This flu season, cough drops might be mistaken for Listerine Pocket Packs and a digital doctor may diagnose whether patients should make the trip to Olin Health Center.
Throat lozenges in the form of wafer-thin strips and Olin's online doctor are two innovations on a centuries-old illness this year, and experts are hoping they'll have a better handle on the disease than in recent years.
Chloraseptic Sore Throat Relief Strips appeared on the shelves of Walgreens, 410 E. Jolly Road in Lansing on Monday.
"They will act as a numbing agent that helps to diminish the pain," Walgreens pharmacist Jeff Kourofsky said, adding that the strips weren't actually cough suppressants. He said it was too early in the cold season to determine whether they'd be a success or not.
Users dissolve two strips, one after another, on their tongue every two hours.
But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are hoping to prevent people from catching the flu. The center announced there won't be a shortage of the vaccine this year. There have been shortages the past two years, allowing only older and more vulnerable people to get shots.
And flu shots aren't just for seniors, some agencies say.
People with diabetes, asthmatics and students who live in dorms are among the groups encouraged to get flu shots. Diabetics might have longer illnesses and asthmatics are at a high risk of developing flu-related complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis and ear infections, the CDC reported.
Infectious disease experts say only about 65 percent of U.S. adults who should get the vaccine actually do.
Some people don't get flu shots, because there's a chance they might get sick since vaccines are formed from low doses of the disease.
Zoology senior Katie Szekely said she's the only person outside of her family she knows who gets a flu shot each year.
"My parents are into preventative measures," Szekely said, adding that she's gotten a flu shot for as long as she can remember. "I've never gotten sick - the only thing that's happened was my joints got a little achy the afternoon I got the shot.
"I think mostly people who are run-down get reactions to it."
The flu is a serious concern. More than 36,000 people die each year in the United States because of influenza, and 114,000 get sick enough to have to go to the hospital, the CDC reported.
If a patient is debating whether to head to the hospital, Olin has added a new feature on its Web site which allows patients to fill out a form to determine whether they need to come in for an appointment or not.
The service has been available for the past year or so, Olin spokeswoman Kathi Braunlich said, but it was put in a more prominent location when the Web site was redesigned. Patients answer questions about chills and fever, aching muscles and congestion.
