For that I took some oriental medicine.
Oriental medicine uses somewhat different thinking for cold care from Western medicine that are good to kill symptoms. One notable difference is that oriental medicine try to customize the care and medications according to symptoms, type of the cold, and patient's body type.
A cold is not a cold. Beginning cold and full-on running cold are different. Chilly cold and high fever "hot" cold are different. A patient with "chubby and solid"-body type may receive different medication from a patient with "thin and pale" one.
I took a popular over-the-counter med called Kakkonto (Ge Gen Tang). The med is said to be good for early phase of cold and should be taken when you are feeling chilly, but not when having a fever.
Kakkonto is said to be a med that warms you up, which is helpful for you to ward off early cold by activating immune system. When you have a fever, it is a sign of your immune system working hard.
The herbal pill did have a warming up effect on me. I started sweating a little, like after having a spicy food. Interesting.
It worked great this time. The cold was gone by Monday.
Following oriental medicine approach, I choose my self-medication. For a high fever and inflammatory-type cold (like a flu), I'd pick Isatis root tea (Ban lan gen). They say it is anti-inflammatory and reduce fever.
Although not oriental medicine, Elderberry syrup is fine, too.
I don't mind if my cold med is low-tech or high tech, as long as it works. I like things that work. That is the bottom line.
[Ge Gen Tang Wan (Kakkonto pill) found in US Amazon]
I have no financial relations to the med maker. A disclaimer just in case.
