Brits are raving about a ‘crazy’ hack to stop motion sickness – and all you need is a piece of fruit.
The latest TikTok trend to take the nation by storm features carrying a lemon in your bag in case you’re hit with nauesea while on the road – but does it actually work?
NHS Surgeon and University lecturer Dr Karan Rajan has buillt up an impressive 5.3 million folllowers on TikTok thanks to his snappy health advise, has responded to the seemingly-bizarre claims.
Surprisingly, the expert says the hack ‘might actually work’ as sniffing on citrus fruits can kick-start your olfactory system.”Your olfactory system is also closely related to the limbic system, which regulatess nausea,” he said.
The doctor explains how inhaling the scent of a lemon can also increase saliva production and ‘gastric emptying’ which both ‘help relieve’ the nasty symptoms of car sickness.
“The strong scent of any citrus fruits also provides a sensory distraction,” he added. “By sniffing it, you’re overwriting the code for nauesea in your brain; you’re shifting attentiion away from the nausearing stimuli towards a more potent aroma.”
Dr Raj warned the hack might not ‘work for everyone’ but argued natural preventions are always worth trying out, especially as they’re ‘low cost’ and ‘relatively risk-free’.
If you want to try the hack out for yourself, you can pick up a four-pack of lemons from Aldi for 65p, which works out at just 16p per lemon. Other natural remedies include peppermint oil and ginger.
Hundreds of viewers rushed to the comments section to share their thoughts – with many arguing the hack works. “I used to do this when pregnant – [it] helped greatly,” one user raved.
Another agreed, commenting: “My dad used to do this for me when I was a child but with oranges,” while a third asked: “Is this why my nausea goes away when I drink lemon juice? Always wondered why I crave it when I’m feeling sick.”
However, others claimed the hack just put them off the fruit altogether. “I was told this as a child and my body now associate smell of citrus to puke unfortunately,” one person wrote.