Accu-Chek Active Strips: Fifty Tests for the Active Meter
Accu-Chek Active strips keep your blood sugar testing going with fifty tests for the Accu-Chek Active meter, a large strip with a wide dosing area that is noticeably easier to hit when your eyesight or your hands are less steady than they were. For anyone who has struggled to land a drop of blood on a small target, that width is the whole reason to be on this system.
The one thing to settle before you order is which machine they belong to. These are for the ACTIVE meter. They do not fit the Accu-Chek Instant, which is a different machine from the same maker and takes its own strips. A shared brand name is one thing and a shared strip is quite another, and this single confusion costs people more money here than anything else. So please check your meter before you order.
How to Tell Which Accu-Chek You Have
The model name is printed on the front of the meter, under or beside the Accu-Chek logo, and it is one word: Active, Instant, Performa, Guide. That word is the only thing that matters when you buy strips.
If the print has worn off, or the meter came to you second-hand without its box, bring it in to us and we will identify it in a moment and write the model on a label for the back of it. The strip slot and the strip shape differ between models, so an Active strip in an Instant will be rejected or give a result with nothing behind it. Please take the extra minute: a wasted box of strips costs more than the trip.
What Fifty Strips Cost You a Month
A meter is bought once and strips are bought for as long as you have diabetes, so the strips are the real cost of testing and worth thinking about before you commit to a system.
Testing twice a day uses about sixty strips a month, so fifty is roughly three and a half weeks. Four times a day, which some people on insulin need, is nearer a pack every other week. Tell our pharmacist how often our doctor has asked you to test and we will set a standing monthly delivery at the right quantity, in plain outer packaging with a delivery note that names nothing. If you are choosing a system from scratch rather than replacing strips for a meter you already own, ask us what each option costs per test, because over a year the gap between the cheapest and dearest systems on this shelf is substantial.
Getting a Reading You Can Trust
Most unreliable home readings are the technique rather than the strip, and four habits cover nearly all of it.
Wash your hands with soap and warm water and dry them properly, because sugar from fruit, juice or food on a finger reads far higher than your blood and is the usual cause of a frightening number. Use a fresh lancet every time, and prick the side of the fingertip rather than the pad, moving round your fingers. Let the drop form on its own instead of squeezing or milking the finger, which pushes tissue fluid into the sample and reads lower than the truth. Then apply the blood to the dosing area and keep still until the meter beeps.
Keeping the Strips in Good Condition
Strips are the delicate part of the kit, and in Nairobi damp and coastal humidity they spoil more easily than people expect.
Keep them in their own container with the lid shut tight, and shut it straight after taking one out rather than leaving it open while you test. Room temperature, out of direct sun, out of the bathroom and out of a car. Not the fridge. Handle a strip by its end and keep your fingers off the dosing area. One strip per test, and check the expiry date before you start a new container. A strip that has taken up moisture will still give you a number, which is precisely why it matters.
What to Do With the Numbers
Write each reading down with the date, the time and whether it was before or after food, or let the meter hold them and bring the meter in. One reading says very little; a fortnight of them shows a pattern, and the pattern is what our doctor treats.
Please bring the readings to us rather than adjusting your own insulin or tablets, because doses are changed on a pattern over weeks and a dose altered on a single number causes harm in both directions. Our doctor will set your own target range with you as well, since the right targets differ from person to person and are different again in pregnancy, in older age and for somebody on insulin.
When to Act, and When to Get Help the Same Day
A reading below 4.0 mmol/L needs treating immediately. Take fifteen to twenty grams of fast-acting sugar, which is three or four glucose tablets, half a glass of ordinary soda or fruit juice, or three teaspoons of sugar in water. Wait fifteen minutes, test again, repeat if it is still low, then eat something more substantial so it holds.
Where somebody with low blood sugar is confused, fitting or hard to wake, treat it as an emergency and get help at once, and please put nothing in the mouth of a person who is unconscious. A very high reading alongside vomiting, stomach pain, deep rapid breathing, breath that smells sweet or of acetone, or unusual drowsiness needs hospital the same day rather than another test. Please also come and see us for lows that keep happening, lows you no longer feel coming, or readings that stay high for several days.
What We Can Honestly Tell You
If you have an Accu-Chek Active meter, these are its strips and the wide dosing area is a genuine advantage for anyone finding small targets difficult. Bring the meter in the first time and our pharmacist will run a test alongside you and check the technique.
Please ask about lancets at the same time, since a strip is only half a test and a fresh lancet every time is both less painful and safer. Never share a lancing device with anybody, even in the same house. If your meter turns out to be an Instant rather than an Active, the strips you need are our Accu-Chek Instant strips, and the matching machine is the Accu-Chek Instant meter. Where the cost per test is what matters most, ask about the On Call Plus system.
Is This Pack of Strips Right for You?
Please talk to our pharmacist or our doctor before you buy if any of these apply.
- You are unsure whether your meter is an Active or an Instant. The model name is on the front. Read it, or bring the meter in and we will label it for you.
- You are buying a meter and strips together for the first time. Ask us what each system costs per test. Over a year the difference is substantial.
- Readings that look higher than you expected. Usually unwashed hands or a damp strip. Bring the meter and the container in.
- A reading below 4.0 mmol/L. Treat it at once with fast-acting sugar, retest in fifteen minutes, and tell us if it keeps happening.
- Someone with low blood sugar who is confused, fitting or hard to wake. Emergency, and nothing by mouth.
- A very high reading with vomiting, stomach pain, deep rapid breathing, sweet-smelling breath or drowsiness. Hospital the same day.
Where to Buy Accu-Chek Active strips in Kenya
Order online and we deliver countrywide, or collect from our pharmacy at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. We send orders to Nairobi and every neighbourhood around it — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Rosslyn, Kitisuru, Lower Kabete, Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Buruburu, Donholm, Embakasi, Ngong Road, Kasarani, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Githurai, Ruaka, Banana Hill, Two Rivers, Village Market and Pride Lands — and across Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru and Ngong.
Beyond the capital we deliver to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Athi River, Kitengela, Kajiado, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Bomet, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Siaya, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga, Webuye, Kitale, Nandi Hills, Iten, Kapenguria, Embu, Meru, Chuka, Kerugoya, Murang’a, Othaya, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Maralal, Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni, Emali, Kibwezi, Voi, Taveta, Wundanyi, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi, Lamu and Hola. Everything in this category travels in plain outer packaging with nothing on the outside to say what is inside, and the delivery note carries our name and no product description. At one strip per test a pack covers a known length of time, so tell us how many months you want covered and we will work out the quantity with you before you order.
Across Africa, ask us before you order. We have sent orders to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and as far as Malawi, and we will quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of the continent. Tell us the destination and we will confirm any import paperwork before the parcel leaves us.
Living abroad? Order from wherever you are and we deliver to your family here in Kenya. Kenyans in the UK, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Gulf order from us regularly for parents and relatives at home. Blood glucose test strips is needed every day rather than occasionally, so running out is the thing to plan against. Tell us who it is for, the size and how many months you want covered, and we will set up a standing monthly delivery so nobody is ever caught short.
Why Buy Your Accu-Chek Active strips from HealthAlone Kenya?
HealthAlone is a pharmacist-led health ecosystem licensed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and our stock is original, sealed and correctly stored. Kahawa Sukari is a real counter with real pharmacists behind it.
Our pharmacists will identify your meter model before anything ships, compare what each system on our shelf costs per test, and add lancets, which are half of every test. Our doctor is here too if you would rather have the whole question looked at properly.
It is one more step in our vision: building Africa’s most trusted health ecosystem, accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Your Questions About Accu-Chek Active Strips, Answered
Which meter do these fit?
The Accu-Chek Active meter. They do not fit the Accu-Chek Instant, which is a different machine with its own strips.
How do I tell which Accu-Chek I have?
The model name is printed on the front, beside or under the logo, as one word: Active, Instant, Performa, Guide. That word is what decides your strips.
What if the print has worn off?
Bring the meter in. We will identify it in a moment and write the model on a label for the back of it.
What happens if I use the wrong strip?
The meter either rejects it or returns a result with nothing behind it. Either way the strip is wasted, which is why we would rather check first.
What is the advantage of the Active strip?
It is a large strip with a wide dosing area, which is easier to hit if your eyesight or your hands are less steady.
How many are in a pack, and how long does that last?
Fifty. Testing twice a day that is about three and a half weeks; four times a day, nearer a fortnight.
Why must my hands be washed first?
Sugar from fruit, juice or food on a finger reads far higher than your blood. Soap and warm water, dried properly.
Should I squeeze the finger for more blood?
Let the drop form on its own. Squeezing pushes tissue fluid in and gives a reading lower than the truth.
Where should I prick?
The side of the fingertip rather than the pad, moving round your fingers rather than using one spot.
How should the strips be stored?
Lid shut tight and shut immediately, at room temperature, out of direct sun and damp. Not in the fridge, and not in a car.
Can a strip or a lancet be reused?
One of each per test. And please never share a lancing device with anybody, even in the same household.
What do I do about a reading below 4.0 mmol/L?
Treat it at once with fifteen to twenty grams of fast-acting sugar, wait fifteen minutes and retest. Repeat if still low, then eat something more substantial.
When is a high reading an emergency?
With vomiting, stomach pain, deep rapid breathing, sweet-smelling breath or drowsiness. Hospital the same day rather than another test.
Where can I buy Accu-Chek Active Strips 50s in Kenya, and what does it cost?
From HealthAlone, online for delivery countrywide or over the counter at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. The current price is shown above. We deliver across Nairobi — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Kasarani, Roysambu, Githurai, Ruaka and Banana Hill — and to Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru, Ngong, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Kitengela, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kitale, Embu, Meru, Nanyuki, Nyahururu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Makueni, Voi, Taveta, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu. Outside Kenya we have delivered to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and Malawi, and we quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of Africa on request. Tell us the model name printed on the front of your meter, because Active and Instant strips are not interchangeable.
