Try some of these recipes for homemade cough and cold remedies:

Ginger Tea
• 1 inch or so fresh Ginger root, sliced thin or grated
• 1/2 a fresh Lemon, sliced (peel & all)
• 1 Clove Garlic, mashed
• ~2 c water
• Very generous spoonful honey

Place water, Ginger, Lemon, & Garlic in saucepan; bring to boil, then turn down heat and simmer gently for 20 min. Strain into mugs and add lots of honey. The tea will get stronger if you let it sit! Most invigorating! The Garlic adds a bit of bitterness, but the honey masks that. This tea is very soothing to the throat and warms and opens the chest and nasal passages. Plus there are all those Vitamins and other good things! I now make this tea at the first sign of a cold, which helps me fight it off. I find it more effective than the commercial hot Lemon remedies, and of course cheaper!
Old Fashioned Mustard Plaster (Helps relieve chest congestion due to colds)
• 1 tbsp dry Mustard
• 1/4 cup flour
• Lukewarm water

Sift together Mustard and flour in a bowl. Slowly add just enough water to make a paste. Spread the plaster on a piece of muslin big enough to cover chest. Cover with another piece of muslin.
Make sure the skin is dry. Place the Mustard plaster on the chest. Check frequently and discontinue if there is any kind of allergic reaction. Remove when skin begins to turn red, usually after 10-20 minutes, and don’t leave on any longer than 30 minutes at a time. Then rub the chest with Vaseline to keep the heat in. Treat twice daily until congestion clears up.