So, here I am five weeks into this rash thing, and I’m still no closer to figuring out what the heck is causing it. It’s a lot better than it was two weeks ago, but I think that’s only because of a wet-wrap treatment prescribed by a dermatologist.

The wet/wrap treatment follows a course of prednisone, which helped only as long as I was taking it. This new treatment consists of me smearing a corticosteroid ointment on the affected areas, then putting on warm, wet, cotton clothing. From there I wrap myself in a robe and sit in a chair (protected by an old shower curtain) for 30 minutes. Every night. Sort of my own spa treatment, if you will.

The treatment definitely helps; by the sixth day, the rash had pretty much disappeared and was much less itchy. However, I ran out of the ointment after 7 days. And after one day without it, the rash — and the itchiness — was back. I got a refill on the ointment and restarted the treatment, and am slowly feeling better again.

The dermatologist said a biopsy could be next if the rash doesn’t go away in six weeks, which is next week. My neurologist also said he would consider switching my seizure meds, in case that’s causing the rash. He thinks it’s unlikely that’s the case, but it’s probably going to be a process of elimination if the rash continues. Unfortunately, changing seizure meds isn’t a case of just stopping one and starting another. You have to be gradually weaned off one while gradually increasing dosage on the new medicine. I’ve had to do it before and the whole process can take three months. And if that’s not the cause of the rash, then it’s another elimination game.

Too bad none of this feels like a game.