Everything you might want to know.

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative bacterium that colonises the gastric mucosa — the lining of the stomach. It infects approximately 44% of the global population, making it one of the most prevalent chronic bacterial infections in humans.

Most infected individuals carry it for decades without knowing. H. pylori does not typically cause the stomach pain, nausea, or heartburn people associate with ulcers. The most common presentation is no gastrointestinal symptoms at all — just a bacterium quietly colonising the stomach while producing systemic downstream effects through iron depletion, B12 interference, immune dysregulation, and chronic inflammation.

No — and this is the central diagnostic problem. Approximately 80% of H. pylori-infected individuals have no gastrointestinal symptoms. The infection causes chronic low-grade gastritis that produces no pain in the vast majority of carriers.

The downstream effects — iron deficiency, B12 depletion, fatigue, brain fog, thyroid antibodies, metabolic disruption, hives, rosacea — develop silently over years. When a patient presents to a physician with fatigue and low ferritin but no heartburn, H. pylori is simply not on the diagnostic radar. This is the diagnostic gap Welyon's series is designed to close.

Yes. H. pylori is transmitted person-to-person, primarily via the fecal-oral route — contaminated water, food handled by an infected person, or close contact with a carrier. It is most commonly acquired in childhood, when hygienic barriers are lower.

In households where one person tests positive, other family members — particularly those who shared childhood living conditions — may also carry the infection. If you test positive, it is reasonable for immediate family members, especially partners and children, to discuss testing with their physician.

Reinfection after successful eradication is possible but relatively uncommon in developed countries — approximately 2–3% per year. Rates are higher in regions with limited sanitation infrastructure.

There are three reliable methods for detecting active H. pylori infection:

• Stool antigen test: Detects H. pylori proteins (antigens) in stool. Sensitivity and specificity both above 90%. Can be done at home with a direct-to-consumer kit. The preferred method for initial screening outside a clinical setting.
• Urea breath test (UBT): Highly accurate (sensitivity and specificity both above 95%). Requires a brief clinic visit. You drink a solution containing labelled urea — if H. pylori is present, the bacterium metabolises it and the byproduct appears in your exhaled breath.
• Endoscopic biopsy: The most invasive method, typically only used when endoscopy is being done for another reason.

Standard treatment for H. pylori in the United States is a 10–14 day antibiotic course. The 2024 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guideline recommends bismuth quadruple therapy as the first-line approach — clarithromycin triple therapy has been deprecated due to rising antibiotic resistance exceeding 30% in many US regions.

Eradication rates with guideline-concordant therapy: approximately 84–87% on an intention-to-treat basis and 95–96% in fully adherent patients. Treatment should always be confirmed by a follow-up stool antigen or urea breath test at least 4 weeks after completing the course, under correct washout conditions.

Welyon's Foundation Protocol offers a physician-supervised supplement-based approach for patients who have failed or cannot tolerate antibiotic eradication, or who wish to pursue a supplement-based pathway alongside standard care.

The Welyon test kit is a direct-to-consumer H. pylori stool antigen test. It uses the same laboratory methodology as physician-ordered tests — a CLIA-certified lab analyses the sample and detects H. pylori antigens in stool. No physician order is required.

The process: Collect a small stool sample at home using the included collection materials. Mail it to the certified laboratory using the pre-paid shipping label. Receive your result digitally, typically within 3–5 business days.

The H. pylori stool antigen test has a sensitivity and specificity both above 90% in published validation studies. For comparison, the urea breath test reaches 95%+ and the blood antibody test is not recommended because it cannot distinguish past from active infection.

The stool antigen test is the preferred non-invasive method for both initial diagnosis and confirmation of eradication in guidelines from the American College of Gastroenterology and the British Society of Gastroenterology.

A positive stool antigen result indicates active H. pylori infection — the bacterium is currently present and detectable in your gastrointestinal system. A positive result is not a diagnosis of any particular condition; it confirms an infection that may warrant treatment.

What to do with a positive result:

• Share the result with your physician and discuss eradication therapy. Current guidelines prefer bismuth quadruple therapy.
• Establish a baseline iron panel and/or B12 level before starting any treatment — so you can compare before and after.
• After completing treatment, confirm eradication with a follow-up stool antigen or urea breath test at least 4 weeks later, under correct washout conditions (no PPIs for 2 weeks, no antibiotics for 4 weeks).

A negative stool antigen test, performed under the correct conditions (no PPIs for 2 weeks, no antibiotics for 4 weeks before the test), reliably rules out active H. pylori infection. If your symptoms persist despite a confirmed negative result, other causes should be investigated.

Important washout note: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and antibiotics can suppress H. pylori below detectable levels and produce false negative results. If you are taking either, follow the washout guidance above before testing — otherwise the result is not reliable.

Yes — and if you have a physician who is willing to order the test, that is a perfectly reasonable option. Ask specifically for an H. pylori stool antigen test or urea breath test. The blood antibody test, which is sometimes offered as an alternative, is not recommended for diagnosing active infection.

If your physician is unfamiliar with the H. pylori connection to your specific condition, the investigation guide for that condition includes practical scripts and language for requesting the test at your next appointment.