How Nurse Erika Smacks Down on a Gnarly Cold by: Nurse Erika

Fluid:
I personally prefer to drown my germs. More accurately, when you feel achy/feverish/head-achy/devoid of energy - the symptoms aren't a direct cause of germs, those symptoms are cause by inflammation. Your body mounts an immune response to rid yourself of those germs. If you keep well hydrated, all this inflammation plays out in a diluted environment, the water all the while buffering the horrible effects of inflammation on your body. I do like to imagine the cold bugs drowning, I must confess. Bonus - your day of general malaise will be interrupted by frequent trips to the bathroom to pee. And who doesn't love the relaxation and gratification of going pee?

Take a lesson from your Asian grandmother:
Not sure if this one really helps, but when I get a cold, I bundle up. This is in no way medically proven, and pay diligent attention to your body temperature because high fevers cause organ failure and brain damage. That being said, fever is the body's way of cooking germs. I adopted this practice naturally after years of working with a largely Asian patient population in SF. After I thoroughly hydrate, I put on hat/scarf/mittens/sweater. I get a hot brothy soup. I cook. I do it until I'm uncomfortably hot. I sweat. Once again, I imagine my cold bugs cooking. Downside... all that sweating really cuts down on my urine output.

Complementary Pharmacy
Read the labels of a few different cold and flu pills (thera-flu aside, shimmy...), and you'll notice they are all made of the same basic ingredients, mixed in the same quantities, but baring different names and prices. (Just like the Taco Bell menu...).
Here is a quick and dirty guide. Keep these simple remedies on hand and combine as needed. And buy the cheap store version.
Loratidine: Clears up stuffy nose and watery eyes - the allergic/itchy/sneezy part of the cold. Diphenhydramine: Same family, but this one puts you to sleep. Use to dry up sinuses at night. Pseudoephedrine: AKA Speed. Take this one sparingly and skip the coffee to avoid the shakes at work. 60mg is PLENTY. Pseudoephedrine causes the smooth muscle in the respiratory tract to contract, opening up stuffy noses. Ingested speed keeps you feeling way better than you really are. Take this with a bit of Loratidine to diminish the healthy stream of snot that flows from your newly unclogged sinuses. Anti-inflammatory (Ibuprofen or Tylenol or Aspirin): When you start to shake and ache and are rendered to a ball of dull pain weeping alone on your couch, its time to call time-out. Take an anti-inflammatory and get some respite. Use the downtime to hydrate.

Of course, if you aren't that sick, my favorites are non-medicines. My pharmacist endorses emergen-C over Airborne - I believe in her convictions. Garlic and Onion have natural anti-inflammatory properties. Leafy greens and tomatoes offer anti-oxidants. Berries have antiseptic qualities, as does sage. Okra soothes sore throats. Find a hearty vegetable soup and have at it. I actually add vege-mite for its beefy salty flavor, and its high concentration of B-vitamins. Don't forget the chili flakes to induce sweating. Fuck yeah.

Rest:
You must watch TV, something mind dulling. Don't watch anything that makes you think. Don't work from home. Don't contemplate the meaning of it all. Your cells are all inflamed - don't make things worse for them. Just please don't watch Maury Povich - I'm pretty sure his show causes inflammation on a cellular level.

I hope you take as much pleasure battling the cold and flu as I do. But lets take a moment to give credit to all bacteria - as they are the original life form, and we are THEIR illness. So fight them off at will, but respect your elders.