But diabetes is treatable, and the rewards of good treatment are great. Good diabetes care is important for many reasons. Diabetes can be rapidly fatal. Diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic coma, alcoholic ketoacidosis, and hypoglycemia are medical emergencies. More often than not, they are preventable.
Chronic hyperglycemia causes debilitating symptoms.
The polydipsia, polyuria, and nocturia of diabetes can make life miserable. Wide excursions of glycemia affect vision. Uncon-trolled diabetes induces fatigue, weakens surgical scars, and predisposes to infections that range from intertrigo to mucormycosis. Diabetes can devastate pregnancy, increasing the risk of congenital malformations, neonatal complications, and maternal morbidity and mortality. Finally, chronic diabetes leads almost inevitably to secondary complications.