Helicobacter pylori or H pylori as it is called in everyday practice was hailed as a a groundbreaking discovery on the 1990s. Textbooks were published and congresses organized ont he topic. Scientists stated the causative organism of gastric cancer and peptic ulcer had been found.
Later on they tried to find a link between the bug and diseases like inflammatory bowel disease or conditions like acne or bad breath.
All these theories seemed to have less and less evidence as time went by.
As years went by more and more patients became obsessed by it.
Those patients who maintain an obsessionally clean environment nearly go nuts if their strain resists every antibiotic treatment. ’I wish to turn my stomach inside out and give it a thourough brush !’ one of my patients told me.
Some strains cannot be eradicated anyway.
I had a patient a British GP who literally developed paranoia related to his uneradicable infection. On one occassion he started shouting at me questioning my expertise.
Even today it is an accepted guideline to eradicate every infection as soon as it is discovered. I very much doubt if this practice is appropriate if it is serving the best interest of patients.
Pharmaceutical lobbies may be behind it.
