During breath test, you need to drink or eat drinks or food containing radioactive carbon. Helicobacter pylori can decompose substances in the stomach. Then, you need to blow it into a bag and seal it. If you are infected with Helicobacter pylori, your breath sample will contain radioactive carbon in the form of carbon dioxide.
If you are using antacids before Helicobacter pylori testing, please be sure to inform your doctor. Depending on the test method used, you may need to stop taking medicine for a while, because antacids may lead to false negative results.
Endoscopy. Your doctor may use an endoscope to examine your upper digestive system (endoscopy). During the endoscopic examination, the doctor will insert a hollow tube (endoscope) with a lens from your throat to the esophagus, stomach and small intestine. The doctor searched for ulcers with the help of an endoscope.
If doctors find ulcers, they may collect a small amount of tissue samples (biopsy) for laboratory testing. Biopsy can also determine whether there is Helicobacter pylori in your gastric mucosa.
If you are older, have signs of bleeding, or have recently lost weight or have difficulty eating and swallowing, your doctor is more likely to recommend an endoscopy. If the endoscopy shows that you have a gastric ulcer, even if your symptoms have improved after treatment, you should have an endoscopic follow-up to verify whether the ulcer has healed.