As with prevention, treating colds and flu involves gathering key herbs, adding a few extra items to your grocery list, and prioritizing self-care. When you're achy, exhausted, and ready to buy stock in Kleenex, here's how to feel better.

Western medicine can learn from the Eastern concept of tonification -- the idea that we need to strengthen the body, particularly after an illness. In addition to sleep, hydration, and good nutrition, consider Panax ginseng, at 200 mg daily. Or try taking ginseng in the form of a DIY tonic.

While not necessarily a preventive measure, vitamin C does appear to reduce cold symptoms. It gets flushed quickly out of the system, so take 500 mg three or four times a day at the beginning of a cold.

Try 1,000 mg of echinacea three to five times a day. Another herb, andrographis, has rendered colds less severe in controlled clinical trials. A combination of eleuthero and andrographis, sold under the name Kan Jang, was also found to reduce symptoms of respiratory infections. Follow the package directions.

A 200-year-old approach to medicine that operates according to "the law of similar," the practice of homeopathy maintains that conditions can be alleviated by substances that trigger the same types of symptoms in healthy people. The popular homeopathic flu remedy Oscillococcinum, a compound of duck's heart and liver, probably doesn't prevent infections, but it may shorten the course of the illness. In one study, nearly 63 percent of patients showed clear improvement or no symptoms at all after taking it, compared to 49 percent in the placebo group; the remedy also reduced symptoms such as fever and chills. The treatment works best when taken within the first 48 hours following the onset of symptoms.