Brandi Glanville of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame recently partook in a DIY health hack, which ended up backfiring and landing her in the hospital.
Keep reading to know more.
Brandi Glanville recently shared that an online DIY health-related hack cost her a trip to urgent care after it went seriously wrong.
The reality TV star, known for several shows including The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Celebrity Big Brother, shared her ordeal on her podcast, Brandi Glanville Unfiltered.
She explained that over Easter weekend, she caught a cold from her youngest son, Jack. This prompted her to try a viral remedy.
On the April 9 episode, Glanville told co-host James Maas she put a clove of garlic in her ear to try to clear her sinuses. “It was Easter, and I had a piece of garlic stuck in my ear,” she said on the podcast. “It really went down further, and I had to go to urgent care the next day and get it taken out.”
She said the situation left her unable to enjoy the holiday.
“I was just trying to clear up my sinuses. It’s online. Don’t listen to people online, or TikTok, or Instagram, or Twitter, or Facebook,” Glanville warned.
She added that she originally got the idea from her older son.
According to Glanville, Mason told her that putting garlic in his nostrils helped with a cold—but when she tried it herself, it caused too much irritation.
“It was burning too much, so I moved it to my ear,” she said. “It was like burning my skin because I’d just lasered it.” Online, reactions were quick to follow.
“She put garlic in her ear for congestion..although it has merit..its not recommended by Doctors and the medical field,” one person wrote. Others seemed bothered by the news, “she’s so desperate for attention,” one person posted.
Doctors have long warned against trying viral health hacks without proper medical advice.
Dr. Madeleine Herman, physician president at the Sinus Center & ENT Specialists of Houston, told the New York Post that putting garlic in your ear is “absolutely not” a valid treatment.
“Foreign bodies in the ear canal can cause infections or worse,” she said. “They could lead to eardrum perforations or even damage to the bones that allow you to hear.”
“There’s a reason ENTs tell you not to put anything in the ear canal, including Q-tips.”
She also noted garlic can cause burns if it comes into contact with sensitive areas like the ear canal or nostrils.
Dr. Andrew Spector, an otolaryngologist with Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics in Manchester, NH, echoed that. They said, “it absolutely makes zero sense that putting something in your ear would help sinus or nasal congestion, let alone ear congestion.”
“Even if somebody had an opening in their eardrum (which they should not naturally have), garlic would not get from the ear canal through the Eustachian tube into the back of the nose and up to the sinuses. In other words, it literally cannot reach the nose or sinuses.”
Glanville has previously been open about ongoing health issues, including a long-term facial condition that affected her confidence, career, and finances.
At one point, she believed it was caused by a parasite and reportedly spent over $130,000 seeking answers, seeing 21 doctors and trying different treatments.
In February 2026, she revealed she finally had a diagnosis.
Speaking to TMZ outside a doctor’s office in Beverly Hills, Glanville said the issue was caused by ruptured breast implants, which leaked silicone into her body and led to infection.
She had the implants for 20 years and didn’t have them checked or removed within the usual timeframe.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” she said, reflecting on the decision.
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