What is Tiger Balm?

Home > Symptoms > Muscle and Joint Pain > What is Tiger Balm?

Tiger Balm is a unique blend of the finest quality essential oils. The active ingredients are camphor, menthol, cajuput oil, mint oil and clove oil. The actions and traditional use are shown in the table below. See packs for full ingredients.

Active Ingredient	Actions and Traditional Use
Camphor	Has a strong penetrating, fragrant odour. Acts as a rubefacient and numbs the peripheral nerves. Traditional use in rheumatism, sprains and for nasal congestion.
Cajuput Oil	Has an aroma similar to camphor, rosemary and cardamon. Acts as a stimulant to produce a sensation of warmth. Traditional use in rheumatism.
Clove Bud Oil	Highly aromatic. Acts as an irritant and a local anaesthetic. Used to assist the action of other ingredients.
Mint Oil and Menthol	Menthol is the active ingredient of mint oil. Has a local anaesthetic action. Traditional use in rheumatism and for nasal congestion.

When Tiger Balm is applied to the skin, the rubefacient and analgesic properties provide symptomatic relief from the pain and discomfort associated with the muscular aches and pains of muscles and joints, arthritis, rheumatism and backaches. The active ingredients in camphor and the natural essential oils in Tiger Balm dilate the peripheral blood vessels and bring blood closer to the skin`s surface. This produces increased circulation and warmth. The increase in blood flow speeds up the healing process. This also increases the temperature of the skin and the sensation of warmth serves as a distraction from the pain. The local analgesic effect reduces the sensation of pain.
Tiger Balm White (Regular Strength) can also be used as a chest rub to relieve nasal congestion. Chest rubs usually contain camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oil and have been used since ancient times to relieve symptoms of nasal congestion. It is the vapours which help relieve nasal congestion. Chest rubs are applied topically so they don`t cause drowsiness or interact with other medications like most oral medications that are used for treatment of nasal congestion.