Cold and Flu Season: "Genus Epidemicus" - the Homeopathic approach to epidemics

Simply put, practitioners have found that, while treating patients in an epidemic, a core set of symptoms emerges from which an over-arching remedy can be used to treat nearly all cases and which is also used in a prophylactic manner.
Briefly, once this remedy is identified, homeopaths upon seeing a patient will observe whether the patient fits the remedy in whole or in part and be able to quickly prescribe for that patient. Should the presenting patient demonstrate a set of symptoms outside the picture of the remedy, the usual case taking procedures will be necessary.
For the general population not yet evidencing symptoms, the genus epidemicus is given in the hopes of stimulating/strengthening the body's natural defense mechanism.