Fevers are your body fighting the infection so unless it gets too high you should just let it do it’s thing. Keeping the fever will shorten the duration of a mild or moderate illness. If your fever gets up to 102-103f or ~39c take medicine to reduce it, if it hits 105f or 40c then you are in danger of cooking you brain and should go to the ER. Stay well hydrated, getting some electrolytes is a good idea if you are sweating more than usual or vomiting. Eat regularly, your body is using extra calories to fight the infection so even if you activity level is lower you need the same or a little more calories than normal. The more balanced your diet the better. Have something to do. Don’t just focus on the illness and lay around getting bored, do some light housework, engage is a light hobby, catch up on some TV or movies, replay an old favorite video game. Anything to keep your mind engaged and to make the time pass faster.

Chicken soup (placebo yes but works for me)

Ibuprofen

Mostly, I sleep. When I’m not sleeping, I play relaxing video games or watch older TV shows/movies. So it’s like Stardew Valley and Better Off Ted/Airplane all day.

And, of course, chicken soup or your regional equivalent sick people food.

Water + rest. Take off work!

Your body is fighting hard

Soup always makes me feel better. Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just something hot and healthy and tasty. And a piece of bread to mop up afterwards.

Drink a lot. I personally always like tea brewed with a few thin slices of ginger. It’s refreshing and makes me feel better.

It is important to drink enough. If your nose is swollen and shut, xylometazoline does handle that. Paracetamol (1000 mg for adults) or Ibuprofene (400 mg for adults) will help against pain and fever.

I got people calling it “the undead-turning lamen”:

Get some chicken (thighs? breast? whatever, include the bones but take them afterwards). Dice it, season with ginger, red pepper, black pepper, brown sugar. Brown it in a pot large enough to make some soup out of it. Then add wasabi, vinegar, minced garlic, soy sauce and water or chicken stock, fix the seasoning as necessary. (It’s fine to add a bit of salt to avoid making it too soy saucy.) Then add sliced cabbage, carrot, onion, leek, whatever you have in your fridge (see note on order), plus instant noodles (no packet seasoning). Let it cook all together and serve it.

It won’t cure your cold or flu. But it’s comforting, and nutritive. Make it spicy, but not uncomfortably so. If you’re struggling to chew it’s fine to just sip the liquid itself, as plenty nutrients from the vegs will leak into it.

NOTE: vegs and noodles take different cooking times, so plan accordingly. If using the ones that I’ve listed I’d probably add the carrots and cabbage, wait a bit, then onion and leek, wait a bit more, then the lamen. I usually go by texture but I guess five minutes between steps is reasonable?

Vitamin C , lots of water. Rest and real non processed food such fresh fruit and vegetables. I also avoid carb heavy meals when unwell to give my system a break. I still eat some carbs but just keep it light.

In addition to what people have advised so far, I can’t stress enough how important rest, and especially sleep is when you’re ill. Whenever I’ve fallen ill with a cold, flu, cough, etc., I find that if I try to fight it and go about the day as normal, the illness lasts much longer. If I try to sleep it off, I get better a lot faster. If you can, and especially on the first day, don’t go to work, don’t run errands, and especially don’t go to the gym/exercise. Good luck!

If you’ve been ill for just a few days and it’s available to you, get a COVID-19 test and seek Paxlovid. The new variants are about so many are sick with it and Paxlovid is effective at reducing illness severity. Same is true of Tamiflu for the flu but it’s likely to be COVID-19 at this time.

“There’s been a rumor that – you know, a very nice rumor – that you go outside in the sun or you have heat and it does have an effect on other viruses,”

“I’m going to speak to the medical doctors to see if there’s any way that you can apply light and heat to cure, you know, if you could.”

Standing in the shower can provide temporary relief.

A hot, spicy, citrus-laden soup loaded down with potatoes, chayote, spinach, onions, cilantro, and a protein source of your choice. Flavor with stock. Broccoli and/or carrots added in late in the cooking to preserve their crunch.

The psychological effects of a hearty meal and the nutritional benefits are great. Make it in a big enough pot and you can keep coming back to it over 2 days, leaving you free from cooking and limiting additional dishes to mess with while sick.

Spend that time practicing self-care instead. The mental boost is considerable and lessens the awful feeling of being sick.

Also, make sure to take in sunlight, but also spend some time cozy in a dark setting. Falling into a hard habit can adversely affect your mood.

Don’t neglect grooming. A hot shower and a clean, head of hair/scalp is something people may take for granted, but I’ve had to go days without a shower sometimes and the feeling of a freshly washed head is revitalizing.

Last time I was down with the Plague™, I was in bed, chugging jugs of thyme tea (helps a lot with wet cough), and taking ibuprofen/pseudoephedrine for the fever and stuffy nose. Also I watched the entire history of the Earth documentary series while sorting out my mystery embroidery floss. That helped a lot to keep me busy. Sleeping is good but I feel like I lose track of time and that triggers my depression. But I usually recommend it a lot to my patients.