Ginger Tea Demo: Jonathan Ammen, New England School of Acupuncture
No matter where you live or what language you speak, the symptoms of a cold are understood the world over -- no translation required: Your throat feels sore; your nose runs; you might cough or sneeze; and your body aches.
It's time to crawl under the covers and get the extra rest you need.
But a cold virus will need some coaxing to hit the road. Colds rarely make a quick exit and usually take about a week to run their course.
That's where the time-honored tradition of folk medicine comes into play.
Faced with a cold and a lack of modern medicine, our ancestors turned to nature for its treatments. And throughout the world, parts of plants -- the roots, stems, leaves, fruits and flowers -- are used to ease a cold and its symptoms.
In the United States, we've been spooning up chicken soup when we get sick for generations. The comforting golden broth appears to have some therapeutic benefits, both from its ingredients and its warmth.
"The common cold is a good example of an illness we don't have a good cure for and there are good common-sense remedies for it," said Dr. Marjorie Mau, chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii.
As the daughter of a Chinese father and Hawaiian Chinese mother, Mau fondly recalled her mother's spin on chicken soup, which she loves to this day. It combines chicken in a clear broth, ginger root ... and a little bit of whiskey.
Now a physician, she can explain why a bowl of this homemade treatment made her feel better. "It was warm and likely the alcohol helped to break my fever and make me sleepy. The liquid gave me some added hydration. And the chicken was tender and easy to digest. It's exactly what Western medicine says to do for a cold."
Possibly, it's the memories of and belief in the healing potential of these folk remedies that make them so powerful.
That's why ABCNews.com searched for the popular foods, drinks or remedies from other countries and cultures. Consider these eight treatments based on folk medicine with an international flair.
Visit the OnCall+ Cold & Flu Center
If we've left out your heritage, post your own favorite ways to get over a cold in the comments section after reading this article.
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
