To be honest, I'm not even sure what I would call these in English, but in Thai they're called Ya Dom which literally translates to smelling medicine.
Thailand is endowed with plenty of unusual sites (to a foreigner) such as movable stalls selling edible pig's body parts and intestines, thousands of motorbikes on the road, deep fried insects, and even elephants and monkeys strolling the streets. And with these strange sites also comes...well....strange smells. So how does a local cope? Two words: Ya Dom.
Ya Dom is a stick-type inhaler that is used to clear nasal congestion and help with nausea, fatigue, or dizziness caused by smells. It's made from menthol, camphor, and eucalyptus oil as base ingredients. It works by stimulating nerve endings which allow for improved blood flow which therefore counters conditions such as nausea, figure, and dizziness. To use it, you simply open the cap, stick it up your nose, and sniff.
Ya Dom is used by millions of people in Thailand; in fact, it's hard to find a Thai person who doesn't carry one of these babies with them 24/7. But not only do they carry them, they use them. Often. Despite the current Ya Dom craze in Thailand, its use actually reflects the Thai age-old habit of using aromatic herbal remedies.
So if your're curious - go ahead and give Ya Dom a try next time you're in Thailand. They're only about 15 baht (50 cents) and are conveniently sold at each and every (yep, you guessed it) 7-Eleven in Thailand.
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