Whether your child has a cold or flu, there is usually not much you can do to make it go away faster. In the case of the flu, sometimes an anti-viral medication can be an appropriate approach to help keep the illness from progressing into a more serious case, but beyond this, there is little you can do to speed up the course of your child's sickness.

Although it isn't clear whether the British study results pertain to healthy people with no history of heart disease, experts caution that flu viruses could be a potential trigger for heart attacks in people with no apparent heart problem if they have other risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol or are overweight.

Before using herbs as natural flu remedies, seek information from a health professional such as a naturopath. Some herbs can interact with other herbs or medications, or make a pre-existing condition worse.