How to get tested for H. pylori

I'm not very knowledgeable on Helicobacter pylori issues, but I thought it was cool that there's some options for testing it cheaply. So here my notes on sources for ordering the testing yourself. Please leave a comment if there's any notes I should add.

At-home blood spot testing

These tests are meant to show whether you've developed H. pylori antibodies, so they might show you a positive test result even if you're no longer infected. The breath and stool sections below have more expensive tests that test for active infections.

• HomeHealthUS on Amazon has a PRIMA brand test. You can also order direct, but it's more expensive.
• Vivomed has a SELFCheck brand "ulcer" test, currently $18 including shipping.

I haven't found any information of how accurate these test kits are, but a similar-looking medical supply option says it has 90% sensitivity and 78% specificity.

Here's a video of the steps involved with performing the SELFCheck brand test.

Blood testing at a local testing center

Blood testing looks for antibodies like the at-home tests do, so it could share the downside of giving a positive result when you're no longer infected. I suspect it's more reliable than the at-home tests though.

• Walk-in Lab has this test (IgG-only) for $44 performed at local LabCorp locations.
• Private MD Labs has 3 different levels of antibody testing (IgG-only, IgG/IgM/IgA for the small fraction of people who might not have an IgG response, and a bundle that adds some other related bloodwork) starting at $47. It's at local LabCorp locations.
• True Health Labs has an IgG/IgM/IgA test for $99 performed at local LabCorp locations.
• Health Testing Centers has an IgG test at local LabCorp locations for $60.

Stool testing (delivered to a local office or mailed)

If you don't mind some poop-gatherin', stool testing might be the best test method (see here and here), although the breath testing appears to be pretty reliable too.

You'll typically get a collection kit in the mail or picked up from a local office, and then either mail it back or redeliver it to the local office depending on which company you're working with.

• Walk-in Lab has 3 options: $95 for stool delivered to local LabCorp locations, $109 for stool delivered to local Quest locations, and $212 for Genova's mail-based EIA/HpSA test.
• Accesa Labs has a stool test for $109 delivered to local Quest locations.
• Ulta Lab Tests has a stool test for $99 delivered to local Quest locations. As far as I can tell, their usual $8 "lab/draw fee" isn't required for this one.
• True Health Labs has a stool test for $249 that's handled by mail.
• DirectLabs has your choice of mail-in kits from Doctor's Data ($159), Diagnostic Solutions ($159), BioHealh ($204), and Genova ($213).

Breath testing at a local testing center

For this test you give a breath sample before and after consuming a special capsule or drink that contains urea. It looks like you typically get results back in 3-4 business days.

• Ulta Lab Tests has a breath test for $126, performed at local Quest locations. As far as I can tell, their usual $8 "lab/draw fee" isn't required for this one.
• Walk-in Lab has 2 options: $163 for a test at local LabCorp locations and $188 for a test at local Quest locations.
• True Health Labs has a breath test for $149 performed at local LabCorp locations.
• Health Testing Centers has tests at either LabCorp (locations) or Quest (locations) for $189.
• Accesa Labs has a breath test for $109 at local Quest locations.
• DirectLabs has a breath test for $259 performed at local Quest locations.

Options in Canada

• True Health Labs has a BioHealth stool test listed at $249 USD that's handled by mail.

Options in the UK

• Home Health UK sells the PRIMA test for £9.65 with free shipping in the UK.
• Vivomed sells the SELFCheck test for £11.99 plus shipping.
• Wellnostics has 3 brands (shipping not included): SELFCheck for £9.95, PRIMA for £8.95, and One Step for £4.95.
• Blood Tests Direct sells an unknown brand of test for £51 plus £10 shipping.

• Medichecks has a IgG blood draw test (with an option for fingerprick instead) for £69.

• Medichecks has a stool sample test for £69.
• Blood Tests Direct has a stool test for £84.00. I believe you also have to pay their £10 shipping fee.
• True Health Labs has a European home test kit listed at $199 USD.

• True Health Labs has a European home test kit listed at $239 USD that's handled by mail. You can see the contents of the kit and the instructions here.

Options for Europe in general

• True Health Labs has two European options, a stool test kit listed at $199 USD and a breath test kit listed at $239 USD.

Options in Australia

I only found one consumer-ordered testing option in Australia:

• i-screen has a stool test for $95 AUD.

You can also see the international blood spot test information below.

Options for other countries

All of these UK-based companies ship the blood spot tests internationally:

• Home Health UK sells the PRIMA test for £9.65.
• Vivomed sells the SELFCheck test for £11.99 plus shipping.
• Wellnostics has 3 different brands for £4.95-£9.95 plus shipping.

Clues from cholesterol, CRP, vitamin B12, and folate tests

The following studies make me think that elevated LDL cholesterol, elevated CRP, and maaaaybe low vitamin B12 or folate could be a hint to check for H. pylori if there's not an obvious alternative explanation.

• Study of health checkup participants and female infertility clinic patients finding the average CRP level in people who were seropositive for H. pylori was 0.012mg/dl higher than those who weren't.
• Intervention study finding that those with H. pylori infection had higher LDL, triglycerides, and CRP than uninfected, and lower HDL. Their H. pylori treatment regimen generally moved those values closer to the uninfected people's levels.
• Intervention study that surprisingly did not show a drop in LDL in patients successfully treated for H. pylori, but did show a drop in CRP and a rise in HDL.
• Another intervention study showing a high number of vitamin B12 deficient patients had H. pylori, and addressing the infection helped improve the B12 levels in 40% of them. It also has a good explanation of a possible mechanism.
• This study "suggests that H. pylori-induced chronic atrophic gastritis decreases plasma vitamin B12 and folic acid levels...this effect does not seem to be strong."
• This one found lower levels of B12 and higher levels of CRP in patients with H. pylori gastritis. However, folic acid levels were not significantly different.
• Study of functional dyspepsia patients did not seem to imply a connection between H. pylori and B12 or folate.