3 dangerous conditions that diabetes could lead to

While many complications of diabetes develop slowly over many years, blood sugar that's either too high or too low can have immediate effects that may quickly prove dangerous and even fatal. Fortunately, you or your doctor can usually treat these complications easily. Close monitoring of your blood-sugar levels can prevent them from sneaking up on you. You'll better understand diabetes if you understand these three conditions.

This dangerous condition is caused by extremely high blood sugar and primarily affects people with type 2 diabetes who don't know they have the disease or aren't controlling it effectively.

• With diabetic hyperosmolar syndrome (DHS), blood sugar becomes so concentrated it makes the blood thick and syrupy.
• As the body reacts by forcing sugar out of the body in the urine, you can become severely dehydrated and experience such symptoms as cramps, rapid pulse, confusion, and even convulsions and coma.
• Treatment involves fluid replenishment and insulin.

Diabetes isn't always about high blood sugar. In fact, the most common acute complication of diabetes is blood sugar that falls too low — and that's what hypoglycemia is.

• It's most common in people with type 1 because blood sugar is most likely to drop from taking too much insulin.
• But hypoglycemia occurs in people with type 2 as well, when glucose levels ebb because of insulin or other drug treatments, perhaps made worse by other factors, such as going too long without eating.

If the damage progresses, you can develop a more severe condition called proliferative retinopathy, in which more blood vessels start to sprout in the retina to make up for blood delivery lost through burst vessels. This compounds the problem by leading to more ruptures.

• These can block light to the retina and cause hemorrhages and pressure inside the eyes, which contributes to scar tissue that can eventually cause the retina to start separating from the back of the eye.
• Retinopathy can also cause macular edema. In this condition, the central area of the retina (called the macula) swells, causing blurred vision.

The best way to avoid these conditions is to treat your diabetes properly. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, be sure to contact your doctor for treatment options as soon as possible.