Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a type of bacteria that causes infection in the stomach. It is the main cause of peptic ulcers, and it can also cause gastritis and stomach cancer.

About 30 to 40% of people in the United States get an H. pylori infection. Most people get it as a child. H. pylori usually does not cause symptoms. But it can break down the inner protective coating in some people's stomachs and cause inflammation. This can lead to gastritis or a peptic ulcer.

Researchers aren't sure how H. pylori spreads. They think that it may spread by unclean food and water, or through contact with an infected person's saliva and other body fluids.

A peptic ulcer causes a dull or burning pain in your stomach, especially when you have an empty stomach. It lasts for minutes to hours, and it may come and go for several days or weeks. It may also cause other symptoms, such as bloating, nausea, and weight loss. If you have the symptoms of a peptic ulcer, your health care provider will check to see whether you have H. pylori. There are blood, breath, and stool tests to check for H. pylori. In some cases, you may need an upper endoscopy, often with a biopsy.

If you do have a peptic ulcer, the treatment is with a combination of antibiotics and acid-reducing medicines. You will need to be tested again after treatment to make sure the infection is gone.

There is no vaccine for H. pylori. Since H. pylori might spread through unclean food and water, you might be able to prevent it if you:

• Wash your hands after using the bathroom and before eating
• Eat properly prepared food
• Drink water from a clean, safe source

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. Inflammation is swelling that happens when tissues of the body are injured or infected. It can damage your liver. This swelling and damage can affect how well your liver functions.

Hepatitis can be an acute (short-term) infection or a chronic (long-term) infection. Some types of hepatitis cause only acute infections. Other types can cause both acute and chronic infections.

There are different types of hepatitis, with different causes:

• Viral hepatitis is the most common type. It is caused by one of several viruses -- hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E. In the United States, A, B, and C are the most common.
• Alcoholic hepatitis is caused by heavy alcohol use
• Toxic hepatitis can be caused by certain poisons, chemicals, medicines, or supplements
• Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic type in which your body's immune system attacks your liver. The cause is not known, but genetics and your environment may play a role.

Hepatitis A and hepatitis E usually spread through contact with food or water that was contaminated with an infected person's stool. You can also get hepatitis E by eating undercooked pork, deer, or shellfish.

Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis D spread through contact with the blood of someone who has the disease. Hepatitis B and D may also spread through contact with other body fluids. This can happen in many ways, such as sharing drug needles or having unprotected sex.

The risks are different for the different types of hepatitis. For example, with most of the viral types, your risk is higher if you have unprotected sex. People who drink a lot over long periods of time are at risk for alcoholic hepatitis.

Some people with hepatitis do not have symptoms and do not know they are infected. If you do have symptoms, they may include:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Dark urine
• Clay-colored bowel movements
• Joint pain
• Jaundice, yellowing of your skin and eyes

If you have an acute infection, your symptoms can start anywhere between 2 weeks to 6 months after you got infected. If you have a chronic infection, you may not have symptoms until many years later.

Chronic hepatitis can lead to complications such as cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver failure, and liver cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis may prevent these complications.

To diagnose hepatitis, your health care provider:

• Will ask about your symptoms and medical history
• Will do a physical exam
• Will likely do blood tests, including tests for viral hepatitis
• Might do imaging tests, such as an ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI
• May need to do a liver biopsy to get a clear diagnosis and check for liver damage

Treatment for hepatitis depends on which type you have and whether it is acute or chronic. Acute viral hepatitis often goes away on its own. To feel better, you may just need to rest and get enough fluids. But in some cases, it may be more serious. You might even need treatment in a hospital.

There are different medicines to treat the different chronic types of hepatitis. Possible other treatments may include surgery and other medical procedures. People who have alcoholic hepatitis need to stop drinking. If your chronic hepatitis leads to liver failure or liver cancer, you may need a liver transplant.

There are different ways to prevent or lower your risk for hepatitis, depending on the type of hepatitis. For example, not drinking too much alcohol can prevent alcoholic hepatitis. There are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and B. Autoimmune hepatitis cannot be prevented.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. Inflammation is swelling that happens when tissues of the body are injured or infected. It can damage your liver. This swelling and damage can affect how well your liver functions.

Hepatitis A is a type of viral hepatitis. It causes an acute, or short-term, infection. This means that people usually get better without treatment after a few weeks.

Thanks to a vaccine, hepatitis A is not very common in the United States.

Hepatitis A is caused by the hepatitis A virus. The virus spreads through contact with an infected person's stool. This can happen if you:

• Eat food made by someone who has the virus and did not properly wash their hands after using the bathroom
• Drink contaminated water or eat foods that were rinsed with contaminated water
• Have close personal contact with someone who has hepatitis A. This could be through certain types of sex (like oral-anal sex), taking care of someone who is ill, or using illegal drugs with others.

Although anyone can get hepatitis A, you are at higher risk if you:

• Travel to developing countries
• Have sex with someone who has hepatitis A
• Are a man who has sex with men
• Use illegal drugs
• Are experiencing homelessness
• Live with or care for someone who has hepatitis A
• Live with or care for a child recently adopted from a country where hepatitis A is common

Not everyone with hepatitis A has symptoms. Adults are more likely to have symptoms than children. If you do have symptoms, they usually start 2 to 7 weeks after infection. They can include:

• Dark yellow urine
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Gray- or clay-colored stools
• Joint pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Yellowish eyes and skin, called jaundice

The symptoms usually last less than 2 months, although some people can be ill for as long as 6 months.

You are at a higher risk of getting a more severe infection from hepatitis A if you also have HIV, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C.

In rare cases, hepatitis A may lead to liver failure. This is more common in adults over age 50 and in people who have another liver.

To diagnose hepatitis A, your health care provider may use many tools:

• A medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms
• A physical exam
• Blood tests, including tests for viral hepatitis

There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A. The best way to recover is to rest, drink plenty of liquids, and eat healthy foods. Your provider may also suggest medicines to help relieve symptoms. In more severe cases, you may need care in a hospital.

The best way to prevent hepatitis A is to get the hepatitis A vaccine. It is also important to have good hygiene, especially washing your hands thoroughly after you go to the bathroom.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. Inflammation is swelling that happens when tissues of the body are injured or infected. Inflammation can damage organs.

There are different types of hepatitis. One type, hepatitis C, is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.

Hepatitis C can be acute or chronic:

• Acute hepatitis C is a short-term infection. The symptoms can last up to 6 months. Sometimes your body is able to fight off the infection and the virus goes away. But for most people, an acute infection leads to chronic infection.
• Chronic hepatitis C is a long-lasting infection. If it is not treated, it can last for a lifetime and cause serious health problems, including liver damage, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver cancer, and even death.

Hepatitis C spreads through contact with the blood of someone who has HCV. This contact may be through:

• Sharing drug needles or other drug materials with someone who has HCV. In the United States, this is the most common way that people get hepatitis C.
• Getting an accidental stick with a needle that was used on someone who has HCV. This can happen in health care settings.
• Being tattooed or pierced with tools or inks that were not sterilized after being used on someone who has HCV.
• Having contact with the blood or open sores of someone who has HCV.
• Sharing personal care items that may have come in contact with another person's blood, such as razors or toothbrushes.
• Being born to a mother with HCV.
• Having unprotected sex with someone who has HCV.

Before 1992, hepatitis C was also commonly spread through blood transfusions and organ transplants. Since then, there has been routine testing of the U.S. blood supply for HCV. It is now very rare for someone to get HCV this way.

You are more likely to get hepatitis C if you:

• Have injected drugs
• Had a blood transfusion or organ transplant before July 1992
• Have hemophilia and received clotting factor before 1987
• Have been on kidney dialysis
• Have been in contact with blood or infected needles at work
• Have had tattoos or body piercings
• Have worked or lived in a prison
• Were born to a mother with hepatitis C
• Have HIV
• Have had more than one sex partner in the last 6 months
• Have had a sexually transmitted infection (STI)
• Are a man who has had sex with men (MSM)

If you are at high risk for hepatitis C, your health care provider will likely recommend that you get tested for it.

Most people with hepatitis C have no symptoms. Some people with acute hepatitis C do have symptoms within 1 to 3 months after they are exposed to the virus. These symptoms may include:

• Dark yellow urine
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Gray- or clay-colored stools
• Joint pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Pain in your abdomen (belly)
• Jaundice (yellowish eyes and skin)

If you have chronic hepatitis C, you probably will not have symptoms until it causes complications. This can happen decades after you were infected. For this reason, hepatitis C screening is important, even if you have no symptoms.

Without treatment, hepatitis C may lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C can prevent these complications.

Providers diagnose hepatitis C based on your medical history, a physical exam, and blood tests.

If you do have hepatitis C, you may need additional tests to check for liver damage. These tests may include other blood tests, an ultrasound of the liver, and a liver biopsy.

Treatment for hepatitis C is with antiviral medicines. They can cure the disease in most cases.

If you have acute hepatitis C, your provider may wait to see if your infection becomes chronic before starting treatment.

If your hepatitis C causes cirrhosis, you should see a doctor who specializes in liver diseases. Treatments for health problems related to cirrhosis include medicines, surgery, and other medical procedures. If your hepatitis C leads to liver failure or liver cancer, you may need a liver transplant.

There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. But you can help protect yourself from hepatitis C infection by:

• Not sharing drug needles or other drug materials.
• Wearing gloves if you have to touch another person's blood or open sores.
• Making sure your tattoo artist or body piercer uses sterile tools and unopened ink.
• Not sharing personal items such toothbrushes, razors, or nail clippers.
• Using a latex condom during sex. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Nearly everyone has had indigestion at one time. It's a feeling of discomfort or a burning feeling in your upper abdomen. You may have heartburn or belch and feel bloated. You may also feel nauseated, or even throw up.

You might get indigestion from eating too much or too fast, eating high-fat foods, or eating when you're stressed. Smoking, drinking too much alcohol, using some medicines, being tired, and having ongoing stress can also cause indigestion or make it worse. Sometimes the cause is a problem with the digestive tract, like an ulcer or GERD.

Avoiding foods and situations that seem to cause it may help. Because indigestion can be a sign of a more serious problem, see your health care provider if it lasts for more than two weeks or if you have severe pain or other symptoms. Your health care provider may use x-rays, lab tests, and an upper endoscopy to diagnose the cause. You may need medicines to treat the symptoms.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases