Will Sniffing Alcohol Ease Nausea After Surgery?

Most of the time when we learn about an unusual home remedy, we have no idea how or even whether it works. So we were thrilled last year when we came across an actual placebo-controlled trial of sniffing alcohol wipes to ease nausea in the emergency department. One reader reports that this was a favorite home remedy of his grandmother:

Grandma Knows How to Calm Nausea:

Q. Growing up, I remember my grandmother always giving us a bottle of rubbing alcohol to smell when we had nausea. I’d like to know the reason why because it worked every single time.

A. We’d like to know the reason, too. All we have are a few studies demonstrating that it does work (American Journal of Emergency Medicine, March 2021; Annals of Emergency Medicine, Aug. 2018; Annals of Emergency Medicine, July 2016).

None of these studies described a mechanism, but all confirm that this remedy is effective. A reader who learned about this remedy in the hospital following surgery wrote to us about it.

Sniffing Alcohol Wipes after Surgery:

Q. After I had surgery, the ICU nurses gave me alcohol wipes to sniff for the nausea. It worked like a charm.

When I was sent to another floor for my last day, I asked for the alcohol packets. The nurse on that floor asked in shock, “WHY are you sniffing alcohol?” It’s funny how nursing staff from one department may not know about the simple practices another department uses to help their patients. I explained to her that the ICU nurses had recommended it. She still looked skeptical but at least didn’t remove the packets.

I went home the next day with a few packets at the ready but was hardly bothered by nausea by then. We now keep some in our home first aid kit.

The Science on Alcohol Aromatherapy:

A. Emergency physicians conducted a randomized placebo-controlled trial of sniffing alcohol wipes compared to the powerful antiemetic ondansetron ( Annals of Emergency Medicine, Aug. 2018). The researchers gave 40 patients both alcohol aromatherapy and ondansetron. Moreover, 41 of the patients used alcohol aromatherapy and took a placebo pill. In the third arm of the study, 41 other volunteers sniffed saline solution from packets and took ondansetron.

The investigators concluded:

“…aromatherapy with or without oral ondansetron provides greater nausea relief than oral ondansetron alone.”

If you have ever tried this remedy, please tell us about your experience. In addition, if you know of a different remedy for a common problem and you don’t think we have written about it, we’d love to be enlightened.