Nauseated patients in the emergency department who sniffed pads saturated with isopropyl alcohol were twice as likely to obtain relief from their symptoms as nauseated patients who sniffed pads saturated with saline solution, according to a study published online today in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Researchers administered pads saturated with either isopropyl alcohol or saline solution and instructed nauseated patients to inhale deeply through their noses from the pad every two minutes for four minutes, for a maximum of three inhalations. Within 10 minutes of the intervention, the nausea score in the alcohol patients was half that of the saline solution patients. The satisfaction score for the alcohol patients was double the satisfaction score for the saline solution patients.

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