Amrutanjan, Poy-Sian, and svāroma: What's Actually Different

If you have ever kept a nasal inhaler in a bag or a desk drawer in India, it was probably one of two things. An Amrutanjan Relief inhaler, the small one with the keychain loop. Or a Poy-Sian Mark II, the striped Thai tube that people bring back from Bangkok by the handful.

Both are excellent at what they were designed to do. Neither was designed to do what an aromatherapy inhaler does. The difference is not marketing positioning, and it is not quality. It is written directly into the ingredient percentages on the packaging, and once you see those numbers the whole category makes more sense.

What is actually in each one

Start with the published formulations, because they are more informative than any description.

Poy-Sian Mark II lists menthol at 42%, camphor at 16.4%, eucalyptus oil at 8.5%, and borneol at 6.1%.

Amrutanjan Relief Nasal Inhaler lists pudinah, the menthol crystal derived from Mentha arvensis, at around 40%, and karpura, or camphor, at around 35%, alongside gandhapura patra taila (wintergreen oil) and tailaparna taila (eucalyptus oil). It is formulated and sold as an Ayurvedic preparation for nasal congestion.

The widely available Western equivalents follow the same logic, built around menthol and camphor with a conifer oil.

So across three continents, the same architecture: menthol as the dominant compound, camphor second, an aromatic oil in support. When roughly 40% of a formulation is a single compound, that compound is not a note in a blend. It is the entire product.

Why they are built that way

Menthol at those concentrations is not really functioning as a scent. It is functioning as a receptor agonist.

Menthol binds to TRPM8, a cold-sensing receptor on trigeminal nerve endings in the nasal lining. The trigeminal nerve handles temperature, touch, and irritation in the face. It is the nerve that registers the heat of chilli and the sting of raw onion, and it is entirely separate from the olfactory nerve that carries smell.

When TRPM8 fires, the brain interprets the cooling as evidence of good airflow. This produces a genuinely counterintuitive finding: research published in PLOS One notes that applying menthol creates the perception of decongestion without actually altering nasal morphology. A study in PMC on nasal cooling and airflow perception reaches the same conclusion, and explains the mechanism: we judge how clear our nose feels by how cool the incoming air is, not by how much air is moving.

This is not a knock on those products. It is why they work so well and so fast. A 42% menthol formulation delivers an unmistakable sensation within a second, and for a blocked nose at two in the morning that immediate, convincing sensation of clearance is precisely what you want. It is a well-solved problem, solved decades ago, and sold at a price that makes it available to nearly everyone.

What high menthol does to everything else in the tube

Here is the part with real consequences for anyone shopping across both categories.

The trigeminal and olfactory systems are separate, but they interact. A 2025 review in Chemical Senses describes them as distinct sensory modalities that converge at multiple stages of the nervous system, with trigeminal input able to either sharpen or suppress what the olfactory system registers. Work on olfactory and trigeminal integration in the primary olfactory cortex has found that at higher concentrations, the trigeminal component of a compound reduces the perceived intensity and quality of the odour underneath it.

Which means the eucalyptus in a 42% menthol tube is largely inaudible. Not absent, just overwhelmed. You are not perceiving a botanical composition. You are perceiving cold, with something faintly green behind it.

Again: correct design. Nobody buying a decongestant is evaluating its top notes. But it does explain why these products all smell broadly alike despite different ingredient lists, and why a blend built for aromatic character has to be constructed at completely different concentrations.

We went further into the olfactory pathway itself in the science of scent and how smell reaches the brain.

Where svāroma sits

svāroma makes seven inhalers, and one of them sits squarely in this category.

svā sawadee (Ya Dom) is our take on the Thai inhaler. It is menthol-forward by design, built on natural menthol from Mentha arvensis with white camphor and borneol, so the first breath has the same sharp, cold character as the tubes above. What differs is everything around it: eucalyptus, peppermint, kaffir lime, clove bud and cardamom composed underneath, so the cold arrives first and a warm, spiced tail follows. It comes in the svāroma format, a matte twin-nostril inhaler held beneath the nose rather than inserted.

The other six work on the opposite brief: five to seven oils at lower concentrations, where the individual notes stay distinct on the fortieth use rather than collapsing into a single cold hit. Scent as a cue rather than a jolt, before a difficult conversation, on a long flight, at the end of an afternoon that has gone badly.

None of the seven is a medicine. They are not licensed as such, make no medical claims, and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any condition.

It is also a more expensive object. The price reflects pure essential oils, natural menthol, and a format designed to be carried and used every day.

The honest overlap

There is one place these categories genuinely meet, and it is worth naming rather than glossing over.

A lot of people use traditional inhalers for travel. Not for congestion, but for the unsettled feeling on a winding road, in a rocking train, or on a bad descent. The Thai inhalers in particular have been used this way for generations, and the cooling sensation is doing real perceptual work in that moment.

That is the closest thing to a shared use case, and it is why anyone crossing over from that habit tends to find the transition easiest with a blend built around similar botanicals at gentler levels: eucalyptus, ginger, peppermint, rosemary. Familiar vocabulary, different volume. These are the oils we put in our Nausea inhaler (sva aarogya).

So which should you buy

If you love the cold, bright breath of a Thai inhaler and want it built from natural menthol and essential oils, in a format made for everyday carry, that is svā sawadee.

If you want a scent to return to as part of a daily rhythm, something that stays interesting rather than just bracing, choose one of the other six. The Discovery Set is the easiest way to find which fits.

If you need something for a medical purpose, choose a product formulated and licensed for it.

Most people who understand the distinction end up keeping more than one. Different drawers, different moments.

svāroma makes seven aromatherapy inhalers, each blended for a specific moment and made with pure essential oils. Explore the full range.

Amrutanjan is a registered trademark of Amrutanjan Health Care Ltd. Poy-Sian is a registered trademark of Bertram Chemical (1982) Co., Ltd. svāroma is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to either company. Ingredient figures are taken from publicly published manufacturer and pharmacy listings and are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. This comparison is offered for consumer education and is not a claim of superiority for any purpose those products are formulated to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does svāroma make a Thai-style inhaler?

Yes. svā sawadee (Ya Dom) is svāroma's take on the Thai inhaler: menthol-forward, built on natural menthol, white camphor and borneol, with eucalyptus, peppermint, kaffir lime, clove bud and cardamom underneath. It is the only svāroma inhaler built this way, and it comes in a matte, twin-nostril format held beneath the nose.

What is the difference between Amrutanjan inhaler and an aromatherapy inhaler?

Amrutanjan Relief is formulated and sold as an Ayurvedic preparation for nasal congestion, built around pudinah (menthol crystal) at around 40% and karpura (camphor) at around 35%. An aromatherapy inhaler is not a decongestant and makes no medical claims. Most svāroma blends use several oils at much lower concentrations, designed to be noticed as a scent and returned to repeatedly. The exception is svā sawadee, which is menthol-forward like a Thai inhaler.

What is inside a Poy-Sian inhaler?

Poy-Sian Mark II lists menthol at 42%, camphor at 16.4%, eucalyptus oil at 8.5%, and borneol at 6.1%. Menthol is by a wide margin the dominant compound, which is what produces the characteristic sharp cooling sensation.

Why do traditional nasal inhalers feel so much stronger?

Because menthol at those concentrations activates TRPM8 cold receptors on the trigeminal nerve, which is a different pathway from smell. The brain reads that cooling as evidence of clear airflow. Research in PLOS One notes this produces the perception of decongestion without actually changing nasal morphology.

Is an aromatherapy inhaler better than Amrutanjan or Poy-Sian?

They are built for different things. Those products are formulated and sold for nasal congestion. svāroma inhalers are non-medical aromatic products. svā sawadee shares the Thai inhaler's cool menthol and camphor character, while the other six are multi-oil blends built for everyday ritual. Which suits you depends on what you want it for.

Can I use an aromatherapy inhaler for a blocked nose or a cold?

No. svāroma inhalers, including svā sawadee, are not medicines and are not intended to treat, prevent or relieve any condition. For congestion, use a product formulated and licensed for that purpose, or speak to a pharmacist.

Why do aromatherapy inhalers cost more?

Pure essential oils and natural aromatics cost considerably more than single-compound formulations, and svāroma inhalers come in a sturdier format designed for everyday carry. Whether that is worth it depends on how you plan to use it.

Do aromatherapy inhalers contain menthol or camphor?

Six of svāroma's seven blends use peppermint and eucalyptus only as notes within a composition, at concentrations where they read as scent rather than a cooling hit. The exception is svā sawadee (Ya Dom), which is menthol-forward by design, like a traditional Thai inhaler. It is the only svāroma inhaler built this way.