Experts slam ‘gross’ hack where people put garlic up nostrils

It’s billed as a quick fix for blocked noses – but despite removing a disgusting amount of snot, doctors are warning against the trick.

This is a waste of perfectly good garlic – and a potential health hazard.

An eyebrow-raising TikTok trend that involves users putting garlic cloves up their nostrils in an attempt to clear sinuses can go wrong on many levels, doctors say.

Videos showing the “hack” for clearing up a stuffy nose have garnered millions of views and show young people putting a clove of peeled garlic in each nostril.

Many of the videos result in TikTokers removing the garlic to streaming runny noses – but that doesn’t mean it is a cure-all.

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This viral TikTok garlic hack has been criticised by experts. Picture: TikTok

“If you do this enough, the body will start to react to the oils and chemicals in the garlic and cause contact dermatitis in the nose,” Neil Bhattacharyya, an ear, nose, and throat doctor told The Independent.

“Some garlic cloves are really strong, and if you get enough leaching of the chemicals and oils into your nose, it will definitely irritate it,” Dr Bhattacharyya, who works at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a specialty hospital in Boston, explained.

What’s worse, people run the risk of getting the cloves stuck up their nostrils, potentially resulting in a trip to a doctor.

This video has more than 4 million views, sparking a trend. Picture: TikTok

But there is no evidence garlic helps sinuses, however it could damage your nostrils. Picture: TikTok

Dr Richard Wender stressed there was no scientific proof that supports garlic is a sinus-saver, telling Insider “evidence is important”.

“It would be wrong to say that we’ve done extensive research about garlic in noses,” he told the publication.

“But in general, garlic itself and the chemicals of garlic don’t interact much with human tissue.”

For these reasons, a number of doctors advise sticking with saline nasal spray to help with nasal congestion.

The gross result hasn’t stopped the trend taking off *face palm*. Picture: TikTok

However this hasn’t stopped the trend taking off with videos featuring the hashtag #garlicinnose having more than 60 million views to date.

All of them end with a disgusting amount of snot leaving the person’s nose, which if the health warnings aren’t enough to put you off, that will be.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission