Social media has struck again. The latest trend on TikTok is stuffing garlic up your nostrils to relieve cold symptoms — yes, you read that right.
For the past few weeks, videos highlighting this “grandmother’s trick” have proliferated: the technique is simple, since all you have to do is peel two cloves of garlic, introduce them deep into your nostrils, and wait 10 15 minutes to clear your nose “as if by magic”.
Except, of course, sticking garlic in your nose is not a good idea. Worse: according to Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya, an ENT doctor interviewed by our colleagues from the magazine shape“the substances contained in the clove of garlic can cause an inflammatory reaction on the part of the body and lead to the development of a pathology, contact dermatitis. This is characterized by itching, swelling, redness… inside the nose in this specific case.“
Garlic tea, recommended for cold symptoms
Not to mention the fact that it is possible that a clove of garlic inserted too deeply remains stuck in a nostril – it would then be necessary to go to the Emergency…
But not everything is to be thrown away in this new fad on TikTok. Indeed, garlic has antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties: the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) even recognize its effectiveness in the treatment of respiratory disorders and, more specifically, against cold symptoms.
However, there is no question of sticking a clove of garlic in your nose. When you suffer from a cold, in parallel with washing your nose with physiological serum, the best thing is still to use a garlic tea: you throw 1 minced garlic clove in 20 cL of boiling water, you let infuse 15 min, and drink 2 to 3 cups a day.
Source : Vidal encyclopedia
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