This bizarre TikTok hack claims to help with nasal congestion

TikTok is no stranger to anything from advice on how to take care of your mental health to messy ideas to reach out to your ex. A new hack claims to ease people’s nasal congestion by sticking a clove of garlic up their noses, resulting in viral videos of people doing just that. Apart from the gross factor, is there anything else to these statements?

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A stuffy nose dries out the mouth, creates pressure in the head, and makes everyday activities like breathing and eating very difficult. Even so, it seems like a pretty extreme course of action to stick a clove of garlic up your nostril, no matter how desperate you are.

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The TikTok videos suggest that peeled garlic can clean your nostrils down to the smallest detail. Medical experts say this is incorrect and that it could actually lead to medical complications.

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Dr. Anthony Del Signore explained to Self Magazine that the reason mucus leaks out of your nostrils when you put cloves of garlic in is because your nose reacts to a blockage there. “You’re not really cleaning the nasal cavity. In essence, it causes a caustic irritation in the nasal cavity, ”he said. The nostrils become inflamed and the mucus is the means to deal with the irritation.

Image by Joseph Mucira via Pixabay

A more worrisome problem is the fact that cloves of garlic are the perfect shape for an object that gets stuck in your nose. A blocked nasal passage can cause difficulty breathing and even infection. If you’re sick and your system is already struggling with an infection, putting a clove of garlic up your nose can multiply bacteria and make matters worse. “Bacteria love organic things,” says Dr. Del Signore.

The next time you see a TikTok recommending something that contradicts your basic instincts, don’t listen. No matter how constipated you are, there is never a good reason to stick a clove of garlic in your body.