Take two and call me in the morning

Not even a month into the new year and I find myself beginning to battle with my first cold of 2011. I should have seen this coming. For a couple of days now I've woken up with a feeling of dust in my throat, but after a couple of minutes and some coughing the feeling went away. Since then, this dust in my throat feeling has persisted throughout the day and thats where I am right now. I keep clearing my throat in the attempt of getting rid of this feeling but to no avail. What can I take? Although I am a fan of modern medicine, I avoid taking medication for unnessicarily. I have however, been drinking Airborne but maybe it's a little late for that. Hmm I need some juice...