea, vomiting and tummy upsets in about one in four people. This is because antibiotics also damage the stomach’s good bacteria, according to Dr Ashton Harper, specialist medical advisor to Protexin. This may prevent patients from finishing the course and thus getting rid of the harmful bacteria. It may also lead to the rise of antibiotic resistance.