This one is going to seem unorthodox and perhaps a bit weird to what other people are likely presenting as solutions to the common cold.
I don't get sick very often but when I do it tends to be quite bad. My "traditional cure" for the common cold is likely not based at all in science, but it has often worked for me.
Here in Thailand, we don't have access to the kind of drugs that I consider to be things that actually work when it comes to fixing a cold. We don't have most antihistamines because apparently people use it to make meth or something along those lines. We can't really get any sort of medicine that actually works on draining fluids from your skull. We can only get something really mild that works to this end and it is called "Tiffy." Basically it is a very low dose of regular pain killer and some sort of decongestant that on its own, does almost nothing at all. However, you can kick start this medication by adding one of the world's oldest cure-alls.
That's right... BOOZE! and I have found that the stronger it is, the more of an amplification effect it is going to have on the medication. I'm not saying that you should get trashed because getting smashed will almost always succeed in making you actually feel worse. I would say that if you are a regular drinker, that 3 oz (shots) of this will do the trick. The added bonus of the fact that the alcohol is going to help you sleep a lot better is an intentional side effect. Sleep is probably the best thing you can do for your body when you are sick and for me, it is the best way to fast-forward a cold. Of course it helps if you don't have a bunch of obligations in your life such as driving because that is illegal.
For me, this has always done the trick a lot faster than sitting there and suffering through a cold, and unless you have some sort of religious reason why you can't use it, it works like a charm for me!
There was one time that I was on a trip with friends to do some Rocky Mountain hiking and the day before I got a really bad bug. It wasn't just my sinuses but also my guts. I was throwing up everything and the other side of me was having a similar effect. I had already paid for this trip but was concerned about going at this point. My friends loaded me up with booze the night before we were scheduled to leave and voila! The next day I was magically cured.
