She believes that her condition has opened up many opportunities for her, such as being able to offer support online to those who also suffer from the condition. SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: THIS WOMAN was given just TWENTY-FOUR hours to live after being born with a rare skin condition that adults were scared to touch because they thought it was CONTAGIOUS - but now she?s thriving. Law student Paloma Lira (24) from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was born with a rare skin condition called ?lamellar ichthyosis? - where babies are born with a plastic-like film wrapped around their body and go on to develop red, scaly and dry skin. Doctors told her mother, Sandra Lira (48) that Paloma would only have 24 hours to live because of this. As ichthyosis was rare in Brazil at the time, medics took biopsies of Paloma?s skin to determine her condition and as the results came back positive for the genetic skin condition, her mother took the news with a pinch of salt and was optimistic about raising Paloma. After three months of being hospitalised in the intensive care unit, Paloma was free to go home which proved to medics that she had a lot of fight in her. Upon leaving the hospital, Paloma was seen by a dermatologist who prescribed her oral medication called ?Acitretina? which is used to help treat severe skin conditions such as psoriasis, which she took for 20 years along with medicated creams that contain salicylic acid. A few months after she was born, Paloma started having ulcers grow on her corneas due to her condition. This caused her eyes to dry out as she struggled to close them. She has had 11 eyelid correction surgeries every five years since she was born to help relieve the size of the ulcers. Paloma now suffers from red, itchy and dry skin which doesn?t shed at the usual rate and instead, builds up and forms like scales. She struggles with irregular temperature control as her body is unable to sweat which is an issue with the climate in Brazil and she has little hair due to the condi