Home Remedies for Colds

The sore throat started yesterday afternoon. I left work early (one of our cell lines, the one I work in, actually came from a human originally a few decades ago, so being sick around the plates is not good), got groceries for foods that will go down easy, overloaded on citrus (hey, it is in season), and prepared to be as sick as Husband has been all week. It hasn't been that bad so far, though I did take it easy a lot of the day. Even the sore throat eased after I took my home remedies. What are they?
1. If your throat really hurts, DO NOT TALK. Write notes or use sign language or something. My students used to get amused when I would teach without a voice. I taught them the ASL signs for "yes" and "no". The classroom tended to be quieter than usual as the kids started imitating me (or maybe that was making fun...). Middle schoolers are funny.
2. Drink lots of tea at the most comfortable temperature, which is the hot side of lukewarm for me. I add honey and lemon juice, and choose decaf green or chamomile at night.
3. Here's where it gets weird. Before one of those cups of tea (at home of course) I mince a small clove of garlic and hold it in my mouth toward the back for as long as I can, then swallow with the honeyed tea.
4. Lukewarm salt water nasal lavage (you use a plastic device to gently pour the salt water up your nose. It is nasty, but not torturous) acts as a mild antiseptic. Gargle with some of the salt water to soothe and clean those swollen tonsils.
5. The sore throat is usually gone or down to slightly scratchy by the next day if I comply with the vow of silence. Of course nobody gets too close for 24 hours, because all the Listerine in the world does not eliminate the garlic breath. But they won't get the germs either, so it's good.