A St Austell man had to have his leg amputated after a small blister on his toe that developed while he was on holiday in Tenerife turned into a serious infection which wouldn't heal.

Diabetes UK is sharing the story of 63-year-old Chris Witt in an attempt to warn men with diabetes of the importance of foot care.

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Mr Witt has type 2 diabetes and had his leg amputated in late 2016. The guest house owner developed a small blister on his toe after going for a walk in new sandals while on holiday in Tenerife.

This turned into an infection which wouldn't heal, leading first to the amputation of part of his foot and eventually to the loss of his leg below the knee.

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He said: "I didn't realise how dangerous it could be to have an infection and that it can come on so quickly. I wasn't vigilant enough. If you're a man with diabetes you need to check your feet every day and if you see anything wrong get in touch with your surgery. Push for quicker treatment if it's not going fast enough.

"If I'd realised the dangers, I might have saved my leg."

Diabetes UK south west regional head Phaedra Perry said: "Men with diabetes can protect their feet this May by ensuring they attend their annual foot check and that they come away knowing what their risk of developing foot problems is and whether further action is needed.

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"If your feet have not been checked by a healthcare professional in the past 12 months if you've not been invited in for your foot check or you missed your appointment do not put off booking or taking up the offer of a free check. Also, if you spot a problem or have any concerns do not wait for your 12-month check-up make sure you book an appointment as soon as possible as problems can escalate extremely quickly.

"Putting your feet first can prevent the devastating loss of your toes, feet or legs, which will have a huge impact on your life. Everyone with diabetes is entitled to an annual foot check or more frequent checks if you are deemed to be at medium or high risk.

"Checking regularly yourself and having an annual foot check with a health professional can keep you on your feet."

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A spokesman for Diabetes UK said: "Men with diabetes are at a higher risk of chronic foot and leg wounds which can lead to devastating toe, foot or leg amputations, Diabetes UK warns today. Nearly three out of four people who have diabetes-related foot ulcers are men.

"During Foot Health Awareness Month in May, the charity is urging people with diabetes and particularly men with diabetes, to take care of their feet and if they've not had them checked in the past 12 months to not delay in booking in for their free annual foot check with their doctor or nurse.

"Latest figures show there are 20 diabetes-related amputations a day, despite four out of five of these being preventable with good foot care."

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The charity warns that not all people with diabetes are getting the annual foot check they're entitled to on the NHS.

According to the National Diabetes Audit 2015/16, nearly one in six people with type 2 diabetes in Cornwall (16.3%) are missing out on this essential check-up, compared to one in ten across England.

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This rises to more in one in four people with type 1 diabetes in Cornwall (27.6%), in line with the England average.

They said having an amputation has a devastating impact on a person's life through loss of work, immobility and the inability to drive. But if a foot problem is treated quickly it can prevent serious problems in the future.

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Check your feet daily for any signs of redness, breaks in the skin, pain, build-up of hard skin or changes in the shape of your feet. These could be warning signs of early foot problems, so tell your doctor straight away.

Wash and dry your feet every day especially between the toes. Don't soak them in water as this can increase the risk of damage.

Moisturise every day, but not in between the toes (this can make infections more likely).

Check your shoes daily for anything that may rub.

Cut your nails carefully and don't cut down the side of your nails.

Don't use corn removing plasters or blades as these can damage healthy skin.

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The 'touch the toes test' can help you find out if you are losing sensation in your feet. Go to http://www.diabetes.org.uk/feet-care.

Alternatively, you can call the Diabetes UK helpline on 0345 123 2399.

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St Austell man with diabetes Chris Witt had leg amputated after blister on toe on Tenerife holiday - Cornwall Live

This Saturdays Notorious Nick Memorial Shotgun Match sponsored by the Single Action Shooting Society and the Founders Ranch Shotgun Sports Club will raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Sign up starts at 8:30 a.m. and shooting begins at 10 a.m. for the event at Founders Ranch at 74 Barton Road. Cost is $50 for 100 target sporting clays, $25 for 50 target 5 stand sporting and $12.50 for 25 target cowboy clays.

The event in its fifth year also brings attention to the causes of juvenile diabetes and diabetes in general, which is a health concern for the area and statewide. According to advocates, more than 12 percent of the states adult population is living with diabetes, which is more than 248,000. Another 615,000 are estimated to have prediabetes, which means their blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be type 2 diabetes.

Prediabetic is now the new term for people who will likely get diabetes in the future without making changes now to their diet and sedentary lifestyles, said Dr. Linda Stogner, medical director of the Esperanza Family Health Center. Doctors used to call the condition borderline diabetic, but people didnt take the diagnosis serious enough to make significant lifestyle changes.

Brenda Richter, who has been attending a weekly diabetes self-management workshop in Moriarty, said she had been diagnosed as borderline diabetic, which quickly blew up into full diabetes, changing her life. Participants in the workshops held Monday afternoons at Bethel Community Storehouse say the classes have helped them get focused on what they can do to successfully change their lifestyles and diet to better manage the disease.

Danielle Berrien of the Cooperative Extension Service, which sponsored the workshops with the state Department of Health and state Aging and Long Term Services Department, said there is a lot of misunderstanding about the disease, which can lead to kidney failure, blindness, loss of limbs and heart disease. The workshop aims to teach participants about what they can do to better manage the disease by coming up with an action plan with measurable goals to successfully make better food choices and work in more exercising into their daily lives.

You pretty much have to say good bye to processed food, Richter said.

Jennifer White said the workshops have helped her feel less isolated and Effie Zirnheld said the workshops were able to go into more detail than advice given at a doctors office. Participants said it helped that the workshop has Margie Snare as facilitator as she is a person living with diabetes. Berrien said she wants to hold the diabetes workshop twice a year.

Stogner, who has been treating patients in the East Mountains for 30 years, said the disease is one that cuts across all walks of life from mountains residents to flatland farmers. But Stogner said she has patients she has been working with since coming to the area who have been successful in making the necessary lifestyle changes to manage the disease.

I have patients in their 80s who I first saw in their 50s, Stogner said. Im happy to say that none of them have lost their vision, no amputations and no one on dialysis.

Stogner acknowledges that it can be hard for people in rural areas to get good access to unprocessed food. On the exercise side, even taking short walks daily can do a lot to prevent the disease, she said.

Berrien said there are good online resources, such as the websites for the American Diabetes Association, the International Diabetes Center, the Joslin Diabetic Foundation and the National Diabetes Education Program.

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Fundraiser, program shine light on diabetes - Mountain View Journal

According to Selig, 30 million Americans have diabetes right now and about every 23 seconds someone else is diagnosed with the disease.

Rick Selig, director of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), spoke to Stuttgart Lions Club members and guests Wednesday about diabetes and the ways the ADA works to educate the public about it.

According to Selig, 30 million Americans have diabetes right now and about every 23 seconds someone else is diagnosed with the disease.

Thats epidemic proportions, people, and we realize that it affects a lot more than that, that theres people out there that dont even realize that they have it or have what we call pre-diabetes, Selig explained.

The goal of the ADA regarding diabetes is ultimately to find a cure, Selig said, but until then the organization focuses on education, advocacy, research and services to help those living with diabetes.

Selig said the ADA will educate through lunch and learns with different companies and attend health fairs. People can also get information about diabetes through their website at http://www.diabetes.org or by calling (800) 342-2383. According to Selig, the ADA is one of the leading organizations that funds diabetes research, however, several other organizations get involved in funding.

One of the ADAs major services is the diabetes camp for children 8 to 13 years old with diabetes, which is held in Little Rock. He said they have approximately 55 children from around the state who attend the camp each year.

Donations from people like the Lions Club and other organizations is what puts this on, Selig said. It costs us $650 per child to send a kid to camp for one week.

The camp allows children to participate in many fun activities, such as zip lining and canoeing, however, the children are also able to learn about diabetes, including learning how to use pumps and give themselves insulin shots, as well as counting carbs and exercise. Selig said this is sometimes the only time some of the children with diabetes get away from home.

For one week, they get to be just like everybody else, Selig explained. Some of these kids are in rural schools and smaller schools where they may be the only one with diabetes.

When advocating for people with diabetes, Selig said its hard to make everyone happy, but the ADAs goal is to help those with the disease no matter what.

He said recently the Arkansas Legislature passed a law called the Safe At School Law that the ADA advocated for, which allows someone trained in the school, other than the school nurse, to administer insulin to a child in need in an emergency situation. He said this is important, because some school districts have only one school nurse who covers several buildings and may not always be available.

Selig explained that the ADA recently petitioned Congress to look into price gouging for the pharmaceutical companies and medical supply companies in regards to diabetes medications and supplies. He said the investigation is not taking place yet, but they have been assured the issue will be looked into in the future. He explained people across the U.S. often have to make the decision between eating, paying bills and buying insulin or supplies.

Thats a decision nobody should have to make, Selig said.

Another way the ADA is advocating for people with diabetes is showing opposition against the reform of the Affordable Care Act, because if its reformed right now, insurance companies could charge people with pre-existing conditions more for their insurance, according to Selig.

Were standing up for the people with diabetes whether its local or on the national scale, Selig explained.

Selig added, Were actually trying to work ourselves out of a job, because we want to see an end to diabetes.

Lions club member Dave Strauss explained that the club promotes sight and that diabetes is regularly linked to eyesight, stating that eyesight is often one of the things that gets compromised if the disease gets too bad. The club presented Selig with a $1,000 donation to the ADA after his presentation. The Stuttgart Lions Club meets at noon each Wednesday at the Stuttgart Country Club.

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Selig talks diabetes advocacy - Stuttgart Daily Leader

While tech giant Google continues to struggle to make a contact lens for monitoring diabetes,researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea have offered up at least one part of the puzzle: better wearability. Through the use of a hybrid film made from graphene and silver nanowires, the UNIST researchers have made contact lenses for detecting multiple biomarkers that are clear and flexible.

In research described in the journal Nature Communications, the UNIST researchers used graphene-nanowire hybrid films to serve as conducting, transparent, and stretchable electrodes. While the hybrid film alone does not perform any detection, the electrodes do ensure that the electrodes in the contact lenses dont obscure vision and that theyre flexible enough to make wearingthe lenses comfortable.

In addition to offering better transparency and comfort, the contact lenses developed by the UNIST researchers depart from previous contact lens sensors in that theyreable to detect multiple biomarkers. This contact lens should be able to pick up indictorsfor intraocular pressure, diabetes mellitus, and other health conditions, according to the researchers.

To detect intraocular pressure, a dielectric layer is sandwiched between two hybrid films. In this arrangement, the films now become a capacitor that responds to intraocular pressure. At high intraocular pressure, the thickness of the dielectric layer decreases, resulting in the increased capacitance. High intraocular pressure also increases the inductance of the antenna coil by bi-axial lateral expansion.

For detecting glucose, the top hybrid film layeris exposed to tears and detects glucose. In a selected region of the film, the researchers removed the nanowires so only graphene remained. The surface of graphene was then coated with an enzyme that binds selectively to glucose.Thisbinding changes the resistance of the graphene.

The changes of resistance, inductance and capacitance in these two detection modes can be monitored wirelesslyin real-time.

One of the challenging aspects of the research was the glucose sensor, according to the researchers. In tears, there are many interfering ions and molecules that potentially cause false positive responses, explained Chang Young Lee, an assistant professor at UNIST and co-author of the study, in an email interview with IEEE Spectrum. We need to test the selectivity and long-term reliability of the glucose sensor. The effort includes designing and finding a molecule that selectively binds to glucose, which is another large research area.

Lee envisions this research as a novel platform that will enableintegration of glucose sensor onto a soft contact lens. Measuring the glucose accurately and reliably is another large research area, Lee added. A good glucose sensor developed by another researcher, for example, can easily be integrated onto our platform.

In this novel platform, both the graphene and the silver nanowires contribute indispensible properties. The silver nanowires offer a one-dimensional (1D) conducting material, and by creating a network (mesh) of it, its possible to make a transparent, conducting, and flexible film. However, the film made of silver nanowires alone has limitations, such as high contact resistance at the nanowire-nanowire junctions, low breakdown voltages, poor adhesion to flexible substrates, and oxidation in harsh environments.

This is where the two-dimensional (2D) graphene comes in, with its properties of being highly transparent, conducting and flexible. By creating a hybrid structure of graphene and nanowires, the limitations of the nanowires are overcome. The key is in the hybrid of 1D and 2D structures, added Lee.

IEEE Spectrums nanotechnology blog, featuring news and analysis about the development, applications, and future of science and technology at the nanoscale.

Controlling the electrical current for heating graphene allows sound frequencies to be mixed together, amplified, and equalized 5May

Technique opens up potential of tailoring material properties nearly atom-by-atom 2May

Discovery could be the answer to the demands for increasing information storage density as device feature sizes decrease 26Apr

Technique could reduce costs for compound semiconductor circuits and lead to new devices 24Apr

The new molybdenum disulfide microprocessor has 115 transistors 11Apr

A graphene photodetector can pinpoint the position of light that falls far from it 10Apr

Researchers at SLAC are leveraging X-rays to enable the next generation of batteries and photovoltaics 5Apr

Diamondoids are showing promise in applications as divergent as electron guns and quantum computing 31Mar

The electronic skin is touch-sensitive and could be inexpensively manufactured 30Mar

Stanford researchers are getting a lot of mileage from nanomaterials by analyzing market needs 29Mar

The elliptical shape makes the lasing process easier 20Mar

Japanese materials company prototypes a 26.3 percent efficient silicon cell, steps away from the 29 percent theoretical maximum 20Mar

Otherlabs self-fluffing fabric changes its insulation in response to temperature 18Mar

Development is incremental in molecular nanotechnology, but it is coming along slowly 14Mar

New encoding method makes it possible to come close to the theoretical maximum for DNA data storage 2Mar

Replacing high-voltage power source with nanogenerators increases sensitivity to new records 27Feb

First borophene-based heterostructure should guide future work with borophene in nanoelectronic applications 23Feb

Five teams, four rockets, and 380,000 kilometers togo 22Feb

Current can literally blow copper interconnects away, but graphene could keep them intact 17Feb

Biocompatibile inks open up medical devices for inkjet-printed devices 2Feb

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Smart Contact Lens Detects Diabetes and Glaucoma - IEEE Spectrum

KING 7:00 AM. PDT May 05, 2017

Bob Marley's nephew, Charles Mattocks, is launching a reality show on Discovery.

Just like his uncle, Bob Marley, Charles Mattocks is on a mission to motivate, inspire and educate people but this time with diabetes.

After being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes eight years ago, Mattocks was forced to be his own advocate. His doctor prescribed medication but didn't specify a plan to help him control the disease.

"He didn't give me any information as far as what to look for, follow up with, what to eat, what to do next. He just gave me medication," explained Mattocks.

The celebrity chef turned TV producer lost weight, is now off medication and his diabetes is under control. But he knows there are many people living with diabetes who are still struggling with their health because of a lack of education.

That's why he became passionate about leading the fight against diabetes and wrote a cookbook and produced a documentary.

Now, he's about to launch the first ever diabetes reality TV show called "Reversed" on Discovery Life Channel.

"I thought if we brought people in a house, and bring in all the experts that they would need to see over a year's time, like endocrinologists, nutritionists, dieticians, and bring them in one house and be able to inspire them and also educate them, what would we have?" Mattocks said.

Mattocks brought five contestants into one house in Jamaica to help them reverse their unhealthy habits.

After spending time with experts, they went home and began making changes.

Mattocks lights up when he talks about the life-changing results for two of the contestants, including one named Margie.

"When I first met her, she said she didn't like green leafy vegetables. She said she was allergic to green leafy vegetables," said Mattocks. "Now she's sending me pictures of her eating salads and green leafy vegetables and juicing and exercising."

Mattocks hopes the show reaches thousands of people and inspires them to make changes in their own lives.

" When I think of what we really did, and I think of where they might have been over the next couple of years, it moves me," said Mattocks.

"Reversed" airs in July on the Discovery Life Channel.

2017 KING-TV

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Bob Marley's nephew to launch reality TV show on diabetes - KING5.com

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I am a type 2 who was diagnosed 10 years ago. I have a lot of urinary tract infections and they are painful. Any advice on why this keeps happening?

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This crosswordpuzzle was inspired by this weeks news and podcast reports. Play along with us to test your knowledge and comprehension on topics we post Monday-Friday.

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This crosswordpuzzle was inspired by this weeks news and podcast reports. Play along with us to test your knowledge and comprehension on topics we post Monday-Friday.

Please click the link below to download this weeks Diabetes

With so much going on, you may have missed the latest in diabetes news this week. Not to worry! Weve got you covered with the Diabetes Health Weekly Roundup to share the latest news, podcasts and stories from this week.

Current American Diabetes Association guidelines recommend that youth with diabetes receive diabetic retinopathy screenings. Type 2 diabetes patients should receive their screening at the time of their initial diagnosis, while type 1 patients should receive their screening within 3-5 years.

I once had an Endo tell me that with syringes, I would probably not be able to get my A1C down much lower than the 7 that I had long been hovering at. He also lived with Type 1 diabetes

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