Diabetes Control and Hypoglycemia

Diabetes management has traditionally focused solely on lowering blood glucose levels to avoid the long term complications of diabetes. This approach sometimes neglects the detrimental effects of hypoglycemia on the diabetic patient. This is problematic, as hypoglycemia often places patients at risk of poor quality of life, increased medical costs and significant complications. As many instances of hypoglycemia are preventable by smarter treatment strategies, it is expected that accounting for the possibility of hypoglycemia may not only reduce a patient's health care costs, but will allow him or her a better quality of life, decrease the potential for disability and even increase life-expectancy. This article provides an overview of hypoglycemia and establishes guidelines for the management and prevention of hypoglycemia based on the most current research.