Chinese Herbal Medicine Spotlight

Kwan Loong

Throughout Asia there are many Chinese Herbal Medicine products that can be found for purchase over the counter practically everywhere for a variety of issues. While these products and their proper use are often common household knowledge among locals, for foreigners it can be overwhelming trying figure out what products are good for what conditions. I am no exception.

During my trip to the Philippines, I was introduced to a product called Kwan Loong Oil. I found this oil to be so incredibly useful that I wanted to share my experience with you.

​Kwan Loong Oil is labeled as a topical analgesic - a topical pain relieving oil that provides relief from muscle and joint aches and pains including simple backaches, arthritis, bruises and strains. Manufacturers claim it is especially helpful in the treatment of minor sports-related injuries and pains and can be used for minor skin irritations, dizziness, nausea and insect bites. It is easy to apply over large areas of the body and is fast acting.

However in the Philippines, Kwan Loong Oil was highly recommended to me as an insect repellent. I was going to be spending time traveling through remote islands with malaria and dengue infected misquotes - so an effective bug repellent was a high priority. Locals swear that the Kwan Loong was very effective for mosquitoes and the only thing effective against sand flies. So I figured, when in Rome...

And to my pleasure, I found the Kwan Loong really did work. As long as I kept reapplying the oil, I was not bothered by the mosquitoes and other biting insects. And it was easy to determine when I needed to reapply the oil - the Kwan Loong has a very strong aromatic scent that would dissipate  in about 30 minutes.

The best thing about Kwan Loong was the it's ability to cool. The manufacturers state "by increasing superficial circulation, [Kwan Loong] can speed healing and its spicy ingredients (lavender and eucalyptus) combine to feel cooling and invigorating." Cool and invigorating it was indeed!

The first couple of nights on my trip, there was no night breeze which meant was about 85 degrees in still air. No electricity meant no fans or climate control, which in turn meant long sleepless nights in this weather - agony! But as I was using the Kwan Loong to protect myself from mosquitoes, I found that when I applied the oil, the cooling herbs were actually strong enough to cool my body down!  Enough for me to actually fall asleep. By the end of the trip I was referring to my bottle of Kwan Loong as AC in a bottle.

Trust me when I say that the next time I travel to a tropical area with mosquitoes and limited climate control, I am bringing a big bottle of Kwan Loong Oil with me.