Basic Information About Tiger Balm

Introduction To Tiger Balm

Tiger Balm is basically an ointment that was discovered in Burma and has been used for centuries in Burma and China as a pain relief medicine. This medicine was discovered by Aw Chu Kin, a chemist from Burma after receiving several requests from his neighbors to create a medicine that would be capable of relieving pain instantly without side effects. During those times, painkillers were not available and people living in the hilly regions had very few options to treat muscle pain after walking throughout the day on hilly terrain. After receiving requests from his neighbors, Aw Chu Kin started researching with several natural products that were known to relieve pain and accidentally he created a solution that could heat up muscles and act as a muscle relaxant. He named his product as Tiger Balm.

Tiger Balm Ingredients

It basically contains some natural ingredients along with salicyclic acid that has the capability to increase pain threshold and also relax muscles. The beauty of this product lies in the fact that it does not alter chemical balances inside the body to treat pain, but it basically reduces the sensation of pain by acting as a local anesthetic and also relaxes the muscles so that condition gets treated from inside. It became so popular in Burma that many companies started manufacturing it on a large scale and gradually the product entered China and through China reached the rest of the world.

Tiger Balm Varieties

There are different varieties of Tiger Balm available in the market and all of them have specific applications against specific pain conditions. Let us take a look at the different type of balms available and their uses:

• Red type: This is the original Tiger Balm that was developed by Aw Chu Kin and can be applied over the whole body to treat all kinds of muscle pain. However, this can be used to treat chronic muscle pain and also does not have a very good effect on being associated with bone injury.


• Liniment type: The composition of this one is exactly the same as the red type, except that it is available in the form of oil, rather than an ointment. This is useful for covering a big skin surface.


• White type: this one is a bit different from the red one because it contains camphor and clove bud oil that produces a soothing sensation on the skin while heating up the muscles from inside. This variety of Tiger Balm is beneficial for those people who cannot stand heat on the skin or have very sensitive skin.


• Muscle rub type: This variety of Tiger Balm contains some additional organic ingredients that have long-lasting effect and can keep an area pain free throughout the day after one-time application.

Caution: The Balm is an excellent product if you are worried only about muscle pain; but, it would fail to produce results if you have some internal injury or have pain associated with low blood flow to particular areas of the body. Almost all the ingredients are organic and not usually produce skin allergies, but if you are allergic to salicyclic acid or any of its derivatives, you should consult a doctor before using the Balm.