White Flower

White Flower, also known as Pak Fah Yeow is a topical herbal remedy for pain as well as other things. The transparent liquid comes in a small ornate glass bottle with a white flower image on a blue label. White Flower's active ingredients are wintergreen, menthol and camphor. Other ingredients include camphor, eucalyptus, peppermint, and lavender. The box says that:

• Wintergreen relieves pain.
• Menthol eases headaches and sinusitis.
• Camphor, an analgesic, also repels insects.
• Eucalyptus has antiseptic and counter-irritant properties.
• Peppermint, also an antispetic, repels insects.
• Lavender has calming qualities.

What the box doesn't say is that White Flower helps in relieving nausea when inhaled. (It smells a little like Vicks.) On my first trip to the Philippines when I was five, I threw up a few times on the airplane from nausea due to turbulence and cigarette smoke. Sixteen hours in that environment made me a mess. Since I had plenty of bug bites during my stay at my grandmother's place, she sent me back to the U.S. with some White Flower which helped keep me oriented on the plane. Inhale.