Janet Hobson is a great believer in natural healing. When her youngest son, Cameron, was born with eczema, Janet turned to the tried-and-tested treatments used by her late grandmother.

"There were times when his skin flared so badly he'd look like he'd been sunburnt," she says.

Now eight, Cameron is no longer troubled by eczema and while Janet would never claim to have cured her son - some childhood eczemas do clear up - what cannot be disputed is the relief that natural healing brought for her little boy.

Janet was aware of the medication on the market to treat the condition. She was prescribed some treatments which, she says, she used when Cameron needed rapid relief from constant scratching.

"I had prescriptions for hydrocortisone and emollients. I had to use the emollient and steroid cream twice because I think, personally, natural remedies are very gentle and often they're not quick enough for that instant relief; but the better way to heal is gradually," says Janet.

She spent time pouring over books used by her grandmother and mother in her quest to find effective natural treatments to soothe her son's itchy skin.

Her grandmother, she recalls, was quite an eccentric. Janet tells how she would spend time surrounded by nature in the woods close to her Scottish home where her grandfather owned a wood yard.

"That must be where it comes from because I've always had a passion for the environment and nature and I've always chosen to turn to nature for medicine. It's been instinctive for me to do that," says Janet.

She explains in bygone times when villages were separated by a day's journey, people seeking natural treatments and remedies often turned to herb witches' for their expert knowledge on the healing power of plants.

One of Janet's home-prepared treatments, which she recalls was particularly soothing for Cameron's skin, was fine oatmeal used in the bath or tied in a hanky and used as a flannel. Janet explains this sloths off dry skin.

Essential oils, grape seed, camomile and olive oil, also proved effective. Home adjustments, such as ditching the central heating, dry heat can trigger the irritation, and taking extra care when selecting powders to wash his clothes, had an impact too.

"I made simple, gradual life changes. I washed all Cameron's things in non-biological powder and I'd rinse the laundry twice because of the detergents."

Janet appreciates not everyone is convinced by natural medicine. "Not everything works for everybody. It's trial and error but this was ongoing for the first four years of Cameron's life."

The successful treatments Janet prepared were noted down in a book as a reference record. Experimenting with those she found to be less effective enabled her to get the right treatment. "You are tweeking recipes and treatments, thinking about what he will need to help him sleep or because it's a hot day."

Janet says while she appreciates some children can grow out of the condition, she believes because she was so focused her intense yet gentle treatments did make all the difference.

Such is Janet's belief, she even used natural healing to help her cat! She recalls popping into the local vets to ask if any kittens needed re-homing at what proved to be an opportune time.

Janet says Oscar, the moggy which has been part of her family for 12 years, had been taken in by the Cats Protection League as he was a carrier of cat flu. "He was snarling, bad tempered and covered in snot and goo."

Rather than seeing the moggy put to sleep, Janet decided to take him home. "We took this grotty snot ball home. We gave him a few days because he hated us! He claimed the sofa as his but, gradually, after time he settled and came round."

Janet decided she would try treating his condition with some of her essential oils. "I used to rub an essential oil mixture into his chest and fur to get it into his skin."

She treated his sticky eyes by rubbing them with a cutting from an aloe vera plant. "We've had him 12 years and he doesn't have a cold now."

Janet doesn't poo poo' doctors or the medical profession but she believes there's also a place for natural treatments.

"Nine out of ten ailments are based in the mind. Stress, the daily life and daily toil, our outlook on life is affected. Negative people get ill more than positive people.

"If we could take a step back we all have the knowledge and the ability"

While most families have a medicine box or cabinet, Janet invariably finds the treatments she needs in her kitchen cupboard or down her garden path.

Cider vinegar, something many of us have in kitchen cupboards is a multi-purpose cleaner and healer! "It's great for all sorts of things. It's great for polishing and wonderful at getting laundry white. And if you have a tablespoon before every meal it alters your palate and improves your appetite."

Violet and Clary Sage are supposed to be good for memory and can be used as a pre-menopausal treatment. Peppermint is a naturally alternative anti-depressant. Even charcoal has its healing purposes as a deep skin cleanser.

Such is Janet's passion for all things natural she avoids coloured toilet paper because of the dyes and makes her own soaps. She explains how the soaps are blended from essential oils. She tells me she's more concerned about their caring properties rather than the aroma.

Eventually, she plans to sell them when she launches her business which she hopes to do once she becomes a qualified herbalist. She's currently looking to enrol on a herbalism course.

"My children are growing up so hopefully I can get the qualifications to do this for a living because people tell me I ought to do it since I know so much but that's because I have a passion and an interest. It's part of who I am."

And Janet hopes the so-called resurgence in folk returning to old traditions, for example the demand for organic, may encourage more people to try natural healing as an alternative to quick fix treatments.

"Our modern society has back fired on us. We have reached saturation point and we are turning to nature again in lots of different ways. I don't believe in too little too late.

"We can all make a difference; not just to our health but to each bit of the world as well."

Factfile

  • Eczema is a skin condition, which can result in dry, red and flaky skin. The skin may feel hot and very itchy and scratching can lead to the skin becoming damaged and infected. It's also known as dermatitis, which describes an inflammation of the skin.
  • Atopic eczema is the most common type of eczema and is linked with hay fever and asthma. The tendency to develop atopic eczema is inherited but is strongly influenced by environmental factors.
  • Atopic means an extra sensitivity to substances (allergens). The most common allergens are house dust mites, feathers, pollen, cat or dog fur and sometimes foodstuffs like cows' milk, eggs or nuts.
  • Atopic eczema may start in babies from three months, often on the face. In older children it can occur on almost any part of the skin but most commonly involves the creases of the limbs. Atopic eczema affects approximately 15 to 20 per cent of young children in the UK. Atopic eczema clears up in approximately 70 per cent of children by the time they reach their teens and in many it largely clears up by four to five years of age.
  • For more information visit www.nhsdirect.nhs.co.uk or contact the National Eczema Society helpline on 0870 2413604, www.eczema.org.