The intensely bitter flowering aerial parts of white horehound have been used in European traditional medicine. Historical preparations included teas, syrups, and lozenges used for coughs associated with colds and as bitter preparations for temporary loss of appetite or mild digestive discomfort. The European Medicines Agency recognizes specific traditional-use indications based on longstanding use, not strong clinical proof.

Horehound's bitterness, pale woolly leaves, and old household reputation contribute to modern associations with protection, strength, purification, and firm boundaries. Practitioners may keep correctly identified dried material sealed in a protection charm, add it to a non-ingestible boundary jar, or use a strained external wash for symbolic cleansing of thresholds.