The Shoshone used the leaves and stems of dried and powdered lousewort as an anti-inflammatory for stomachache, sore throat, and colds. Most indigenous people used the various species of lousewort mashed and applied fresh to swellings and bruises as well as open wounds to reduce inflammation and disinfect. It is antimicrobial.
Eaten raw the whole plant has a sedative effect and was used to calm down people who were excitable or hyperactive or to help with sleep problems. It is a cerebral and skeletal muscle relaxant so tension headaches and some forms of anxiety are helped greatly by the tea of this plant or even eating it as a salad green.
Side note: Louseworts in general are parasitic on neighboring plant roots. For this reason the taste can vary from very tasty to not good at all. This perhaps is why it is sometimes listed as a food and sometimes not. In addition, as parasitic plants they can sometimes pickup toxins from other hosts species such as lupines, delphiniums, or senecios, making them mildly toxic themselves.
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