The Thai Herbal Inhaler

It is a small plastic or glass tube packed with a cotton wick soaked in menthol, camphor, borneol and aromatic plant oils such as eucalyptus, peppermint, clove and cinnamon. You uncap it, hold it at one nostril and breathe in. The vapour is cold and sharp, and the head feels clearer within a breath or two.

Locally it is called yadom — literally "sniffing medicine". It is used all day long: in traffic, in air-conditioned offices, on long bus rides, after a heavy meal, or whenever the nose feels stuffy.

Close one nostril, hold the tube to the other, breathe in slowly for two or three seconds, then swap sides.

Two or three rounds is enough. Deeper or more frequent sniffing does not make the effect stronger.

Keep the cap on between uses — the aroma is volatile and an open tube fades in days rather than months.

A stick only works while it is under your nose. A roll-on oil is applied to the skin — temples, neck, wrists, chest, or the muscle that aches — and keeps releasing its aroma for hours after you put it away.

That is the difference we built shnort around: fifteen Thai botanicals in 8ml apothecary glass, rolled on rather than sniffed, so one application carries you through a flight, a workout or an afternoon at a desk.

See the four scents — or read what yadom is and whether herbal inhalers are safe.

A herbal inhaler is a cosmetic aromatherapy product. It is not a decongestant medicine, not an asthma inhaler, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any condition. If breathing is genuinely difficult, see a doctor.