Episode 7 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.

Ah! You've cut him in half.

We've got incredible experiments...

Whoa!

..and real life medical emergencies.

The doctor's going to make it all better.

Ouch.

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

Oh, yuck!

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

FARTING

-You should see a doctor.

-Better go find one.

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

Dr Xand. Hm?

-Coming up on... BOTH:

-Operation Ouch!

Xand uses a special ingredient to make his own variety of cheese.

Eugh! That is horrendous.

We get our heads around your medical mysteries.

Why do I bend so much and my friends don't?

And I show you the incredible technology inside this man's head.

That is just amazing, isn't it?

But first...

Let's see who's turned up in accident and emergency.

And this is not for the squeamish.

Ah!

Aaarggh!

This way to Alder Hey Hospital, in Liverpool,

where 14-year-old Alex has hurt his arm.

Ooh, it's bendy. What happened?

Playing football, saved a goal and broke my arm.

You broke your arm saving a goal?!

That must have been some kick. Let's see what happened.

Alex was playing in a five-a-side

football match at school.

Was he magic with the ball like Messi?

No, Xand, he was saving the ball, like...

Like?

Like a brilliant goalkeeper, making lots of great saves,

leaping left and right.

Then one boy, the strongest kicker on the pitch, took a shot.

Whoa! That ball's moving like a rocket.

On a one-way mission to the back of the net.

But Alex had other plans.

He threw his hands out for a save,

the ball crashed right into his arm and bent it.

BOTH: Ouch.

Alex is off to X-ray to check on the damage.

Brilliant, you're doing really well.

OK, all done.

To deliver the results is bone specialist Dr Veenesh Selvaratnam.

So what he has got, he's a got a fracture of both the bones.

He certainly has.

What we'll try and do,

see whether we can give him something to sedate him,

give it a pull and put a plaster, OK?

If this is successful, Alex won't need an operation.

When a bone breaks, sometimes it moves out of its normal position.

With a double break like Alex's, your arm can look bendy

because the bones have overlapped.

When this happens, they need to be pulled apart

and then slotted back together like a jigsaw so they heal nicely.

That's the plan for Alex. Let's see how he gets on later.

And now to our lab...

Ouch!

..for some amazing body experiments.

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

Today it's your friends and mine - body bacteria.

Xand, you stink!

I know. I haven't washed in three days.

What? Why would you do that?

Well, Chris, while you have been washing as normal, I haven't

and that's so I could collect samples of the bacteria on my body.

And here they are.

All over your body you have lots of lovely bacteria

working hard to keep you healthy.

That's right. Not all bacteria are bad.

In fact, lots of them are good.

They do things like eat dead skin cells and destroy bad bacteria,

which could otherwise cause you infections.

But that's not a reason for never washing, is it, Xand?

Well, that's true, but I've only not washed for three days

and you're about to find out why.

Allow me to introduce my body bacteria.

Meet the family.

There's John and he's off to see Anita,

who's over there.

Hello, Anita. How do you even know their names?

We live together.

They actually feed off my sweat

and as they gobble away,

they release a nasty stink,

so when I don't wash, more sweat

equals more nasty smells.

Now, speaking of smells...

Smell this cheese.

Cheesy. What are you doing now?

Smell my foot.

Eugh! That's even more cheesy.

Exactly.

Now, that's because some of the bacteria that live on your body

are exactly the same kind of bacteria that are used to make cheese.

Bacteria are a key part of producing cheese

and actually give each variety of cheese its unique smell and flavour.

Now, in these three jars we have bacteria on swabs

that Xand's been collecting from different parts of his body.

Now we're going to make three varieties of cheese.

One from my toe bacteria, one from my armpit bacteria

and one from my belly button bacteria.

And what we want to know is, will the different kinds of cheese

smell like the body part they came from?

Actually, I'm quite peckish. I'm looking forward to this.

What? Xand, you can't eat this cheese.

We have no idea what sort of foul bacteria might be lurking

in the crevices of your body.

Some of them could be dangerous.

Ugh! I suppose you're right.

Now, don't worry,

the bacteria used in the cheese you eat is perfectly safe.

Let's get cheese making!

And the most important ingredient for my body cheese

is my unique body bacteria.

Get in there and start making cheese.

Because the mix of bacteria on my body is unique to me,

my cheese should smell like my body and nobody else's.

Like all cheese, Xand's body cheese takes a while to turn solid.

Ta-da!

Well, here we have it,

Operation Ouch! Xand Brand Cheese.

Let's see if Chris can guess which part of my body

each cheese came from.

Now, I'm going to let you in on which one's which, though.

Are you ready?

Chris can't see what's on the screen right now.

Number one, belly button cheese.

Number two is armpit cheese.

And number three is toe cheese.

OK, Chris, let your nose be your guide.

Right, number one.

Eugh!

That's the nastiest cheese I have ever smelled.

OK, let's have a go at number two.

CHRIS SNIFFS

It's less strong, that.

I think that might be belly button.

Do you want a little go?

-CHRIS SNIFFS

-Eugh!

OK, number three.

Eugh!

That is horrendous!

That was definitely the strongest,

which makes me think three is foot,

two is belly button and one is armpit.

Well, Chris, it's the moment of truth.

You said number one was armpit.

-Are you feeling confident?

-Yes.

Oh, number one, Chris...

was belly button cheese.

How can your belly button smell that bad and so strong?

You said number two was belly button.

Oh! It's armpit.

Finally, you said number three was toe, and...

For the most powerful, smelliest, footiest cheese,

he did get it exactly right.

And this was the one you were most confident about -

the toe cheese.

It was overwhelmingly smelly and smelt exactly like your toes.

Well, Chris did get the cheesiest one right - my toe cheese.

So, we all have amazing bacteria on our bodies

and some of it is similar to the bacteria used to make cheese.

But this isn't how real cheese is made.

Unlike Xand's Brand, the cheese you buy to eat is perfectly safe.

So, we really can't eat my cheese, then?

Not even a tiny bit?

No, Xand, I've told you - no eating.

Anyway, it's time to go, come on.

Xand!

Shh! Don't tell Chris.

I mean, how dangerous can cheese really be?

This is going to be delicious.

What?! It's all gone!

Monty!

SQUEAKY GIGGLING

Now we're getting Ouch & About with our mobile clinic.

Today we're at a theme park to help you 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's brilliant, look at that.

Xand is preparing the clinic ready for his patients.

And later, he'll be out in the park to answer your burning questions.

At the clinic, he's open for business.

Can I have the next patient?

First in is eight-year-old Zoe

with a question about some bendy bits on her body.

So, Zoe, why have you come to the Ouch-Mobile?

Because I've got a really bendy body.

What's the diagnosis, doc?

This sounds like a case of...

That's what I'd say.

Can I have a look at what you can do?

I can bend my elbow all the way around.

Oh. Well, I think I can do that.

Oh, wait a minute.

-You're doing a thumbs up while I'm doing a thumbs down.

-Yeah.

Wow. That's amazing. What else can you do?

Touch my elbows behind my back.

OK, I can at least do this one.

-Are they touching?

-No.

-Are they close?

-No.

-Aw.

Why do I bend so much and my friends don't?

What you've got is a thing called hyper mobility.

Most of the time your joints are held in place by things

called ligaments and they're like very tough elastic bands

that keep the bones together.

Now, those ligaments are mostly made of something called collagen,

and in most people

the collagen is quite tough

but for you, it's a bit more flexible, a bit stretchier,

which means your joints can move a little bit more.

It doesn't do you any harm,

but it does mean you're a bit more bendy than other people.

It's a busy day for Xand.

He's leaving the clinic to go Ouch & About in the park

to solve your medical mysteries.

Why do you get heat rash when it's hot?

Normally, what you try to do

when you're hot is send all the blood to the surface of your skin

and then as your sweat evaporates, it cools the blood down. You get colder.

But when you get a heat rash,

all the blood going to your skin irritates it and it gets itchy

and it gets red, so what you need to do is cool down some other way,

like cold water or a cold T-shirt or just get in the shade.

Why do you shiver after you've been on a wet ride?

Shivering is your body's attempt to warm up.

You get all your muscles working. It's very hard work, shivering.

It's a bit like going for a run without having to go for the run.

You get your muscles shaking, that generates heat and you feel warmer.

The best thing to do is dry off, though.

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

Can I have the next patient?

It's nine-year-old Beth with a nuisance on her knee.

So, Beth, what's brought you to the Ouch-Mobile today?

I've got two things going on on my knee.

What's the diagnosis, doc?

Sounds like a case of...

Two for the price of one.

Oh, wow, that's interesting.

What we can see there is you've clearly got a scab

and around it, you can see the skin's raised,

it's quite hard,

it's dried out and it's rough.

That's a condition called psoriasis.

What's happening in psoriasis is the cells in your skin

that make the tough outer layer of your skin,

it's called keratin, they overgrow,

they're more active,

they're making more keratin.

That's what's making that bit of skin rough and thick and hard.

Why won't my psoriasis heal?

It's been like that since I was around four or five.

Sometimes it goes away over time and sometimes it doesn't.

I'd say, for the moment, the best you can do is leave it alone.

If it doesn't go away or it gets worse,

it's worth going to see your doctor.

There are drugs they can use to treat it,

but hopefully it'll die down of its own accord.

Job done for today. Clinic closed.

Still to come...

Xand is on the road with the UK's emergency services...

We're going to see someone who's got a very severe cut on the head.

..we show you how to cope with a medical mishap...

Ow! Ouch! My leg!

I think it's broken!

..and I get an exclusive look at some life-changing technology.

That is just amazing, isn't it?

Earlier we met Alex with his bent arm.

Let's head back to accident and emergency

to see how they straightened him out.

Back in Liverpool, Alex is in with a broken arm.

Really, it really does hurt.

And it's bent like a banana.

Alex was playing football at school.

He was in goal and making lots of great saves, leaping left and right.

Then one boy, the strongest kicker on the pitch, took a shot.

Alex threw his hands out for a save

and the ball crashed right into his arm and injured it.

Ouch!

So Alex is having a procedure to fix that bendy arm.

If it's successful, he won't need an operation.

First he's given an anaesthetic to make him sleepy

so he won't feel a thing.

And the team begin the process of straightening Alex's arm.

Dr Veenesh needs to pull the bones apart,

then let them join back up again in a perfect fit, just like a jigsaw.

First, there's a lot of pulling.

We just give a bit of traction.

Someone pulls the arm the other side

and I pull it away from the fracture

to try and align it together to make it straight.

Once they're happy the bones are correctly fitted,

the team need to make sure that they stay that way until they heal,

so Dr Veenesh fits a plaster cast.

Move your fingers. Beautiful.

After that's done,

Alex is sent to X-ray again to check up on those broken bones.

New pictures are taken of Alex's hopefully fixed arm.

Hey! It doesn't look like a banana any more.

But is it straight enough to avoid an operation?

Just spoken to orthopaedics. They're happy with the X-ray.

You can go home and they'll review you in fracture clinic

in a few days.

Great news!

I don't need an operation now. I'm really happy about it.

And on his check up it's still straight. A brilliant result.

-BOTH:

-Bye, Alex.

All over the UK there are emergency teams standing by ready to help you.

And they need to get to the scene of an accident fast.

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 vehicle.

It's on standby 24/7 to respond to whatever emergency calls come in.

Today I'm going along for the ride and you're coming with me.

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.

We're going to see someone who's got a very severe cut on the head

and is refusing to go to hospital.

The reason we don't have the sirens on or the blue lights on

is because they're with an ambulance crew at the moment.

But Jan is the only person on call at the moment

who can glue his head together,

which is what we're going to try and do.

At the house, the man, Paul, is in good spirits

despite the nasty gash to his head.

Thanks for coming out at such short notice.

It's all right.

As a paramedic with ten years' experience,

Jan has the expert training needed to use special glue

to join Paul's wound together.

Right, this glue might sting a little bit, OK?

How's that feel, Paul?

-Can't feel anything.

-Not stinging?

-No.

-Good.

The superglue that Jan's using now will hold that wound closed.

It doesn't need stitches and it stops the bleeding.

It'll stop infection getting in and it gives a nice result.

It gives a tidy scar.

All large head wounds should be seen at a hospital,

but Paul has refused to go so Jan gives him some advice.

Any headaches that aren't controlled with painkillers

will need to be assessed at the hospital.

Vomiting more than twice will need to be assessed at the hospital.

-We have got a slight issue.

-What?

My fingers are stuck to your head.

Not really.

Jan has done all she can for Paul and it's up to him now

to be vigilant and spot any side effects.

-See you then.

-Take care, see you later. Bye.

-Bye.

-See you.

Even though Paul didn't want to go to hospital,

we were still able to glue his head together.

That stopped the bleeding, it reduces pain,

it reduces the chances of infection and we've given him

some really clear advice about what to do if he gets worse

and he does need to go to hospital, and that's all thanks to Jan.

With hundreds of rapid response crews in the UK,

if you have an accident, an emergency service like this won't be far away.

So be sure to look after those legs of yours.

The school playground, a great place to play, blow off steam

and relax with your friends.

But with so much going on, it can also be a place of danger.

You could fall off the climbing frame.

Or bash your head playing hide and seek.

With so many different ways to hurt yourself,

-you can never be too careful.

-Absolutely, Chris.

Oh! Ow!

Ouch, my leg! I think it's broken!

Oh, dear. Looks like an injury alert.

Ouch.

A - ask your mum if she'll carry you around the house for six months.

B - support the injured leg to keep it still and call 999.

C - chop the leg off, it's no use now it's broken.

I recommend B because doctors can heal it

instead of C, chopping your leg off and you don't have no leg.

Aya is right.

The correct answer is B. Now, check this out.

-Aargh!

-OK, so the first thing we're going to do

is support Xand's broken leg.

You don't need anything fancy for this.

We can just use whatever is around.

'Remember, we're showing you what to do in an emergency,

'but it's always best to find an adult.'

So, Xand, how does your leg still feel?

Aargh!

OK, I think we do need to call 999.

999. Ring, ring.

-Which service do you require?

-I want an ambulance, please.

And what's your location?

I'm at the Operation Ouch! School in Children's BCC.

Dr Xand has broken his leg.

Stay with the patient and we'll send an ambulance.

Great, thank you very much. Bye.

Now we'll sit with Dr Xand, provided he doesn't shout too loudly,

and make sure he's OK until the ambulance gets here.

'Time for this lot to have a go.'

Argh! Ah, my leg! Oh!

-Argh! Ah!

-Come on, let's go.

Let me help you.

That's really good. It looks nice.

You don't want to move that leg at all.

You just want to support it.

-What are you going to do?

-Call 999.

Go for it.

-What service do you require?

-Ambulance, please.

My friend Robert's broken his leg and he needs help.

Staying calm, knowing everything's going to be OK

and that they will send an ambulance is really important.

So, if you think you might have broken your leg,

support it to stop it moving using anything that's handy

and tell an adult or call 999.

Luckily, mine was only a sprain.

Good. We can keep on playing, then.

Come on, Xand. Make an effort.

Ah, Chris, there you are.

I wanted to show you some really cool medical gadgets

-I've invented to help fix people's bodies.

-Mm-hm?

How brilliant is this for listening to people's hearts or chests?

Xand, it's a Victorian ear trumpet.

We already have a perfectly good stethoscope for that.

Well, you're really going to love my next invention.

I invented this to help me look at really...

tall patients.

Xand, it's a step ladder.

They're ridiculous.

We have much smaller and cooler gadgets for fixing people's bodies.

It's time for Investigation Ouch!

Can you guess what this is?

-Is it the inside of a monster's stomach?

-No, Xand.

OK, is it a peeled grape?

No, Xand, it's the inside of an eye, and your eyes are amazing.

They process billions of pieces of information every second.

Even now, your eyes are processing loads of different things

all at the same time.

Me on the TV, the room you're in, and your dad,

sitting on the sofa, picking his nose.

Eugh.

So, how do your eyes do this?

Well, light bounces off whatever you're looking at

and travels into your eye.

Because your lens is curved and light is straight,

the image gets turned upside down.

It's then transported to your brain through an important nerve

called the optic nerve.

Your clever brain then flips the image

so that you see what you're looking at the right way up.

This complex process is happening all the time.

But sometimes people's eyes don't work properly and they can't see.

This is Tim Reddish, a Paralympic athlete

with 40 medals for Team GB to his name, and he's blind.

But check this out -

Tim was given a chance to see again

thanks to this incredible device - the bionic eye.

Last year, Tim became one of the first people in the world

to try one of these bionic eyes

and it meant he could see something for the first time in years.

I was fascinated in the first place to see how it would work

and if it would work, and secondly, to help others in the future.

This is the moment where Tim's

bionic eye was switched on.

He was able to read a clock for the first time in 20 years.

What was it like when it was first turned on?

It was unbelievable. The only way to describe it really

is if ever you've put your head under the duvet

and you switch on that torch and you see that massive bright light,

that's what it was like for me the first time it was switched on.

Once you'd learned to see with it,

what other things could you make out?

What was really good for me,

because I've been honoured and privileged

to win international medals, I was able to see the shape

of those medals visually, which I've never been able to do before.

It's not working any more, is it,

because this was just a first prototype?

Yes, this one has broke down at the moment,

but because of all the work we've done

they've made some changes to the next one

that will hopefully work longer and last longer and work better.

Working on this new bionic eye is Professor Robert MacLaren.

He's also one of the inventors of Tim's first eye.

Remember the X-ray of Tim's skull?

This is what the bionic eye looks like when it's not in his head.

This bit here, this gold bit, is the bit that goes inside the eye.

At the very tip here, we've got the light sensing part of the device,

on which there are 1,500 light-sensing pixels.

When someone's blind, often their eye's no longer sensitive

to the light entering it.

This is where the bionic eye comes in.

New sensors detect the light coming into the eye

and a power pack helps the signal

go from the eye to the brain.

What we're doing with this technology

is we're connecting an electronic retina to the nerve,

so the nerve is now working again, only it's an electronic signal

rather than the normal signal they had earlier in life.

That is just amazing, isn't it?

It's brilliant that scientists and doctors have been able to give

some vision back to people with no sight at all.

But this is just the prototype. It's just the first model.

Imagine what people are going to be able to see

as the technology and the surgery get even better.

In accident and emergency,

there's another patient in need of some help.

-Well, let's meet her!

-All right.

In Liverpool, eight-year-old Lauren is in accident and emergency

with her mum, nan and a serious fit of the giggles.

I'm assuming a fit of the giggles

isn't the reason she's come to hospital, Chris.

No, Xand, it's to do with the sling holding up her right arm.

Yeah, it's swollen and my fingers are all sweaty.

But how did her arm get swollen, sweaty and in a sling?

Well, Xand, it was the final of the Handstand Olympics.

What? Handstands are in the Olympics?

Don't be ridiculous, I'm joking.

Lauren was at school, but she was

doing a perfect handstand.

Huh. It really was, wasn't it?

I know. But out of nowhere,

one of her classmates accidentally bumped into her...

-..toppling Lauren over!

-And...

-She bent her wrist.

-Ouch.

It must be really sore.

I deal with it.

She's one tough lady.

But what do you think you've done to your arm, Lauren?

I've broke it.

Painful.

Time for an X-ray to see if Lauren's diagnosis is right.

That OK? All finished.

Photo shoot over.

Time for an examination with...

OK, can you try and straighten your right elbow out for me?

-LAUREN WHIMPERS

-Good girl.

Lauren's arm is clearly causing her some pain

and the X-rays reveal why.

She's got two fractures in her wrist.

I've got my first broken bone.

-Two broken bones.

-First two broken bones, then.

To keep Lauren's wrist straight and help it heal,

she'll wear a temporary arm splint

until she comes back to have a plaster cast applied.

Does that feel OK?

And quicker than you can say Olympic gold medal handstand champion,

Lauren's back.

The plaster is moulded to Lauren's arm,

and once it sets, will hold it in place to allow the fracture to heal.

That's your cast on. I just need to give you a sling now.

I'll get you a sling.

Good thing about these, you can wear these as a bandana as well.

Looking good!

Lauren will need to keep the cast on her arm for two weeks.

Bye.

Then she can get back to her handstands. But will she?

I think so, because I like doing handstands.

Well, be careful, Lauren. Mind that arm.

BOTH: Bye!

Next time, these biscuits go up in flames,

all in the name of science...

Whoa!

HE LAUGHS

..the clinic will be open to help solve your medical mysteries...

There he is, look at that!

..and we're on call with the UK's paramedics.

And at the moment the suspected diagnosis is a stroke,

so we need to get there fast.

-BOTH:

-We'll see you next time for more Operation Ouch!

Good, we can keep on playing, then.

Come on, Xand, make an effort.

Oh, and do feel free to sniff the body part if it helps.

Yeah, thanks. I will feel free.