I remember about ten years ago, I had a cold that seemed to linger and must have stayed with me for over a month. I had long coughing spells... at times coughing so much my chest would be in pain. That's why I feared getting another cold, because of how long it lasted in the past. But there's a difference between the colds I had back then and the cold I just recovered from; back then, I would use over the counter remedies, today, I buy certain produce and recover so much faster.
This past weekend, I noticed I was getting somewhat of a sore throat, but nothing too bad. By Monday, I noticed I was also getting some congestion. I really shouldn't have worked out on Monday, but I did. By Tuesday, my cold had turned into a non stop runny nose all day! Finally, on Wednesday, i had pain in my face from the pressure of my sinuses and was feeling miserable.
I got some fresh ginger and turmeric and made a smoothie with carrots and cinnamon. I also had some lemon water. Gradually, I started to feel better during the day. By the next day, you wouldn't even notice I had a cold. Note that I did not take anything over the counter and no prescriptions. My body quickly recovered in what used to take me more than a month to recover with over the counter drugs.
Ginger is known to help those who have a cold. I first tried using ginger when I last had a cold, over two and a half years ago. It worked just as good then. But I can't prove that it's just the ginger. I continuously eat healthy and drink a lot of water. Also, I have plenty of vitamin C.
I also think it's important to get enough rest when you're sick. I was feeling so sick Wednesday and had to call out from work. I went back to bed and I think the sleep also gave me time to recover.
So, to speed up the recovery time for a cold, I think the best medicine is to eat lots of vitamin C rich foods, include ginger and turmeric (maybe make a smoothie), drink lots of water and get plenty of rest.