Starve a fever, feed a cold. A high fever usually causes the contagious one to become nauseous, so you shouldn't eat anything with a fever. You should keep hydrated though, sipping clear liquids. Flat soda (gingerale, 7-up) is best. Juice pops and ice pops are good too. You don't want to be spewing anything with chunks, or have to clean it up, I might add. Can you tell I have kids? For a cold, here is a recipe from Epicurious for ginger tea. It's a nice sipping tea, and it is soothing to drink when you have a cold. When I was a kid with a sore throat and coughing, my mother would squeeze 4 or 5 fresh lemons and add honey to taste. She'd put it in a container and keep in the fridge. I would be given a dose of 1 or 2 tablespoons when needed. I always thought my throat felt better after I had some . I have been doing that with my three kids as well. My fourteen year old son, who loves anything spicy and/or sour, has always loved to take this when he's sick and even when he's well. He thinks this is a great little treat, and says he feels better after he takes some too. Now that I'm a grown up, I like to medicate myself with shots of Sambucca when I have a cold. Natch on the chicken soup. When I'm making it for a "sickie", I add a couple of slices of ginger root and a lot of garlic with everything else, strain all those cooked vegetables and herbs out of the broth. I've found that adding acini di pepe to the soup is easier for the "invalid" to swallow. Noodles are too big and Pastina is just too small. Hope everyone afflicted, feels better soon.