Frequently Asked Questions

UlCure is a health education platform that generates a personalised ulcer treatment plan based on your symptom questionnaire answers. For KES 499 you receive a detailed PDF plan that includes: the exact medication names available at Kenyan pharmacies, precise dosing schedules with timing (e.g. 30 minutes before breakfast), a 14-day treatment timeline, dietary guidance specific to peptic ulcer disease, water safety advice to prevent H. pylori reinfection, and a test-of-cure reminder for week 8. The plan is personalised to your specific situation based on your answers.

No. UlCure is a health education platform, not a medical service. We do not diagnose medical conditions, prescribe medication, or replace consultation with a doctor. The information we provide is equivalent to a detailed, personalised health guidebook — the same category as a medical self-help book or a patient education leaflet from a hospital. It is based on published medical guidelines for H. pylori eradication. If you have severe symptoms, or if your symptoms do not improve after completing treatment, you must consult a qualified doctor.

After completing the 6-question symptom questionnaire, you will be asked to enter your Safaricom M-Pesa phone number (07XX or 01XX format). We send an STK Push prompt directly to your phone — a pop-up asking you to enter your M-Pesa PIN. Once you enter your PIN and confirm, the payment is processed within seconds. Your treatment plan is unlocked immediately after payment confirmation. You do not need to leave the app or visit an M-Pesa agent.

Your phone number is used only to send the M-Pesa STK Push prompt. After payment is confirmed, your phone number is irreversibly hashed using SHA-256 — a one-way cryptographic process — and only the hash is stored. The plaintext number is never written to our database. We cannot retrieve your phone number from the hash. The hash is used only to associate your plan with your account on return visits.

We collect your 6 questionnaire answers (symptom duration, frequency, prior treatment, NSAID use, age range, and gender) stored against an anonymous UID. We store a SHA-256 hash of your phone number after payment. We store M-Pesa transaction reference numbers for financial records. We collect anonymous analytics data (page views, feature usage) via PostHog — this cannot be linked to you individually. We do not collect your name, email address, or any other identifying information. See our full Privacy Policy for details.

UlCure provides guidance based on WHO-recommended H. pylori eradication therapy adapted for the Kenyan context. These treatment regimens have documented 85-95% eradication rates when followed correctly. However, outcomes depend on many individual factors we cannot predict: antibiotic resistance in your local H. pylori strain, adherence to the full treatment course, underlying health conditions, and whether you actually have H. pylori (we cannot confirm this without a test). UlCure provides educational guidance — not a guarantee of a specific health outcome. If symptoms persist or worsen, see a doctor.

Our questionnaire does not currently capture allergy information. If you have a known allergy to penicillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole, or any other antibiotic, do NOT start any medication mentioned in your plan without first consulting a pharmacist or doctor. There are alternative H. pylori eradication regimens for patients with antibiotic allergies. Always check with a healthcare professional before starting a new medication.

Because the treatment plan is a digital product that is delivered immediately upon payment, purchases are generally non-refundable once the plan has been accessed. If your payment was processed (money left your M-Pesa) but you did not receive access to your plan due to a technical error, contact us at contact@ulcure.clinic within 48 hours with your phone number and transaction time, and we will investigate and issue a full refund if appropriate.

UlCure is a Progressive Web App (PWA) with offline support. Once you have loaded your treatment plan at least once while connected to the internet, it will be available offline. The questionnaire and payment steps require an internet connection. To install UlCure on your Android home screen and enable offline access, tap the 'Add to Home Screen' prompt when it appears, or visit your browser menu.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium that infects the stomach lining and is the primary cause of most peptic ulcers. About 67% of Kenyans carry this bacterium. Common symptoms include burning or gnawing stomach pain (especially when the stomach is empty), nausea, bloating, and frequent burping. The only way to confirm H. pylori infection is through a medical test such as a urea breath test, a stool antigen test, or an endoscopy. UlCure provides guidance for people whose symptoms are consistent with peptic ulcer disease, but it cannot confirm your diagnosis.

The standard H. pylori eradication therapy recommended in the UlCure plan is a 14-day course. It involves taking a combination of medications twice daily with meals. Completing the full 14 days is critical — stopping early is a leading cause of treatment failure and antibiotic resistance. After completing treatment, it is recommended to have a test-of-cure at week 8 (6 weeks after finishing treatment) to confirm eradication.