Episode 1 Operation Ouch!

He's Dr Chris.

-He's Dr Xand.

-And, yes, we're identical twins.

Do you know, your body does heaps of amazing things every single day...

-That is incredible.

-..and we're going to show you how.

Ugh, you've cut him in half!

In this new series, we'll be getting to the heart...

-Yay!

-..of what makes your brilliant body tick.

We're back with more incredible experiments...

-Wow!

-..and real life medical emergencies.

-There's a big chunk of me leg missing.

-Ouch!

-We'll be turning our bodies inside out...

-Oh, yuck!

..to show YOU what you're made of.

HE FARTS

-You should see a doctor.

-Better go find one.

HE CLEARS THROAT

Dr Xand.

HE SIGHS

-Coming up on Operation...

-Operation Ouch!

We get to the bottom of your guts.

One week's worth of farts.

Whoa!

We go ouch and about with our portable clinic to solve

your medical mysteries.

Next patient, please.

And Chris is put through his paces on a rather unique hospital ward.

DUMMY RETCHES

Oh, he's being sick!

But first...

The staff in the Emergency Room thought they'd seen everything.

But they weren't expecting this.

In Manchester, waiting with her mum and dad is five-year-old Alice,

and it looks as though she's hurt her hooter.

Ooh, that DOES look nasty!

She fell over and bashed her nose

so she's got a nasty little cut along the side of her nose here.

A witch came to catch me.

The witch? What's all that about?

Alison and her friend Colette were at school.

So where was the witch? Unless you mean those dinner ladies.

THEY CACKLE

I think they're cooking up a spell.

No, Xand, Colette was pretending to be a witch and was chasing Alice.

Run, Alice!

Alice ran through the playground trying to get away

-but the witch was catching up fast.

-Oh, no!

Alice ran faster and faster,

-and just as the witch was about to grab her, she tripped.

-Uh-oh!

Alice went flying across the playground, landing face first.

Ouch!

Here's ear, nose and throat doctor, Ricky Pal.

Maybe he can cast a spell to mend that snout.

-What have you done?

-Just falled over and hit my nose.

Dr Ricky needs to take a closer look.

There are lots of nooks and crannies in your nose that could be damaged

if it takes a bash.

The nostrils, the nasal passages and the bit down the middle,

called the septum - it's made of bone and cartilage.

Alice's cut hasn't reached the cartilage, but it has sliced

right through her nostril.

Luckily, Dr Ricky knows how to fix it.

She needs to have that stitched in theatre.

So, we'll put her to sleep under an anaesthetic and then we'll

just get the edges of the cut lined up and stitched together nicely.

Whee!

We'll be back later to see how Alice gets on.

SIREN WAILS AND TYRES SCREECH

And now to our lab for some amazing body experiments.

-Urgh!

-Whoa!

Just don't try anything you see here at home.

Today we're getting to grips with your guts.

Xand, what's going on? It's snack time.

Snack time's cancelled, Chris,

because I've laid a set of pig guts end-to-end all over the bench.

I can see that, Xand.

The smell is terrible, but it does look amazing. Why have you done it?

I just wanted to see how long it all is, really.

'Your intestines are eight to nine metres long

'but until you lay it out like this, it's hard to imagine.'

It's amazing how it can all fit in your body without getting tangled.

But Xand, if only we had another set of guts,

that you hadn't laid out, we could see that special

part of your body that stops that tangling happening.

Well, it's funny you should mention that, Chris, because I've always

said that there's only one thing better than a set of pig guts,

and that's TWO sets of guts!

I don't think you've ever said that before in your life.

But it does look like this one does seem to have the mesentery.

Yes, the mesentery.

The amazing bit of your body which stops your guts getting tangled

and gives them blood and nutrients.

And you can see it here - this white bit is the mesentery

and there are blood vessels running through it.

And you can see it holds all the guts together.

Without the mesentery, your gut would have to be in a straight line from

your mouth to your bum and you'd be as tall as two double-decker buses.

(That would be tall!)

Your guts are split into two sections - the large intestine

and the small intestine, which isn't that small at all.

This is the small intestine and it runs all the way from here,

around here, right down to there.

And THIS is where the action takes place,

and inside, it's covered in tiny finger-like projections called villi,

and you can only see them under a microscope.

Villi have an important job to do.

As the food moves along and touches them, the villi absorb every

tiny little bit of nutrient, including fat, sugars and proteins,

into the wall of your intestines,

passing it out into your blood for your body to use.

But, there's one thing about intestines we haven't discussed,

Chris, and that's...

LOUD FART

Urgh, Xand! What have you been eating?

Farting is completely natural.

It's just your body's way of getting rid of unwanted built up gas,

and everyone does it about 14 times a day.

It doesn't matter if we're talking about your head teacher

or the Queen herself, we all do it, and it's honestly not your fault.

He is actually right there.

Inside your large intestines there are millions of good bacteria

that are there to help break down food.

And as they eat, they produce a mixture of gases,

which is what makes you let rip.

This combination of gases is made up mainly of air, carbon dioxide,

hydrogen sulphide and methane.

And the methane contains a lot of energy, as we're about to show you.

And for this, I'm going to need a special piece of equipment.

Chris's hand.

Now, this is a cylinder of methane

and I'm going to release one day's worth of farts.

This experiment is highly dangerous.

We're in a controlled lab using specially manufactured gas.

Don't even think about trying this yourself!

Get your hand wet. Now scoop up those bubbles.

That's right. Hold them well away from you.

I don't like the look of this!

Argh! Xand, that was amazing!

So, that's how much energy there is in a day's worth of farts?

Exactly. That's one day's worth of farts.

-Well, you know what we have to do now?

-A week's worth.

-Precisely.

One week's worth of farts.

That's really good, isn't it?

-So, we've done a day.

-We've done a week.

-Dare we do a month?

Yes, we do dare. Do it.

-Here we go.

-Light it.

-Wow!

-Wow!

It's amazing!

-Wow!

-Whoa!

So, we've shown you just how incredible your intestines are

and how much energy there is in your farts.

Remember, when you let rip,

it's an essential part of how your body gets rid of excess gas.

And, now you know whose fault it is that you do them

in the first place.

Those cheeky little gut bacteria.

But, if they weren't in our intestines,

we'd end up with undigested food sitting in there forever.

So, there really is no reason to be ashamed of your...

HE FARTS

SIRENS WAIL

Now we're getting ouch and about with our mobile clinic.

Today we're at a theme park to help solve your medical mysteries.

If you're anxious about an ailment or curious about a condition

then the Ouch-mobile is the place for you.

That is incredible!

Xand is preparing the clinic ready for his first patient.

And Chris is out in the park to answer your burning questions.

At the clinic, Xand has opened for business.

-Can I have the next patient?

-Hi, Dr Xand.

First in is 11-year-old Eugene,

with a question about an itchy ailment on his arms.

So, Eugene, what's brought you to the Ouch-mobile today?

Well, I've got something really itchy and annoying on my arms.

What's the diagnosis, Doc?

Sounds to me like a case of

-I've-got-something-really-annoying and-itchy-on-my-arms-itis.

-Spot on!

So, what we're looking at here is actually something called eczema.

It happens when too many skin cells are produced, and it's also a chance

for Xand to show off his doctor skills.

What I can see here is xerodermia, lichenification and excoriations.

What that really means is, it's just the Greek words for dry skin,

itchiness, rough skin.

Yeah, OK, Xand. Anything YOU want to ask, Eugene?

Is there anything I can do to make my eczema better?

Keeping it really well moisturised will stop it itching

and keep that skin looking nice.

Beyond that, avoiding itchy fabrics like wool, nylon, polyester,

things like that.

Apart from that, one of the things you can do is get older.

So, as you get older, it's likely that it'll clear up,

and lots of people who have eczema when they're children

don't have it when they're adults.

Away from the clinic, Chris is ouch and about in the park

solving your medical mysteries.

Why do we get brain freeze when we eat ice cream?

Well, it's to do with

when the cold ice cream gets into your mouth on a hot day,

the nerves in your mouth contract all the blood vessels around your mouth

cos blood is one of the ways of your body cooling itself down.

So, you get pain from the nerves from the cold and you get

changes in the amount of blood in your head, and that's what hurts.

Why do you sprain your muscles?

If you move a muscle when you're not ready to use it,

you can actually tear all the little fibres that make it work.

And they'll heal up, and they may even heal up stronger.

That's why weightlifting makes us stronger, it tears our muscles.

But in the short term, it swells up and it really hurts,

but it almost always gets better.

Back at the Ouch-mobile, there's a new case in the waiting room...

Next patient, please.

..and it's 11-year-old James with a curious case on his face.

So, James, what's brought you to the Ouch-mobile today?

Well, I have a birthmark shaped like Britain.

Wow, look at that! What's the diagnosis, Doc?

Sounds like a case of

I've-got-a-birthmark shaped-like-Britain-on-my-face-itis.

That's exactly what I'd say.

It really does look like Britain, doesn't it?

All right, James, I want a bit of a geography lesson from you.

Where are we on the birthmark?

We are down there at the bottom.

We're down there.

As a doctor, I'm very interested in marks on people's faces,

so I've got to check it out and make sure it's OK.

I'm looking at the edges. I'm making sure they're not raised,

they're not too irregular, that it's not bleeding.

Everything about James's mark on his face says

it's a normal healthy birthmark.

Why is my birthmark shaped like Britain?

There isn't actually any rhyme or reason

why birthmarks are shaped in particular ways,

but your one is definitely the coolest one I've ever seen now.

It's also probably the most useful

cos if you get lost, you can find yourself on the map on your face.

Job done for today. Clinic closed.

SIREN WAILS

Still to come...

Time to find out what it's like to be first at the scene

of a medical emergency.

We take you to the front line with paramedics saving lives.

Stop the bleeding!

We show you what to do in a medical emergency.

-And Chris goes to work on the weirdest ward ever.

-Urgh!

-Remember Alice with her cut nose?

-Ooh, painful!

Let's find out how she's getting on.

In Manchester, Alice is waiting for surgery on her hooter.

Alice was being chased by her friend Colette,

who was pretending to be a witch.

SHE CACKLES

As Alice was running away, she tripped and went flying

across the playground, landing face first.

Ouch!

The cut is quite deep so Dr Ricky has decided

that Alice's nose needs to be stitched up.

So, it's time for her operation with surgeon Iain Bruce.

Thanks to a general anaesthetic, Alice will be fast asleep

and won't feel a thing, and, to protect her face,

her head is wrapped up like an Egyptian mummy!

Any bleeding in the wound is stopped by something called cauterising,

where these tweezers use heat to seal off the blood vessels.

Look away if you're squeamish, because we can see exactly

how deep that cut has gone.

And with a few stitches she's all fixed up.

All I've done is cleaned it up,

so there's no dirt underneath the skin, and then I've stitched

it back, trying to create the shape of the nose as it was before.

And I'm really hopeful that in a few weeks to a couple

of months' time you won't be able to tell anything has happened.

Great news, and a couple of hours later Alice has woken up.

The doctor's fixed my nose.

But how does it feel, Alice?

-It feels nice.

-Aw, glad to hear it.

Bye, Alice. Watch out for those witches!

WITCH CACKLES

It's not only emergency departments in hospitals

-that deal with the unexpected.

-That's right, Chris.

All over the UK there are expert teams ready for action.

We're on call with the UK emergency services, showing you what

it's really like on the front line saving lives.

This is a rapid response car.

It's one of a fleet of vehicles that respond to

up to 3,000 emergencies a day here in the West Midlands.

Time to find out what it's like to be first at the scene

of a medical emergency.

If you have an accident, this fast medical service is ready to help

24 hours a day.

So, I've got my camera. Eric's in the back with his camera.

We're going to get you as close to the action as we can.

On call with me is paramedic Jan Vann.

She can do 20 emergency call outs in a day.

And a new case is just in.

So, at the moment, all we know is that three children have been

involved in a road traffic accident in a car crash and that

they've been taken home, but there's still some ongoing problem.

We don't know any more than that yet.

We need to get there and have a look.

And just minutes later, we're at the house.

Inside there are two children, Annie and Ryan,

waiting to be checked over.

When did you notice that you had pain in your head?

I banged my head and it started hurting

when I was in my dad's car on the way back.

-So you didn't notice it immediately?

-No.

Yeah, it's strange that you hit your head and you don't notice it?

-You're so surprised and then later on it starts to hurt.

-Yeah.

After an accident, it's important to get checked over...

Try and pull me towards you.

..either by a medic, a doctor, or at your local A&E,

as some injuries take time to appear.

So, you've got a little bit of a headache, yeah?

And has that headache got any worse or has it stayed the same?

-Sort of the same.

-Sort of stayed the same.

So, what Jan is doing now is making sure that Annie and Ryan

haven't got any other injuries which are a bit harder to find.

-Push and pull down.

-Urgh!

-Brilliant.

-Gosh, you're strong, ain't ya? Do you go to the gym?

-No.

She's checking their strength to make sure their nerves are right.

She's checking their hands and their arms.

Feel me touching you? Feel me touching you?

She's checking the nerves coming out of their brains.

Checking eyes and mouth, things like that.

So far, everything looks really good.

But it's really nice that Jan's able to get here quickly,

assess them at home and hopefully spare them a trip to hospital

and any more investigations.

No, that looks absolutely fine, so that's good.

Did you have any pain in your neck or anything like that?

-It ached a little bit but it was fine.

-OK.

-And you're feeling all right now?

-Mm.

-OK, good.

They could, over the next couple of days,

get some stiffness in their neck, which is called whiplash,

which happens after an accident.

Right, this is paracetamol. OK?

As long as there's no worsening headaches

and there's no confusion and no vomiting then they should be fine.

So, Jan's checked out Ryan and Annie and they're both really well

and they're sitting on the sofa comfortably.

And a lot of that is because they were both wearing their seatbelts.

It's a really good result.

And if you ever have a medical emergency, there are hundreds

of similar crews on standby around the UK ready to help.

SIREN WAILS

Did you know that half the bones in the human body

are in our hands and feet?

That's over 100 in total.

Wow! You'd better look after those fingers and toes, then.

As far as I'm concerned, you're never too old to play games,

and one of my favourites is the family classic hide-and-seek.

But when you play this game you've got to be careful where you hide,

because this game can be dangerous.

Don't hide in the bin, Xand. You'll get your foot stuck again.

That would be rubbish.

And don't hide behind the TV.

You're going to get tangled in all the cables again!

And don't hide in my laundry basket.

I haven't done last week's washing yet.

Well, Xand is clearly not in this room.

I'm going to have to look somewhere else.

Strange, because this room is normally his favourite place to hide.

Argh!

ALARM BELL RINGS

I knew you'd be in here, Xand.

-My finger!

-Sounds like an injury alert.

So what should you do if you trap and badly cut your finger?

A) Use a clean cloth to apply pressure and stop the bleeding?

B) Send in an army of ants to stitch it back up?

Or C) Show your teacher and see if they freak out?

Samira, what do you think the correct answer is?

A, because if you do any of the other options it wouldn't really

help the person who has cut their finger.

Yes, Samira, you've got it!

And let's show you how.

-What should I do?

-What's the first thing to do?

-Get a bandage.

-Perfect. Get a bandage.

So, get me a bandage, Dr Chris.

OK, so, we stick this on to stop the bleeding.

And you'll need to keep the pressure up until the bleeding stops

and go to hospital.

So, who wants to have a go yourselves?

-ALL:

-Me!

-Ow!

-Now remember, we're showing you what to do in an emergency,

but it's always best to find an adult.

-Stop the bleeding.

-Stop it!

-Thank you.

-So, what do we need to do next?

-Take the case to hospital.

-Do you want to get him to hospital?

Ne-naw, ne-naw, ne-naw!

So that's it.

Use a clean cloth to apply pressure and stop the bleeding.

And if the fingertip has come off, put it in a clean bag,

then put the bag on ice, tell an adult and take the patient and the

fingertip to hospital or call 999.

Right, Chris, ready or not here I come.

He's definitely not in here.

He's so good at this game.

Huh, look at that!

I didn't know Mr Grumbles liked playing Egyptian mummies.

You're doing a fabulous job of dressing him up as one.

Chris, this is no time for joking.

Mr Grumbles has hurt his arm and I'm bandaging him up.

In that case, you're doing a terrible job of it.

You should have come for a spot of nurse training with me.

-A spot of what-whatting?

-Time for Investigation Ouch!

Welcome to the weirdest hospital ward you'll ever see.

These patients aren't just sick, they're not even human.

This is the nurse training room at City University in London,

and it's just like a normal ward, except all the patients are dummies.

But these aren't just any dummies, they're smart dummies.

To train the student nurses they've been programmed with real

illnesses, just like real patients.

Just a bit...creepier!

Urgh!

Before they can become fully fledged nurses, the students have to show

they can deal with all kinds of different situations.

And these dummies are...

..these dummies are the key to putting them through their paces.

Because these dummies are smart enough to show the symptoms

of all kinds of different illnesses.

They have pulses, make vomiting sounds...

DUMMY RETCHES

..and can even talk to you.

-DUMMY:

-I'm so sick.

Even though Chris is a doctor,

he's never trained as a nurse until today.

Shouldn't he be dressed for the part?

Well, that's more like it!

-How are you doing, Ali?

-Hi, Chris, how are you?

Training alongside Chris is Alison.

Together they'll be caring for Jasper.

Nurse Melissa will be monitoring their every move,

from how they take blood pressure to their bedside manner,

as well as controlling how the dummies feel.

But can Chris hack it as a nurse? First test - taking a pulse.

-How long do you measure it for?

-One minute.

-A minute?

My system is to do it for six seconds and multiply by ten,

which is a lot less accurate, so I make the pulse about 85.

I got 82.

-You got 82, so I'm not that far off.

-It's close enough.

It's not how we're told to do it but close enough.

Ooh, not a good start, Chris.

I think we're going to ramp it up a bit.

I think we're going to make Jasper get really unwell.

DUMMY RETCHES

Oh, he's being sick!

What shall we do? Shall we sit him up?

We should maybe remove his oxygen mask...

-Oh, yeah, cos that'll be in the way.

-..and I'll go get a bowl.

Here we go. There, there, Jasper.

All right, Jasper, there you go.

We've got a vomit bowl for you if you're sick again.

-DUMMY RETCHES

-Oh, here we go.

Second time round he's caught the pretend puke,

but he's made a big mistake.

Any ideas what it is?

Chris, we should probably have some apron and gloves on right now.

Oh no! I completely forgot gloves and apron,

so I'd be covered in vomit and my hands would be covered,

and that means any other patients I touched,

I might give them an infection that Jasper had.

Not good practice.

Oh dear, Jasper is covered in imaginary vomit.

And to make the final test more realistic,

Nurse Melissa is sending in his pretend sons.

Chris will need to look after his patient

and reassure his fake family.

So what have you guys done to him? He was all right yesterday.

Well, he's suddenly got a bit worse. He started vomiting.

We don't quite know what's going on but...

Can't you give him something to stop the sickness?

Yeah, we'll do that. Well, we started the fluid.

It's difficult cos we just need

a bit more space around the patient to do the work,

and I think, obviously, Jasper's covered in vomit.

Yeah, it's maybe a bit distressing for you to see your dad like this.

Jasper, would you like relatives around?

DUMMY: No.

So would you like to take a seat outside and we'll come and get you?

-Will somebody come and get us?

-We'll come and get you.

-Yeah, of course.

-OK. Thanks a lot.

-See you in a bit.

Hm, they were a tough crowd!

Looks like Jasper wanted to get rid of his family as much as we did.

Test over. Chris has been put through his paces like a real trainee nurse,

but did he pass?

-So how do you think I did?

-I think you did OK.

I think the pulse, I was not quite sure about.

I thought I'd get in trouble for that.

And obviously, no aprons and gloves until Ali remembered.

Can't believe I forgot that.

The relatives, though, I thought you did really well.

I think you worked well together.

You reassured them and they seemed to leave happy.

And Jasper's obviously much happier now...

So, they may look a bit creepy but, remember,

these dummies are helping nurses to help get you fixed up.

Listen, you've been watching everything today,

how do you honestly think I did?

DUMMY RETCHES

All right, I'll get a bowl.

Don't forget the apron and gloves, Chris!

Our next patient thought today would be another normal day.

-But he was wrong, and now he's in A&E.

-Let's meet him.

In Manchester, seven-year-old Tyler has come in with his great-gran.

-What have you done, Tyler?

-I burnt my hand.

-You burnt your hand? Oh, dear.

-It's a bit painful.

The burn has been wrapped in clingfilm by a nurse to protect it.

-But how did it happen, Tyler?

-I was trying to make myself a brew.

Ah, a cup of tea. Two sugars, please.

I really, really like brews. I love dunking biscuits into it.

My favourite biscuit is a custard cream.

Nice one, Tyler. Sounds yummy.

In fact, Xand, it's that custard cream craving

that got him into this mess in the first place.

-Tyler is a big tea drinker.

-Ooh, me too!

He loves nothing more than putting his feet up with a brew

-and dunking his custard creams in it.

-Ooh, me too!

Because Tyler's only seven,

he asked his big brother James to fix him a cuppa,

but James said no.

Brother love, eh?

So, Tyler set about making his own cup of tea

but the kettle was full and heavy.

As Tyler poured, the kettle slipped

and the boiling water went all over his hand.

Ouch!

Here's Dr Chuks Nwulia to take a look at that painful palm.

-Hello, Tyler, how are you?

-I'm all right.

-So, what's been happening to you today?

-I've burnt myself.

-OK.

Can you feel any pains or tingling in your hands, like pins?

-Yeah.

-And where are you feeling it?

-In my thumb.

Can you feel me touching you? You can? You can feel anything.

Your skin is made up of layers of skin cells, fat, tissue

and blood vessels.

When you burn or scald yourself, the deeper these layers get damaged

the worse the burn will be.

More minor burns only affect the top layer

and that's what's happened to Tyler's hand.

But it still hurts!

Tyler's lucky - he had a minor burn.

He just needs some painkillers, anti-inflammatories.

He's going to be fine.

That's great news.

Now it's over to Nurse Samira to give the burn a good clean

with sterile water before dressing it.

-Right, so you need to keep this clean and dry, OK?

-Yeah.

That's it.

Now you've got your digits dressed,

I've got another burning question for you, Tyler.

What was the worst bit about today?

I've not had a brew.

Aww, never mind. Let's hope your brother's got the kettle on

and that he's stocked up on custard creams.

Bye!

Next time on Operation Ouch, Xand meets a medically-minded mutt.

In Accident and Emergency,

we find out what's happened to Logan's cheek.

-This is a real heart.

-And we put our ticker to the test.

Yay!

So, that's it till next time from Operation...

Operation Ouch!

LOUD FART

Oh, Xand! What have you been eating?

Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat the more you...

Yes, Xand, we get it. We get it.

He's definitely not in here.

He's so good at this game.

Operation Ouch!