No, I haven't had a cold in about nine months. It has been years since I had the flu. The secret, for me, is to keep my immunity up so I don't catch the cold or flu in the first place. If I don't get enough sleep, nor enough Vitamin D(sunlight or fish oil), if I get stressed out over something, any or all of these make me more likely to catch a cold. Getting rid of it takes time -- I think there must be herbs that could help knock it out or some holistic treatment, but I haven't found it yet. Rarely drinking alcohol and never smoking cigarettes are important steps to preventing both of these illnesses.