In the eighteenth century, herbalists recommended the use of skullcap as a treatment for anyone who had been bitten by a dog that was thought to be rabid. For this reason the plant was sometimes known as mad dog. Its common name of skullcap is thought to refer to the fact that it was once used in the treatment of mental patients.
Skullcap was used as a remedy for nervous disorders, including nervous tremors and hysteria. It was also used as a remedy for lockjaw and convulsions and muscular spasms. High blood pressure was treated with it.
It had to be used with caution as it was liable to cause drowsiness, and indeed it was used as a cure for insomnia.
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