Tiger Balm

Am I the only one on this forum who is addicted to Tiger Balm? In all the years I have been suffering from migraine it has been a loyal and helpful aid to get me through the worst. I love its cooling and analgesic effect on my forehead when I have a headache. I take it everywhere. Where I go the Tiger balm goes as well. It is not just useful for headaches but also for muscle aches, insect stings and allergic rashes. I prefer the white Tiger Balm to the red one, as the red one tends to stain my bedding.

Give it a try fellow migraine sufferers. It will not cure you but it is very, very soothing.

P.

PS: Does not contain Tiger!

I just keep my cat around and when I sit down he jumps up in my lap and starts purring. Sometimes I wear him like a fur wrap around my neck or a coon skin cap. However, he is shedding now and the cat hair is scratchy.

This is just pure 100% cat.

Hal

I used it for years Petzi. Everyone hates the smell (not me) I used white for my head and red for everything else.
Sadly it doesnt help anymore on my head. My head beat it. It was only ever a distraction I think, but it worked for a long time.
Even I cant stand the smell now. I used to use lavender as well and hate the smell of that now..

Worth trying though.

P

Pen,

I find the white Tiger Balm smell minty and refreshing. The red one does smell a bit odd (I think it is the cinnamon oil that smells slightly strange in combination with the general mintiness).

Hal,

My domestic tigers do not like the smell one bit. When they approach me for a cuddle and they smell it on me they stop in their tracks and head straight for the cat flap. So it is either 100% cat or 100% Tiger Balm.

P.

You might try "cobroxin," I've had some success with the product for lower back pain. I do not put anything on my forehead, since it may effects my eyes. I may be paranoid, but I really don't to add to my medical problems.

Martin

Tiger Balm was GREAT for me before I got my migraines under control. I found that if used too often, it burned my forehead, but there's a product called "white flower" that has the same effect without the burning (it's some kind of Chinese herbal remedy, I can only find it at authentic Chinatown shops). Also, amazingly, head-on has the same effect for me, which blows my mind since their commercial is classic snake oil.

Talking about cats (sorry, I can't help myself). I recently read an article that CK Obsession for men drives cats wild. Apparently it works on domestic cats as well as big wild cats. Some trackers in the African bush even use it to attract leopards and cheetahs. I might try to smear some Tiger Balm on my sofa as a repellant and spray the scratching post with Obsession. Maybe this will direct them in the right direction when it comes to sharpening the claws.

P.

I have White Flower as well. None of these things work any more. The pain is too strong and often on my head where Tiger Balm cannot go...

Yes, the white one. I found the red to burn and turn my skin red. But I do like the white (regular strength) I'll stick with it. (don't fix what ain't broken)

I've used Tiger Balm for years too, mainly the white. I'm not sure why I still use it really, it doesn't help much. However, I love the smell and do feel it occasionally stops a tension headache. And as others have said, it's a distraction. I can't use it when the migraine gets past a certain stage though, then it only makes things worse. I use white flower oil too but not as often.

My husband loathes the smell too!

It's only now that I hardly use it that my family have divulged their thorough dislike of the smell.
Apparently it makes one of my kids feel sick.....who knew....

I've used tigerbalm since as early as I can remember.

I also have tried oil of wintergreen. DON'T put this in your bathwater....lol..you will burn ALL OVER. Trust me on this one.

There is another chinese one that I use that I can't seem to locate. It smells like cedar. I find my coworkers don't mind that one as much as the tigerbalm. The tigerbalm bugs one of my coworkers and I can respect that as so many scents trigger me, so I don't use it at work.

I like the chinese ones because so far none of the scents trigger me, just like essential oils.

Oh....and because they don't cause acne for me. The headon and others like it caused acne in the areas I applied it.

I have used Tiger Balm in the past. I just looked, and found that I have a tiny dab of Red Tiger Balm left, with an expiration date of 03-92. I still like its scent.

I also have some White Flower oil (that expired 12-2002). It did not help, and I don't really care much for it. Tei-Fu Esential Oils from Nature's Sunshine works much better, and smells better, than White Flower oil.

Have you tried headon? I use it on my temples when I have a migraine. It's not a cure, but it too is soothing.

Cindy

Yeah!
I'm a fan of tiger balm, it helps me with migraine and with muscle pains.
I use a German balm called "Rheuma Balsamika". It's great.

Has anyone found one that you can use through your hair??
Most of my pain in on top of my head..

Pen,

try Nexcare hot/cold pack.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nexcare-COLDHOT-Comfort-Pack-Aches/dp/B000CR7AA4
Also available at Boots.

There is a little fabric pouch that comes with it, so it will not be too hot or too cold on your skin/top of head. I have got 2 of them. They last for years.

T.

Yep, got 3 of them and they do last for years. Mine had Velcro straps and the velcro has been replaced.
Also the packs do stop freezing down after a few years. Did you notice they have sell by dates??
BUT they are not like Tiger Balm that you can rub on and take with you.....imagine it on your hair!!!
I have actually eaten a fair amount of that stuff, it gets under your finger nails...

Got a tin of stuff here called "Silver Clove", anyone had that one?
My daughter brought several little tins back from Italy years ago.
It isnt Italian though. l liked it.

Keep in mind all of the ice/heat topical creams etc are analgesic. They re-focus your brain on the skin stimulation and not the other pains you may have. There is nothing in them that can block nerve pain impulses or penetrate all the way into a muscle.

But the analgesic effect is very real and works similar to narcotics. The narcotic effect does not let your brain panic or experience fear/stress from pain. Without those effects pain signals are irrelevant. We are aware of the pain but don't care and can relax and focus on other things.

Yup for me they are a distraction, nothing more.

Mine sometimes I use stop pain ointments. But my aunt uses tiger balm when her head aches. Not only it relieves the pain but she loves the scent of it.

I can't handle the scent at all. Methol drives my head crazy!

But I have discovered the Well Patch, which works well for me when the pain is in the eyes and temple. I cover one eye and stretch it back to my temple and then, since it's in a bad position to stick on properly, I put my eye mask over it to hold it in place. I will never get rid of a migraine (nothing does), but it has done me enough good to keep me out of the ER before, added to my percocet. And it has helped me avoid having to take percocet a few times too, which is great because then I can save my limited pills for later!

I might add that a friend who can tolerate the scent of the Tiger Balm puts that on first and then puts the Well Patch on top of it to get even stronger relief that way.