On April 16th, Ihsan was coughing continously. By 7.45pm, it got worse. His inhaler did not help eventhough I have tried best to follow the asthma action plan that he had. by 8.45pm, we had to rush him to KKH Children's hospital.

It was a long night. We had to wait till the doctors tried atrovent and ventolin on him a few times to see if those will improve his condition since we have informed the doctor to avoid administering medications with steroids as much as possible.

However by 2am on the 17th April, seeing Ihsan having difficulty breathing the whole night and having chest pains, we have decided to let the doctors decide what is best for his breathing. He was struggling to breathe still, even with alternative medications. He was crying in pain and waking up every 2 hours.

By 8am, we were eagerly waiting for the lung specialists to attend to him. After a long discussion, the head of the team, Prof Ann Goh, decided to focus on giving him Nasal spray and nasal drops for him as she suspected he has upper respiratory infection. The nasal spray has minimal steroid content and we decided at that point of time his breathing was more important than his skin so we gave it a go.

The respiratory team was so helpful and understanding. They did their best to heal Ihsan's asthma with the few alternatives that we discussed together. They even got the Dermatology team came to take a look at him.

However just as expected, they were not willing to accept with an open mind that Red Skin Syndrome exists! I'm The head of the team said he will email Dr Rapaport. I doubt he will do so. I am still waiting for his email as I mentioned to him any emails or liaising with Dr Rapaport between the both of them will be charged to my account. Unfortunately at this time, the funds are not sufficient. We might skip that option altogether since the head dermatologist from the children's hospital was also reluctant to assist us on alternative methods to help with ihsan's condition. The most he could offer us was to adhere phototherapy on Ihsan. I am trying not to make my son try new things exposing him to chemicals or radiation as much as possible. The risks of phototherapy are quite scary.

What should I consider before starting phototherapy?

Before you start phototherapy, there are some things to consider:

• For it to be effective, phototherapy generally requires 2 to 3 treatments per week in the office.
• Risks: burns, increased aging and increased risk of skin cancer over time are all significant risks with any type of phototherapy. Eye protection must be worn for every treatment to prevent damage to the eyes.