白花油 The Taiwanese Cure All: White Flower Oil

There is always some kind of medical treatment, drug, remedy of sorts, that we use as some kind of cure all; stretching it's intended medical treatment to alleviate other perhaps less related symptoms or ailments.

I can still remember my mom's mantra ringing in my ears, "put Noxzema on it!" You know the facewash with Eucalyptus oil in it. Zit? Noxzema it. Dry skin? Noxzema it. Skin tone uneven? Noxzema it. Worried about aging at the tender age of 23? Mom is sending Noxzema across the world to "cure" you premature aging woes. However! mom's skin looks great in her 60s so maybe we should be going Noxzema crazy, who knows?

Or how I use Ibuprofen with wild abandon. Headache, fever, hungover, muscle ache,hot temperature making me uncomfortable.

Side note: just today my man picked up the Ibuprofen bottle and pointed to the warning "if you consume more than 3 alcoholic drinks a week consult your doctor before taking this medication." To which I said, "no one listens to that stuff." Setting off his "為了你的健康speech" I probably should cut down on that stuff...or figure out a way to have fewer headaches.

For Taiwanese, the cure all remedy would be the famous 白花油 white flower oil. Here are some of the many (claimed) uses of this oil:

1.Headaches (most common).
2.Clearing out sinuses. A lot like menthol or vapor rub, only better in my opinion. I observed my man's mom using it this way, dabbing under the nose.
3.Zits.
4.Itchy skin.
5. Constipation/Gas (Use it to rub on your stomach) And I am not joking about this one. My boyfriend helped me do this. Results were mixed. But I think what really helped the constipation was doing 30 sit ups which is a remedy that he swears by.
6. Menstrual cramps (rub on the place where your uterus sits)
7.Muscle aches.
8.Bruises.
9.Minor scrapes and sores.
10. Stress and Fatigue (I have not tried this myself, however this commercial would lead me to believe that it REALLY does cure stress and on the way, causes international dancing? Aw snap!)

Before we go any further, please keep in mind folks---EXTERNAL USE ONLY AKA DO NOT EAT IT OR PUT IT INSIDE YOU

My first encounter with White Flower oil was in the states when fellow Chinese language student, who had been to China gave it to me for a headache. A couple dabs on my forehead and temples and I was surprised at the quick relief.

So when I came to Taiwan I was excited to find this stuff in the convenient stores. One day having a killer headache and no ibuprofen, I went to buy some white flower oil and a well intentioned young Taiwanese man (to be frank maybe just wanting to show off his English "skills") wrote down the word in Chinese for ibuprofen and told me to go to the pharmacy and ask for western medicine...because he is afraid this stuff (white flower oil) does not work.

But it does work, in the same way ibuprofen works really, curing the symptom: pain. And it is true it is WAY WAY WAY less harmful to your liver (probably not at all harmful) than our beloved western counterpart, ibuprofen.

Last place in the world you would expect to find someone dissing on non-western forms of medicine
would be in Taiwan (read:China. Its complicated!) but there you have it.

Most Taiwanese, when necessary, use western medicine, however most (excluding dude at the 7/11) don't dis on the white flower yo! For example I did a super informal (read: not professional at all) interview with my boyfriend:

Me: 請問，你對白花油有什麽看法？What are your thoughts on white flower oil?
Wealen: 哪裡癢就哪裡擦白花油。Where ever you are itchy you can apply white flower oil.
Me: 請問，你覺得白花油是幾乎每個家庭必備的嗎？Do you think white flower oil is a household necessity?
Wealen: 對。Yes.

And Wealen's mom has stopped me from taking ibuprofen and instead gave me a crazy awesome back rub to cure my headache. Kick-ass right? So yes, in general Taiwanese 不會隨便吃西藥 don't casually take western medicine. And in my experience, there tends to be a real suspicion of western medicine or at least a real reluctance to rely on it, especially from the older crowd. Hence the guilt trip my boyfriend gives me every time I pop an ibuprofen (what would I do without him?)

Bottom line: Ibuprofen: damages liver. Happy alternative: white flower oil y'all!

Disclaimers:

1. I am not a doctor or medical expert in any way,shape or form. (Duh) somehow I feel like I have to say this being that this post is medical related.

2. I am not receiving payment from the Noxzema company or 和興 He Xing white flower oil company. Although I probably should.