Years ago — early 1980's? — I read an article in Medical Economics (I was a lawyer advising physician practices on this and that) about what the author (a physician) called the “navy cure” for the incipient common cold. It had something to do with breathing in the alcohol escaping from a basin of heated vodka. The idea was to hit the bug with disinfectant while it was still trying to get started in the respiratory system. I don’t remember how strongly the article recommended the approach, but the fact that it existed at all is worth noting. It is probably also worth noting that I cannot find any reference to this method on the ‘Net.