Many years ago if you had a cold or a sore throat the first thing your mother would do was sending you to bed and the second was to make you a cup of hot soup.
When there was coal or wood fires and no central healing mother natures healing herbs and various roots were the main ingredients of remedies which were made into medicine.
The Chinese population and qualified therapists all use the natural healing herbs on a daily basis to keep their bodies tuned to good health.
The reference to a comfort blanket comes from the tradition of slipping under a blanket when you needed comfort due to feeling ill.
Soup Recipe: The sentiment is you are healing mind and body.
The old fashioned idea of boiling a chicken is still useful as a comforting base for a soup. However adding a little whiskey removes a high temperatures or a fever.
Adding ginger can bring a great deal of warmth when required.
Chinese herbal remedy such as ginger taken in the form of a tea can reduce the fever by sweating out all the toxins your body is clinging on to. Add honey if the taste is not sutable.
Use ginger quickly when you feel a cold coming on before the temperature takes hold