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Test strips - does the country matters?

PaulinaB

PaulinaB

Well-Known Member
Messages
594
Location
London, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all!

Sorry if that's a stupid question but... I'm in the UK and I have a UK meter using mmol/l. Can I buy test strips from US (made in US) and use them with that meter? Will they work correctly?
 
I have bought strips in a French territory, in the Tropics. They worked fine with my UK source meter. My understanding is it's the meter that applies the figure to the sample. I have felt confident that provided I could find the matching strips to a meter, I could sourest them anywhere.

If you go ahead, could you let us know how you get along?

You might want to check out any customs/VAT implications, as that could negate any financial saving, if you are buying over the internet.
 
As long as the test strips are the correct ones for your meter they will work.
All the test strips do is put out a specific signal and the meter does the units. As I understand it most meters are actually all the same but there are some sneaky ways to change units which the support people at the manufacturers will talk you through if required.

Happy travels!
 
I was surprised to see my test strip box labelled "mmol/L" with a sticky label, because I would expect the units conversion was done by the meter, not in the strips.

Maybe it's just because of mmol/L units being used in the patient information leaflet that comes with the strips.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
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