There are some nasty viruses going around at the moment... it's because we've not had a good hard frost to kill them off and we all rely far too much on central heating and having warm houses without the hassle of just wearing a thicker jumper (there is no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing). Keep yourself warm but don't overheat your room. Thick socks and an extra blankie around you, try and have a window open if you can.

Hope you feel better soon. I found alternating hot honey and lemon (fresh made, none of this packet stuff) with cold raspberry/cranberry juice got rid of the tickly cough and Halls Soothers helped with the rough throat. Eat healthily when you can, chicken soup has been proven the best decongestant... keep your veggie intake up and drink milk to help with mucual production. Nothing worse than trying to cough up something that won't shift.

The ribs are probably from the coughing, if the pain is specific to one area you may have strained a muscle.

Take care of yourself.

LTS