Self-heal bandage helps diabetics

Self-healing bandages, which use patients' own cells, could help treat diabetic ulcers, their makers say.

The bandage is being developed by CellTran, a company linked to the University of Sheffield.

Currently, diabetics have to attend clinics over months or even years to have their wounds dressed.

Trials of the bandage have shown it can help these difficult-to-treat wounds to heal in an average of eight weeks. It is already used to treat burns victims.

osteoporosis

Annual treatment for osteoporosis :

A once-a-year treatment significantly cuts the risk of broken bones caused by osteoporosis in post-menopausal women, international research has shown. 

Compared with a dummy pill, an infusion of Aclasta cut the risk of broken hips by 41% and of spinal breaks by 70%. 

The condition accounts for 60,000 hip and 120,000 spinal fractures a year in the UK, mostly among post-menopausal women - and numbers are rising. 

The study features in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Full Story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6615725.stm

National Osteoporosis Society have a lot of useful information. 

www.stephenkitepractice.co.uk 

How to maintain 'happy feet'

The human foot is a marvel of biomechanical engineering that most people take for granted until the system breaks down. The average person will walk the equivalent of twice around the world in a lifetime. 

Podiatrists in the UCLA Medical Group offer the following tips for maintaining healthy feet: 

+Inspect feet regularly and pay attention to changes in color, texture or appearance. 

+Maintain good foot hygiene, including washing and drying between the toes. 

+Hydrate the skin. Southern California weather and open shoes can cause rapid loss of moisture from the skin and may result in cracking or the formation of fissures. It is helpful to replace the moisture content by using lotions or creams on a regular basis. 

+Buy shoes that fit properly. A person may not wear the same size in shoes made by different manufacturers. Purchase new shoes late in the day when feet tend to be at their largest. Always buy the shoes that feel the best. 

+Don't ignore foot pain. Symptoms that increase or do not resolve within a reasonable period of time need evaluation by a podiatrist. 

+Cut toenails straight across. Never cut into the corners- this could cause an ingrown toenail. Gently file away sharp corners or rough edges with an emery board. 

+Exercise. Walking is a great way to keep weight under control and is an excellent conditioner for the feet. Wear appropriate athletic shoes when exercising. 

+Alternate shoes each day. Since the feet have sweat glands, shoes will absorb moisture from feet. It's important to allow shoes to dry out completely. 

+Avoid walking barefoot to help protect feet from injury and infection. 

+Put sunblock on feet while wearing sandals during the day to avoid sunburn. 

Reference Source: UCLA News. 

Diabetes Advice for Patients

Below is some useful advice for Diabetic Patients here in the UK and around the World.

More and more people are developing Diabetes, it is an epidemic due to our lifestyles and diet. The feet can play an important role in ageing successfully and regular exercise together with a healthy diet is a start in the right direction.

Regular check up at the Podiatrist is most important and many Diabetic Clinics in Bournemouth, Dorset have regular out patient departments whereby patients can receive the best of advice and the Diabetic Nurses there know that one of the most important things a diabetic patient should do is to have regular foot care from an HPC Registered Podiatrist

Below is some useful advice from our collegues. You can also visit www.stephenkitepractice.co.uk for free information regarding Diabetic Footcare. 

http://www.aofas.org/files/public/DiabeticFootCareEnglishTranslation.pdf 

The British Influence

A brief history of Chiropody

In the UK . The profession of Chiropody has been established in the UK for approaching 100 years. Some countries like the USA have changed the word traditional Chiropody and have relaced it with Podiatrist in the last 50 years(1967 ) and the term chiropody there is now non existent there. The term "chiropodist" and the profession of chiropody is British in origin and the royal family helped initially to make the profession popular with regular visits to Chiropodists. It has been traditionally used to describe an individual who treats feet in various ways, and up until the 1950's and earlier, there were chiropodists in both the U.S. and Canada based on that British standard. Here in the UK now it is changing too; In 1993 the Society of Chiropodists added the name 'Podiatrists' to its title reflecting the use of this term throughout the English speaking world and with the objective of securing protection of this title for the State Registered profession. 

Although it was the Egyptians who first treated foot conditions and in the bible there are references to treating feet there also, but it was a British man whose name was David Low who invented the word back in the 1700's. There is also written documentation in an Egyptian papyrus of 1500 B.C. outlining a treatment for corns. Hippocrates advocated a sensible approach to corns (thick, hard skin which usually forms on the knuckles of the toes). He recommended a simple operative technique and getting rid of the cause (probably tight sandals or boots). There are records of the King of France employing a personal podiatrist, as did Napoleon. In the United States of America, President Abraham Lincoln suffered greatly with his feet and chose a Chiropodist named Isachar Zacharie, who not only cared for the president’s feet, but also was sent by President Lincoln on confidential missions to confer with leaders of the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War.

Some Common Mistakes

The word Chiro ( Cheir ) the is relative to the hand, wherby, Pody is the foot hence the word Chiropody. The pronunciation of the word is actually Cheiropody ( Chiropody )with the K being more strongly pronounced than the ch sound. The word Chiropody has been wrongly pronounced . I often say to patients who wrongly mis pronounce this word by comparing it to Christmas, you wouldn't say Shristmas , now would you!

The new word for Chiropody today is now Podiatry & Podiatrist less chance of this word being mis pronounced or spelt incorrectly.

Podiatrist comes from the Greek Word Greek podos, "foot," and iatros, "doctor.