Alkaline-Based Diet... does this work for you?

[KellyBelly]

My husband has recently been diagnosed w/ rosacea through a family doctor, so is just finally getting to see a dermatologist today (what a long wait!)

The past 3 weeks were particularly bad for him, so he was trying to get the rosacea under control with an alkaline diet (and avoiding all triggers on the 'lists').

We juiced veggies over the weekend as an attempt to "detox" his system and give his immune system a boost. We eat a very healthy diet aside from this, but thought this may be helpful.

Does anyone else juice or follow a regimented "alkaline" diet to control rosacea? Or, does everyone end up requiring topicals and/or treatments eventually?

Sorry if this question has been asked many times before... we're new here smile: (lucky us laugh: )

Thank you all for a great site and a wealth of information...

[antsidee]

Hey Kelly!

Wish your husband all the luck with this.. i'm also fairly recently diagnosed. Before i was diagnosed i went on a massive juicing rampage, and it seemed to get worse! I dont know why, but i am very sensitive to change so it could be that. A lot of people say that fruit juice is a trigger, although i don't know how common that actually is. The alkaline diet generally though has done wonders for me. I have cut out every listed trigger and my skin has calmed dramatically. I really noticed this after letting go a bit and having three drinks on friday. BOY did i pay for that over the weekend. Just goes to show how sensitive we rosaceans are to our triggers. At least now i know for sure theres no way i can have alcohol until my rosacea is under control, and even then i can't have huge amounts. Which is great actually i don't mind no hangovers thumbs:
I myself did have to resort to meds and im so glad i did. But a lot of people do try the holistic route and many have it work for them! I started on oxytetracycline two weeks ago and theres already such a massive improvement, im actually willingly leaving the house now! Which is great. Still a way to go, but at least i can see im getting somewhere.
Hope this helps! Good luck!smile:

[allibear]

Well I started out with antibiotic treatment after a bad flare up last year, this cleared the P&P side of things but didn't do a huge amount for my overall permanent redness and I still had flushing with stinging and burning on completion of the course. However the flushing episodes didn't last as long as they did before I had treatment.

I started off 'alkalising' up my diet and then adopted the anti-candida diet, which has a lot of cross overs with an alkaline/raw food diet. I did it reallly strict for several weeks and then had to lift it slightly as I lost too much weight too rapidly. Basically I am now eating what I would call a low sugar/low carb diet with lots of alkakalising and anti-inflammatory foods and no alcohol, (well until the next tempatation arises laugh:) and I have whacked caffiene on the head apart from a cup of green tea in the morning.

Since making these dietry changes I have got my rosacea under control, at the moment I am having no flushing at all and my rednes is reduced to a bit of diffuse 'pinkiness' on the cheeks and the side of the nose, mainly around the areas where I have a lot of broken capillaries.

The diet is difficult to stick with, I have been doing it around two months now and have slipped up on a few occasions and had consequences, (manily with a few glasses of wine), so I am now trying to resist the tempatation of a drink until I feel that I have 'healed' better inside and might one day be able to handle the odd one here and there without consequence, but who knows.

Regarding the list of 'trigger' foods. Not everyone is the same and different things trigger different people so don't be afraid of something just because you have seen it on a list. It is trial and error and food triggers can be hard to identify as sometimes you don't react immediately.

Some people have had success with this diet approach and some haven't. Depending on the severity of the condition it can also take quite a while before you see the improvements with diet changes, it doesn't happen quickily.

Good luck with your endeavours, it is not an easy road to journey. I was quite open minded about things and willing to give anything a stab as anything sounded better than a life off and on antibiotic treament and living with my face on fire all the time. We'll just have to see how it goes but I am pleased with where I am so far since taking this approach. grin:

[allibear]

Before i was diagnosed i went on a massive juicing rampage, and it seemed to get worse! I dont know why,

Sugar Heaven laugh:

I too am not overly bothered about the alcohol bit, I never drank very much anyway, (always gave me a smacking headache the next day). I can be so disciplined about this on my own, but when I am in company I become ever so weeeeeak! mad1:

[fut]

We juiced veggies over the weekend as an attempt to "detox" his system and give his immune system a boost. We eat a very healthy diet aside from this, but thought this may be helpful.

Does anyone else juice or follow a regimented "alkaline" diet to control rosacea? Or, does everyone end up requiring topicals and/or treatments eventually?



After making some diet changes my skin has improved tremendously.

Our body was not made to process (extract nutrients, then get rid of waste) preservatives and processed foods that today's average diet is made up of. This waste product can store along the colon and will become a breeding ground for unwanted bacteria.

The 'detox' you are referring to might only be touching the surface. A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and probiotics is essential but will not necessarily mean getting rid of the waste that has been trapped inside of us for years!

Please look into colon hydrotherapy, i've created a post about it called The Most Effective Treatments for Rosacea (http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?t=13849)

[allibear]

Hi Fut,

Do you think the colonic hydrotherapy is the only way to go to get rid of this lifetime of toxic buildup in the colon?

I would be interested in investing in this but I searched high and low and can't find anywhere that provides the service within a hundred mile radius of where I live. Perhaps I will have to travel further afield, but could probably only do this when I maybe got some time off work. I am keeping it in mind anyway for something to do at some point in the future.

I have been using flaxseed, which is suppossed to have some benefits for cleaning the colon, although I am quite sure nothing like getting a colonic, (tried pysllium but no matter how little I took or how much water I drank, it kept backing up my oesophagus and choking me up, I just wasn't comfortable with it), and I don't fancy trying one of these D.I.Y. home colon cleansing kit things as I have seen pictures of what some people have produced after using one of these and I don't think I would want to cope with that at home. I'd rather someone else had to cope with what came out and preferably while I had my head turned the other way laugh: I think it's to be a professional job, or not at all.

It has taken a while to have an effect, (I have had constipation problems for a while now), but in last few weeks things have not only started to move more often but there is an incredible amount of 'stuff' coming out, (a load of dead yeast, I think, some old army boots and a kitchen sink!), a bit shocking really at first but now I seemed to have just leveled out to producing the 'perfect' poo, which now knowing what one should be like, (yes, I have been doing research on a load of sh*t for the past few months basicallyshame:), I can't remember ever producing one in my entire life. Also since this started to happen my whole digestive system feels 'relieved', if that makes any sense, and that all the cog wheels inside have had an oiling and come back into some kind of working order, what goes in whole is getting mashed up and coming out the way it should, not a week later and still in a semi-whole state.

Like yourself I am down to a defuse 'butterfly' on the nose and cheeks, (a miracle in itself to me, from the burnt lobster look I used to have), since making diet changes and proactively tackling gut problems, but since I have started 'movin' and 'groovin' in the toilet department the redness I do have has reduced even more, barely noticeable at all except under harsh electric lights. I think if I didn't have so much capillary damage there would be nothing there at all now as what erythema there is left mainly surrounds these but even some of my 'finer' capillary damage seems to fading slowly over time. Best result of all though is no flushing, burning and stinging. I can nearly live with my visable capillaries just to have all this side of things cease. I know it sounds odd but if I am not feeling hot and stingy I don't feel that peolple are starring at me as much, as soon as I got flushy and burny real paranoia would set in for some reason.

This new revelation in the toilet department does make me believe that a colonic hydrotherapy session or two would be beneficial to the 'cause' but until such a point in time that I can pursue it I am continuing doing what I have been doing for the past few months.thumbs:

Are you planning to continue having colonics on a regular basis in the future? I know our only concern is our faces but I believe it is how all the celebs. manitain a flat stomach LOL laugh:

Kind regards,
allibear

[Mistica]

Allibear

A few questions regarding your change of diet. As always I am trying to find connections and draw a picture:)
You speak about cutting out extreme carbs and yeast and starting a mostly raw food diet etc.
I am just trying to get a picture of the contrast between your prior and current diet.
Did you tend to eat lots of biscuits, cakes, foods which came out of a packet etc? Did those foods outweigh healthier foods?

My diet has been pretty healthy for many years. At least I think it is healthy.
Fresh fish, a little chicken breast now and then, lots of vegetables, apples. A little brown rice, or basmati. Things like that.
Never any sauces or things which come out of a packet/jar.
I cook in olive oil. (Bake, not fry).
My biggest sugar intake is in soy milk. ( At times I worry about this amount of soy milk due to some literature I have read).
I take probiotics to counteract the possible side effects of oral antibiotics.
I rarely eat cakes etc. That isn't even for health reasons. I simply never developed that craving for them that some people have.

So, there isn't much there to play with, is there? Am I missing something?
I am really glad the healthy diet is working for you. I guess it is hit and miss like everything less.
I know that no diet in the world can 'cure' rosacea, but in theory, taking away sources of inflammation seemed good. I just wish it would help me :( I am at my worse :(

Ok, next question. Caffeine.

How much were you consuming prior to cutting it out?
Did you go through withdrawal? Did part of this include increased flushing?

Your thoughts would be welcomed! :)

[fut]

Hi Fut,

Do you think the colonic hydrotherapy is the only way to go to get rid of this lifetime of toxic buildup in the colon?

Are you planning to continue having colonics on a regular basis in the future? I know our only concern is our faces but I believe it is how all the celebs. manitain a flat stomach LOL laugh:

Kind regards,
allibear

I'm not sure if it's the only way - but surely has to be the most effective.

I will continue to have colonics in the future. If not for my skin, for my overall health as well! Speaking of celebs, you are absolutely right. I saw Cate Blanchett at my Spa the time before last getting the same tube stuck up her butt as me! (lol)

[allibear]

Hi Mistica,

I never have had a sweet tooth and never ate many cakes, biscuits, chocolate etc. nor drink fiizzy drinks, fruit juices or a big lot of alcohol. In the past I was a pasta freak and used white pasta most of the time and was a culprit of sandwiches, baguettes and potato crisps everyday for lunch at work. I have always used lots of vegetables in cooking but they ususally got pulverised into a sauce for pasta roll: and I would have used a lot of tinned tomatoes along the way and sometimes for convenience sake some ready made sauces. Another downfall of mine was mayonnaise which I could happily put on top of everything. thumbs:

I stopped eating bread full stop around May last year and cut down the pasta nights to more simple dinners, in a bid to loose weight, and started having more fruit and yogurts for lunch. About a month into this my Rosacea blew up big time, a die-off reaction perhaps when the beasts started to get deprived of all that white flour produce that turns to sugar in your system anyway?

I was a coffee addict also, went along with long working days for me. Probably around 8-10 cups a day I could shift. I only jacked coffee after I was diagnosed last year apart from an odd decaf. here and there when I craved the flavour, but I've gotten over that now and don't even bother with that. I had a week of very severe headaches when I decided to just stop it and then those went away. I was still flushing in general with my usual triggers of indoor heat, anxiety, light radiation etc. so I can't really tell what effects coffee cold turkey where having on this. I did start drinking more tea instead then but have stopped this apart from one or two cups of green tea a day when I started on the anti-candida diet 2 months ago. I drink more herbal teas now, camomile, peppermint and ginger would be my favourites but I have a collection of others building up, for variety.

When I was diagonosed and started doing research on the condition I had started with trying to alkalise up my diet and then when a big penny dropped on my head regarding bacteria overgrowth I took the bull by the horns and went hardcore on the anti-candida diet. I only lasted about two weeks hardcore style, mainly due to getting too hungry between meals on work days and falling slightly under weight very quickly, (a bit ironic for someone who was 3 stone overweight this time last year). I had already hit my target weight of 9 1/2 stone before I embarked on this diet but in a matter of weeks fell to below 9 stone, which puts me underweight for my height and build, so I had to wise up a bit with the diet but tried to do it 'wisely'.

I had pushed my carbs down to about 40grams a day and some days none at all, but now I have some cereal for breakfast, have switched from Cornflakes to 'Oatabix', (closest you will get me to porridge LOL), and I will have a few ricecakes or organic oatcakes throughout the day. Most dinners I have no carbs. Just meat and vegetables, (fresh fish most nights and occasionlly chicken), but treat myself a couple of times a week to some brown rice or rice/buckwheat pasta. For fruit I eat an avocado every day and either a green apple, (granny smith), or a kiwi fruit, and have recently started adding some berries into the equation. I love honey but still have that elimanated as I got a bit 'symptomatic' after a few glasses of wine a few weeks back but as I claw back the situation to where I was before, I am hoping to give it ago again in a few weeks and hope that the symptoms stay at bay. Alcohol is a definate no, no for me at the moment and when I do introduce something potentially suggary back in I do it once and wait a few days to see if I become symptomatic, (for me it's quite obvious, will always start with a yeast overgrowth starting to build up on the tongue and pains in my legs, followed by the face getting redder).

I eat lots of broccilli, cabbage, leeks, cauliflower, spinach, red onion, and have a sweet potatoe twice a week. I also prepare every evening meal with grated fresh ginger, whatever way I am cooking it that eveing and use garlic in stir frys as well as necking 3 crushed raw cloves a day, (highly antmicrobal), with extra virgin olive oil, (I also do all my cooking in this and use it as a salad dressing, sometimes after soaking herbs and garlic in it). I have salalds with all sorts in them for lunch. I have a dessert spoon of organic flaxseed sprinkled over lunch and dinner.

Dairy wise I only eat natural yogurt with live cultures and butter. I use yogurt on my cereal now so I am not using milk at all really. Lately I have started adding some mozzarella or feta cheese to salads, but only around once or twice a week. I avoid red meat and wheat at the moment because I really do have a problem with the digestion of it. I tried some wholegrain pasta one night and it caused me terrible indigestion afterwards. I have only realised what foods cause stress to my digestion since I did the two week hardcore version of the diet. Nuts are also a problem for my digestion, they come out whole at the other end. It will heal but it will take time, it is so much improved from what it was and as it and my toilet habits improve so does my skin.

My digestion has probably not been great for a number of years and I suffer from IBS and other bacteria overgrowth problems but I can say that it has been left virtually non-functional since doing a three month coarse of antibiotics for my P&P breakouts last year. I was lucky to pass a load of 'black bullets' once a week, (a sign of a badly damaged GI tract, and virtually no absorption of nutrients from your food at all). I think you can eat the most norishing fresh food in the world but it is of little benefit if you have malabsorption problems. My skin has improved slowly over time but the last few weeks, since things have been 'moving' almost perfectly in the toilet department and food is starting to be properly digested there has been another huge improvement. This is why I tread so carefully with food that bothers my digestion but as things heal inside I am confident that I will be able to have some of these again in the future.

I have also used a herbal supplement and have now swithched to Candex and a probiotic supplement. Candex is brilliant. I went on the full dose because I had become symptomatic again and all has been brought into check in two weeks, (never had this result from Nystatin, in the past, all thrush gone,grin:), and all with no die-off. I nearly felt human again just because this all stopped as I had a rough time of it on the herbal supplement. I think it has made a big difference getting the toxins that have built up out. I have read that the yeast thrives in a toxic environment. As it died it was probably proliferating again on its own toxins and maybe I was just going around in circles. Two weeks on Candex, this Probiotic, Lamberts Acidophilus Extra 10, (got a little die off with that for the first few days only, now up to 2 a day), and this diet and I am feeling great, things seem to be starting to work properly inside, and the old skin isn't looking to bad at all either.

I think your diet is along the same route as mine, but even with a probiotic supplement I would say it is a difficult task with the antibiotocs, as it would be with birth control pills also. This really is a catch 22 situation that you can only do your best with. It's a bit like when I tried to lose weight many years ago, whilst still on contraception, no matter what I done nothing happened. This time around I was off it and as soon as I cut out all the bread and white carbs. I lost a stone in six weeks.

Taking a probiotic is a good move. I wish I had have had the knowledge and sense to do that when I was on mine. I came off antibiotics in January, by this time I had already made diet changes and was probably doing an anti-candida diet of sorts about 80%, without realising it. I got a few spots on the chin during the first few weeks of 'detox' but have never had a P or P since.

Mnay things can lead us to these problems, it doesn't have to be all down to past diets. Stressful periods in our lives are a biggy, periods of illness, and I believe I haven't done myself any favours having taken contracepttion non stop for 22 years but hey I was a career girl and these are the choices we make in lifelaugh:

I wish you well, and hope things improve for you soon. If your antibiotic isn't working for you perhaps you could see if you can try another one. Sometimes they can take time to work also. I know this sounds a bit contradictory to the above but I don't regret taking antibiotics to get me out of the mess I was in at the time. It also bought me some time to do a bit of research and make adjustments to skincare, diet, supplements etc. It's all been a bit hit and miss in places but I now seem to be on a regime that is working for me now.

Sorry this is a bit long winded, but hope it gives a picture of how I have got to where I am today.

Kind regards,
allibear

[Driven]

FYI: it may or may not improve rosacea, but most mainstream scientists think the idea that eating alkaline foods will cause your body to be more or less acidic is a myth.

[allibear]

Speaking of celebs, you are absolutely right. I saw Cate Blanchett at my Spa the time before last getting the same tube stuck up her butt as me! (lol)

LOL, and they all say it's down to brown rice and vegetables, load of b*ll laugh:

[Mistica]

Hi Allibear,

Thanks for the detailed reply. Don't worry about the length. You have probably noticed I suffer from a pretty bad case of verbosity myself LOL.

Unlike some people I go for the approach of 'leave no stone unturned'. :)

By the way my new antibiotics are working fine for me. I still get a few outbreaks, but not daily and really, they are nothing to get too excited about.
My problem is bad redness and severe flushing and facial edema.
It took several months to get my normal facial contours back. I am much better now, but no where near normal. I have to plan every move, so to speak to try and avert a major flush.
Upon waking my left cheek is sometimes a little swollen, but it tends to drain off after an hour or two.
I know I have to have more IPL ( next time with the lumenis one), as my vessels are stretched beyond the point of no return, but, in the meantime I am trying to support my system best as I can.
Not that it was ever neglected. ( In many years).

Your diet sounds very much like 'The Liver Cleansing Diet' by Dr Sandra Carbot'. Have you heard of her?
She wrote a couple of other books too.
Supposedly, her inspiration for the first book was to try and address the diet related diseases of some of her patients.
Type two diabetes, heart problems, autoimmune diseases etc. Part of her theory was, that certain illnesses, such as the latter, require a trigger to start off the whole process, and by keeping the body as healthy as possible, it might be possible to prevent the 'switch being flicked' so to speak.
In addition to the book, you could purchase her liver support tonic. A powder, mixed with water, or juice.
It contained spirulina, vitamins, antioxidants, etc.
(Regarding the trigger theory, I was of the thought, that some diseases were triggered by a virus, which is another thing entirely).

Like you, I used to cook with garlic, but just the handling of them and onions, made my eyes water and of course, that set off a flush. Hopefully I can reintroduce these things one day.
Unfortunately, I loathe tea in any shape or form, despite the urging of my family and friends to start drinking it.
As for pasta, I really don't like it and haven't eaten it for years. Nor do I consume much bread. Maybe a slice or two per month or less.
The three things I miss most of all are : Cheese. I simply love it. Yogurt. (Soy yogurt tastes like chalk).
And, vinegar. I used to have it on a variety of things.
But that aside, I seem to eat pretty much ok, I am not overweight and according to my blood tests and health checks, I will live to be 100. Which I don't want to do looking like a beacon!!

So for me, at least, diet seems to play little if any role.

You know, various forms of technology, such as our mobile phone, were first introduced to us via the Star Trek series. I want to know when we are getting that gizmo Dr McCoy used to wave over the body, which made an instant diagnosis, for which an immediate cure was provided! :)

Ah, I can dream....

[man_from_mars]

LOL, and they all say it's down to brown rice and vegetables, load of b*ll laugh:

Eating a couple tomatoes should also clean out the system pretty well
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2008/06/30/should_i_eat_that_tomato/

[allibear]

Hi Mistica,

It was the flushing and permanent redness that I was really left with after I had finished my antibiotics, and of course our dearly beloved friends, 'the capillaries'.

I have come across the name Sandra Carbot and her book but haven't really looked into it much...yet, but you have brought up something that has given me a bit of a hairy scary that maybe all my organs are justed totally bandjaxed full stop. I am now wondering could I just buy a new 'set' on ebay or somethinglaugh:

My die off reaction with the herbal supplement was quite grotesque at points and the really bad parts lasted for 3-4 weeks. Now it did warn you on the pack that you might feel unwell for a few days as a 'healing crisis' occurs, but not 4 weeks of yeast infections, intimate itch, tinnitus, pins and needles in the hands and feet, feeling like you are absolutely out of your head and not on this planet, and in about the third week the whites of my eyes turned a bit yellow. My liver obviously couldn't cope at all with the onslaught of toxins being released by the mass slaughtering of the bacteria. I even felt pressure on my kidneys. I nearly stopped it at one point but I was urged on when I started to feel all the pains in my legs and lower back, (that have plagued me for years), disappear, my sinuses start to clear, I started to sleep! and my Rosacea flushing just seemed to totally stop around week three or so. No matter how hot I get in work now I don't flush and recently I am not even getting any redder than the bit of diffuse pinkiness that there is left on my cheeks. I have also had a test in a confrontation situation that would usually bring on such a severe flush it would blow the top of my head off and nothing, not even a flush to the chest. Perhaps now if I meet a big sexy man I won't give myself away LOL! Only thing I will be a bit redder with at the moment is after a bath or shower, (I don't have hot ones), but I have been like this for as long as I can remember and it subsides quickly afterwards, or if something blocks my digestive sysytem and I don't go to the toilet for a few days, (which is why I am trying to stick with food that I know is going down easily and will make the journey to the other end without too many pitstops on the way).

I would have been better with somthing gentle like Candex from the word go, but I wasn't to know. Yet another trial and error!

I have been drinking a liver detox tea every evening for about a week now, with a host of herbs like dandelion, burdock, liqourice root, milk thistle and guess what I even started to get the fluy symptoms of die-off with the first couple of nights with that and it was only a flammin' cup of teashock: Apperantly doing anything to detox the liver can give you these die-off symptoms too. It has stopped now, I might be brave and try the lemons again.

Incidently what you say about Sandra's theory of preventing the 'trigger swithch' to other diseases. A bacterial overgrowth left out of control can lead to other diseases. I had problems with bad reoccuring thrush in the mouth, (that went beyond the tongue and started to spread to the throat and oesophagus), around 5 years ago. If you are a woman and have this problem the first thing they test for is pregnancy. I was on contraception at the time so it wasn't that, the second thing they test for is type 2 diabetes and I was sent for a few blood and swab tests, which included one for this, (which came back negative). Allthough type 2 diabetes is normally associated with obesity it has been known for some women to develop it after pregnancy, (an old work colleague of mine did), because the huge fluctuations of the hormones, during and after pregnancy can throw the whole gut balance out of proportion. I wonder how many women don't develop gut, skin problems, general wellbeing problems untill they have had a pregnancy or two? (Of course that can't be my issue LOL but I do think about these things sometimes and how even our normal monthly cycle fluctuations and messing with our hormones with contraception effect us over the years.)

I stopped all the cooking with herbs, spices etc when I was diagnosed and started eating 'less adventurously'. But everywhere I read up on Candida/bacteria overgrowth they come up again and again as yeast hating foods and work to create an environment that it hates to thrive in. I have the kithchen full again of all the things I loved to cook with, fresh and dried, so my diet may sound boring or limited but believe me, with a bit of imagination and gettting these ingredients back in it's not, even though there are a few things I miss.

I found a few articles on the benefits for digestion of cayenne chilli pepper, (ekk, I here everyone scream from the balcony!), helps to unblock the channels and another one suggested for bacteria overgrowth control. I love spicey food and have no problem adding this to almost anything, (and I am not suggesting that anyone tries this at home, I am just a bit of fmy rocker and seem to have lost my fear of experimenting at the monent). Been using it for two weeks now. There have been a number of new additions to my regime and diet in the past two weeks so it's hard to tell what's doing what all I know is that the toilet habits are better and so is my skin and there has been a further reduction in my erythema and still no flushing.

Of course a few months back this would have caused a reaction, just like garlic did when I first started up on that again and a year ago I couldn't touch a yogurt, it was the one food that I could pin point gave me a more or less immediate flareup. Seems to me that once I started to get the population of 'beasties' down there is now much less of them to spit the toxins out at me when they get upset about something they don't like going in there.

Another interesting point you bring up about peeling the onions and the eyes watering. I just never gave this a thought. My eyes always went mad peeling onions, I have been using them quite a bit recently, lots of peeling and chopping and my eyes aren't being affected by it.

I am in all out war with these things, if there is a food out there that they don't like I will put it in, luckily I like most of these thingsthumbs:, regardless of whether it causes a die off reaction or not. I am seeing ten years of health problems that medicines have not improved and that have deteriorated my quality of life, slowly dwindle away. It is now not only about the Rosacea for me. I have had this going on for a long time and may now never win the battle but figthing it there has now definately been 'a shot to kill' policy drawn up.boxing:

Of course it would all be much easier if we had the magical Dr. McCoy Gizmo at hand!