Students' fears of getting a flu shot could be put at ease with a nasal spray option offered by the Student Health Center.

Called the FluMist, the relatively unknown treatment -- where a light mist is sprayed into each nostril and then inhaled into the body -- serves as a puncture-free alternative to a flu shot, said Shelley Haffner, nurse manager for infection control at University Health Services.

"The FluMist is a painless way to get the flu vaccine, and it is equally effective as the injection," Haffner said. "A lot of students don't know about it, but it has been available all season long."

No research has proven the FluMist to be any less effective, Haffner said, and with National Influenza Vaccination Week beginning Monday -- and three lab-confirmed cases of the flu already on campus -- she's hoping students take advantage of the alternative treatment.

"Our primary goal is to get more people vaccinated, and hopefully people will be encouraged by providing another option that is equally effective and within a similar price range," Haffner said.

University Health Services defines flu, a respiratory or gastrointestinal illness, with early symptoms such as recurring high fever, brief shaking chills, headache, pain behind the eyes, non-productive hacking cough, fatigue and severe joint and muscle aches, according to UHS's Web site.

Both the injection and mist form of the flu vaccine are available at the Student Health Center and cost $28 and $32 respectively, Haffner said.

"People have been very positive, saying 'I didn't know this was available, it's so much easier,' " Haffner said.

Maggie Becker (junior-recreation, park and tourism management) said the FluMist would be a popular option but didn't know it was available. She said she hasn't gotten a flu vaccine this year.

"I didn't realize that the Student Health Center offered it, but I think people would generally prefer it because it seems much easier," she said.

Eric Rock (sophomore-mechanical engineering) agreed, although he hasn't yet gotten the vaccine.

"It's easier and less painful, so people who are afraid of needles might be more interested in getting it," he said.

Though certain groups of people such as smokers, anemics or those suffering from certain chronic illnesses may be ineligible, no adverse reactions or side effects have been reported at the Student Health Center, Haffner said.

"Mild side effects of the mist include a mild sore throat or a runny nose, whereas the shot may have soreness near the injection site," Haffner said. "There are two groups of people who are primary candidates for the FluMist: those who are afraid of needles or those who have an allergy to a component in the injection."

Though she has no preference between the shot and mist, Becker said because the Student Health Center offers the FluMist as an option and no one has yet complained, students should trust that it is a safe alternative.

"If the Student Health Center has been using it for a while, I don't see why anyone would be deterred from wanting to take it," Becker said.