Episode 9 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 show you how.

-Oh, 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.

FART

-You should see a doctor.

-Better go find one.

HE COUGHS

DOCTOR Xand? Mmm?

-Coming up on...

-Operation Ouch!

We get under Xand's skin, all in the name of science.

Meet my veins.

-On me 'ead, son!

-We show you what to do if this happens.

And find out why Xand is chasing Nathan on one leg.

-I'm going to catch you!

-But first...

what started off as a normal day for our first patient

has ended up with a trip to Accident & Emergency.

-But don't worry, he's in the right place.

-Phew!

In Liverpool, 14-year-old Harry has come in with his mum by ambulance,

following a knock to his head during a rugby match.

-And then just everything going yellow and blurry...

-OK.

-..and I couldn't walk.

-A dodgy tackle, perhaps?

This might look severe,

but the pads around Harry's head are there to keep his head straight.

So, how did this happen?

Picture the scene, Xand, a rugby stadium full of cheering fans,

and on the pitch is superstar player, Harry!

-Oh, is Harry a famous rugby player?

-Well, maybe just in his own head.

Anyway, with ten minutes left in the game,

Harry was determined to score the winning try,

and the enthusiastic crowd were right behind him.

-Gosh, they ARE right behind him!

-No, not like that.

Supporting him from the stands.

Anyway, the opposition had the ball,

so Harry raced in for a tackle, but rather than taking the ball,

-he took a knee to the head, and landed on the ground.

-Ouch!

Sorting this out today is Dr Anne Kerr,

but Harry's got more important things on his mind.

-Don't cut my kit, please.

-Harry, we are going to have to cut this off.

Everything? Ah! I only just got this one.

Oh, no! But, he manages to look on the bright side.

At least my kit's not going to need cleaning.

-Mum's pleased!

-Dr Anne wants to figure out whether it's

Harry's head, neck or spine that's been damaged

and will need an X-ray.

One, two, three, roll.

So, the team work together to roll Harry on to his side,

while keeping his head and body in line.

That's because the bones in your neck and back protect the important

nerves that run from the brain into the body, through your spinal cord.

And the doctor decides it's his neck that needs a closer look.

And I'll go and book your scans,

-and then we'll get you up there as soon as the machine's warm.

-OK.

-But Harry's still troubled.

-My kit's cut.

-Your kit has come off.

-You can get a new kit. You can't get a new you, OK?

-True, doc.

And now, it's straight to the CT scan

that will check the bones in Harry's head and neck.

-Bye!

-Bye, Harry!

No, Xand, we'll be back later on to see how he gets on with his x-ray.

And now to our lab, for some amazing body experiments.

Urgh!

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

-Chris, give me your hand.

-Why?

I'm about to use a special piece of medical equipment on you,

and I can only do this because I'm a doctor.

Why do I feel nervous?

Ouch! You've drawn blood!

Is this really necessary?

Now, don't try anything like this at home.

And I'm only tolerating it

because Xand is a trained medical professional

and he's using some piece of proper scientific equipment.

The reason I pierced Chris' skin was to show you how blood

is absolutely everywhere inside your body.

It's true that, while it did hurt, the hole,

actually, couldn't be any smaller, and blood still came out.

Our bodies are filled with five litres of blood,

and it flows through an incredible network of tiny vessels,

as you'll know if you've ever cut yourself on paper.

Even the tiniest cut draws blood.

That's because blood vessels are everywhere in your body.

You have about 60,000 miles of them.

Enough to go around the planet nearly two-and-a-half times.

Now, Xand, wait here.

Give me your hand.

Now, I want you to take the end of this piece of string,

start walking, and keep walking.

Now, the string that Xand is holding represents the blood vessels

in just one part of your body.

So, do you think that all this string represents

the amount of blood vessels in...

The answer is C.

Amazingly, all this string is the same

length as the blood vessels in just one fingertip.

Your fingertip is only about one centimetre long,

but the blood vessels inside it measure 1,000 metres.

So, that's how long this string is, and I suppose, by now,

how far away Xand is.

Chris? Chris?

I suppose I'd better get him back.

So, there are thousands of blood vessels in your body,

carrying blood to and from the heart to keep everything working,

and you have two types - arteries and veins.

So, take a look at this.

It's a device that doctors use for spotting veins

and it has a special infrared light.

Chris, meet my veins.

Look at that! Cool, that really is good!

You can see Xand's veins in all their glory,

and the job of those veins is to carry your blood back to your heart.

Now, your other blood vessels are your arteries

and they take blood from your heart to your muscles and organs.

This is a piece of skin from a pig.

It might look disgusting, but we're showing it to you

because it has arteries in it, just like yours.

They're thick, and they're tough and elastic, and they're very strong.

Now, next to them are the veins, but they're much harder to see.

They're much smaller and they're much floppier.

Now, the reason the arteries are so strong is

because blood is pushed out from the heart at a very high pressure,

but the whole system relies on blood vessels being nice and clear.

Like roads, they work better when they're not blocked with traffic.

And, to show you what happens when arteries are blocked,

I've enlisted the help of some of my friends.

Chris, meet John and Anita.

-They're wooden cut-outs!

-They look a lot like John and Anita.

Anyway, they both have tubes running all over their bodies,

and those represent arteries.

Now, the arteries on Anita are lovely and clear.

With John, though, there are little blockages all over the place.

It doesn't look like a big deal, but we're going to try and show you

how much difference this makes in an artery race.

In 30 seconds, we're going to see how much of our fake blood,

in my case, blue, in Xand's case, green,

we can pump through the blood vessels to John and Anita's organs.

Basically, we're going to be their hearts.

Start the clock!

Oh, mine's really difficult.

John's arteries are so blocked that no blood is getting

to his muscles or his organs.

I'm having to put in loads of pressure,

and this is like John having high blood pressure, isn't it?

On the other hand, Anita is extremely easy.

Chris, Anita's doing fine, but John's in real trouble!

John's haemorrhaging,

and I'm hardly getting anything through to the bucket.

You've got to keep pumping, or he's going to die!

John is not doing well.

Time's up!

-That's terrible.

-And no blood is getting to his organs.

Well, Xand, I did all I could,

but it just goes to show how serious a blockage in an artery can be.

It's lucky John is only a cut-out.

If you want to have nice, clear arteries, like Anita,

you've got to exercise, eat properly and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Now, Chris, I've got a ball of string that represents

all the blood vessels in your entire body.

It's 60,000 miles long. Tie the end to your finger.

Xand, I'm not falling for that trick.

That is an enormous ball of string.

Now we're getting Ouch & 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 Ouchmobile 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 11-year-old Jay,

with a question about a fascinating feature on his feet.

So, Jay, what's brought you to the Ouchmobile today?

I've got a very annoying thing on my feet.

Both of my big toes are bent.

What's the diagnosis, doc?

This sounds like a case of...

That's exactly what I'd say.

Wow! You have really bendy big toes.

So, what Jay's got is actually very unusual.

This joint is where your toes are bending in.

It's that last joint in your big toe.

These are called Hallux Interphalangeus.

That's Latin for bendy toes.

So, what should I do about it?

It's well worth seeing a specialist in feet,

so a podiatrist or an orthopaedic surgeon.

They can put special gadgets in your shoes and things that'll either pull

your toes straight, or push them a little bit and get them right.

Now, it may be that when you're older, you actually need

an operation to fix it, but it isn't going to cause you problems through

your whole life, but it's well worth looking into when you're young.

It's a busy day for Xand.

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

to solve your medical mysteries.

-Dr Xand, why do you get wobbly legs after a scary ride?

-What happens is,

your body's releasing a hormone called adrenaline, which is

meant to prepare your body to run away from something frightening,

so it makes your heart beat faster, it makes your muscles more twitchy,

and then your muscles are all ready to go, but you're not running around,

you're just standing there, so they're kind of twitching and

wobbling and trembling, and that's where that feeling comes from.

Why, when you're on a really fast rollercoaster,

-does your face go like this?

-Nice face, Joe!

When you're on the ride, you know how you feel heavy

and it's hard to lift your arms?

You're effectively getting what's called G-force pulling on your face.

As you're going round a corner, accelerating,

you've got lots of times the force of gravity pulling on you.

What that means is it pulls the skin on your face, the muscles in

your face back, so it starts to do that, change the shape of your face.

Back at the Ouchmobile, there's a new case in the waiting room...

Next patient, please.

..and it's eight-year-old Anita with a story about her skin.

I've got some different coloured patches of skin on some

parts of my body.

What's the diagnosis, doc?

Sounds to me like a case of...

Sounds right to me.

What we're looking at is completely normal skin that's just lost

its colour, and what I think you've got is a problem called Vitiligo.

Vitiligo means that the cells that normally make skin dark,

using a chemical called melanin, just aren't working any more.

They've either died or are not making that chemical any more,

and so those bits of skin are lighter.

We don't really know all the reasons why it happens, but, the good

news is, it's not dangerous, it's not going to do you any harm.

It's just a bit noticeable around your eyes.

What can I do about it?

A lot of people respond to either light therapy on the patches,

or to laser therapy.

It may well be your doctors can help you treat it.

Thank you for having me.

Anita, thank you very much for coming in today.

Job done. Clinic closed.

Still to come, Chris is on an emergency call.

Sounds like he was unconscious, but he's awake again,

so we're going to get there and see exactly what's happening.

We show you how to deal with a bump on the bonce.

And I discover how playtime makes you better.

I'm going to catch you.

Back in Accident & Emergency,

Harry is waiting on the scan results of his neck.

Let's catch up with him and see if it's good news.

Back in Liverpool, 14-year-old Harry is in hospital,

following a nasty knock to the head during a rugby match.

With ten minutes on the clock, Harry wanted to score the winning try,

but the opposition had the ball, so he went in for a tackle.

Instead of winning the ball, he was knocked for six and ended up in A&E.

Dr Anne sent him for a CT scan to spot any broken bones.

So, what are the results, doc?

-Good news. You've got a brain. They found that in there...

-Phew!

-..and the bones in your neck also look OK.

-Double phew!

But the tests don't stop there.

Next to tackle Harry is Dr Matt Storell.

He wants to make sure that his bones move properly,

without the neck brace.

I'm going to ask you to do some very gentle,

controlled movements for me, and then we'll take some X-rays.

-Come down forward with your neck. Is that all right for you?

-Yeah.

-So far, so good.

-OK. We'll get this started.

Time for your close up, Harry. Strike a pose!

The doctor is looking for any abnormalities in the bones.

That looks absolutely fine.

And, faster than you can say, "bad tackle,"

-there's good news for Harry.

-So, we can let you go home tonight.

But when can our rugby superstar take to the pitch again?

I'd leave it for about six weeks, I would.

I don't think that's Harry's happy face, but at least he's heading home.

Bye, Harry!

We're on call with the UK emergency services.

If you have an accident,

an emergency service like this won't be far away.

In the West Midlands, there are over 3,000 emergency calls per day,

and this is one of the hi-tech vehicles that responds to them.

Today, I'm going along for the ride.

If you have an accident,

this fast medical service is ready to help 24 hours a day.

We never quite know what we're going to find, so I've got my camera

with me, and, of course, we've got Eric in the back.

So, we're going to get as close as we can and find out what's going on.

On call with me is paramedic Jan Vann.

And a new case has come in.

So, we've just got a call about an 85-year-old man with chest pain.

Sounds like he was unconscious, but he's awake again.

We're going to get there and see exactly what's happening.

We get there quickly,

grab the gear and head in to find the patient, Eric.

Hello. Hiya. Eric, do you get this pain often?

I've never had it like that before.

Because Eric is experiencing a severe chest pain,

Jan immediately hooks him up to a specialist piece of equipment.

So, Jan's just doing an electrocardiogram,

so she's doing a measurement of what's going on with Eric's heart.

We've turned up and he's had chest pain and he collapsed

and he's covered in sweat and sometimes that can be a sign

that someone's having a heart attack.

The electrocardiogram analyses Eric's heart rhythm,

-and lets Jan know if it's beating normally.

-OK, that's fine.

What we need to is get you into hospital, get some blood tests done,

so they can check for some enzymes in your blood.

Eric's in no immediate danger, as his heart rhythm is normal,

but he needs further tests in hospital to see

if he has actually had a heart attack.

Now, I see this spray's with you.

-Have you been using that this morning?

-Yeah, I have.

Jan spotted some heart medicine spray that Eric's used twice today.

That's probably what's caused you to collapse,

cos it drops your blood pressure, that spray.

It looks, in this case, like, rather than having a heart attack or

something serious going on,

it seems like he just had a bit too much of his heart medicine.

So, Jan seems to have solved Eric's problem,

but the paramedics will still need to take Eric to hospital

to be extra sure nothing is going on with his heart.

One of the nicest things that Jan has done here has been able to turn up,

reassure everyone, find what seems to be the real cause,

and now we'll just take him to hospital and make sure that nothing

more serious is going on and he can come back.

All the best, Eric.

And if you ever have an emergency,

there are hundreds of similar crews around the country ready to help.

Did you know, your brain floats inside a layer of fluid

protected by 22 joined-up bones called your skull?

Make sure you look after it!

Nothing beats a spot of football in the park, fresh air,

aerobic exercise, and, of course,

the chance to show off those silky football skills, like the step over.

Or the Cruiff turn.

Or the rainbow flick.

-But football can also be dangerous!

-Ooh!

You could turn sharply and twist an ankle.

I don't think so, Chris.

You could injure yourself if someone tackled you.

Very unlikely, in my case.

You could break your fifth metatarsal,

kicking the ball too hard.

My metatarsals are as hard as toughened steel.

All right. Well, look, just be careful when we're playing.

Now, Xandy, on me 'ead, son!

That manoeuvre's known as the Chris Clonk,

but it's also an injury alert! Wow!

Chris is very good at pretending to be knocked out, isn't he?

The answer is A.

First thing we want to do is check if he's breathing, and we tilt his head

back a little bit, so his airways open, and then have a listen.

I can feel his breath on my ear, and I can see his chest moving,

so we definitely know he's breathing.

So now we need to roll him onto his side.

So, we get his leg up here, get his arm over here,

and then we can pull him this way.

And then we can use this hand to support his head.

And now, if he's sick, it goes on the ground,

his tongue is going to fall forward so it won't stop him breathing,

and we can go and get help cos he's nice and safe.

-Who wants to have a go? ALL:

-Me!

Remember, never do this on your own unless it is an emergency.

It's always best to find an adult.

-Check if she's breathing.

-Well done, girls.

-Yeah, he's breathing.

-Tuck her lower leg.

Next, get them in the recovery position.

And then what's the final thing we've got to do?

-Check if she's breathing.

-That's good, so you have a good old listen,

good old look, and she's still breathing.

So, if someone has been knocked unconscious and they're breathing,

tip their head back, roll them on to one side and find an adult.

OK, do you want to see my new football trick?

It's called the Xand Loop, Lift And Dive.

Mmm, let me think about that for a second. No!

Your body is amazing, but sometimes it needs fixing.

All over the UK, there are special teams of professionals,

trained to tackle medical mysteries.

Your body has around 200 bones and around 600 different muscles

and you use them, all day, every day, without even thinking about it.

But sometimes they can get injured,

or they're not working properly, and for those problems, we need the help

of professionals called occupational therapists or physiotherapists.

So, I've come to the Royal Free Hospital in London

to see some of these experts in action,

and first for treatment today is Harrison, who recently broke his arm.

Tell me what happened.

I was at my gymnastics, and I fell straight, like that,

and it really hurt.

Did you know it was broken?

No, but straight away it just started hurting.

'His bones are now fixed, but it's left the muscles in his arm weak

'and he needs help getting it back to normal.'

That's where Fran comes in.

She's here to train Harrison's arm and make it better.

So, what Fran's doing now is getting his muscles stronger

and then she's going to be checking to make sure he can use his arm

for all the things he normally uses it for.

There are all sorts of ways that physiotherapists can

get our bones and muscles to work better,

especially after a break like the one Harrison had, so Fran

checks Harrison's arm strength to see if he can support himself.

-All the way to the end of the mat. Oh-oh!

-Oh!

His arm needs to be stronger,

so Harrison's given some exercises to do, and I'm roped in, too.

Ooh! He'll soon be strong, doing this!

Next, it's Nathan's turn. His problem is flat feet.

That means his feet have no arches.

If I put my feet together, there's a big, big gap there.

But if you stand up, there's no gap between them.

So, when you have flat feet,

the ligaments that normally hold your arches in a nice curved shape

are soft or loose, and that means your arches collapse.

It makes the foot less springy and it can make walking very tiring.

That's why Nathan needs the physio to fix his arches.

Nathan is tackling some fun feet-fixing exercises

with physiotherapist Madeleine.

I've always been good at hopping. Wait, I'm going to catch you!

-Come on! Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop!

-Oh, I'm really not!

Ah! I got you! I got you!

All this foot exercise is making the muscles in Nathan's feet stronger

and this will help to fix his arches.

Something else he's been given to help him are special shoe insoles.

So, all the time that he's walking around, we're actually doing

an exercise, because he's actually learning new balance.

And all this helps make his arches better.

It's amazing, the different types of physiotherapy

and occupational therapy that can help patients do things

that they otherwise wouldn't be able to do.

Oi!

In Accident & Emergency, the team is ready to fix their next patient.

Well, let's meet them!

In Liverpool Accident & Emergency, five-year-old Jake

has come in with his mum and a nasty cut on his head.

But he's no ordinary Jake. He is...

DRUMROLL

..Super Jake!

So, how did our superhero end up in hospital?

Well, I was running and I didn't look where I was going.

Were you racing to save Planet Earth, Super Jake?

-Bing-ah, bing-ah, bing-ah!

-That's superhero code for yes.

Let's see how it happened.

Super Jake was outside playing with his friends.

-Other superheroes?

-No, no. Jake was the only superhero on the scene.

-That's cool.

-Anyway, he was on a mission.

-To save Planet Earth?

-Er, something like that.

-Awesome!

So, on his mission, he was running faster and faster,

and just as he was about to take flight...

What happened, Xand? What happened?

..he ran straight into an electricity box head first.

Ouch!

And from the nasty gash on his head,

I dread to think what state that electricity box is in.

Electric box, I just dooshed on it.

-Yikes! What happened then?

-And then I fell over.

Sounds painful.

Luckily, Dr Rob McGuire is ready to give Jake a thorough examination.

-What's your name? Jake or Superman?

-Er, it's Super Jake, doc(!)

I like your outfit. I've got one of those, but a bit bigger.

-Awesome! I need to get one.

-Me, too!

Let me have a look. Does it hurt, then?

Head injuries can be dangerous,

so the doctor needs to make sure Jake hasn't done any serious damage.

The doctor knows what healthy ears and eyes look like and Jake's look...

-Very, very good.

-..Great!

Next, it's the follow-the-finger test, which shows Jake's brain

is responding to what his eyes are seeing and there's no damage done.

Don't worry, mum, we can fix up that graze.

He's just got a minor cut here. I think that needs to be sealed up.

Ready to do that is nurse Karen.

She pulls the wound together and seals it with some sticky strips.

Summoning his superhero powers, our man of steel doesn't feel a thing.

Well, maybe just a little bit. He is human.

-He's not, he's a superhero.

-Oh, yeah.

So, you need to keep this dry, so no swimming, deep sea diving.

-No fighting with sharks.

-No.

-Well, that's not going to be easy for a superhero.

-No, siree!

To make sure that wound really heals,

the nurse puts a dollop of special medical glue on top.

-There we go.

-And, with that, Super Jake is in one piece again.

That deserves a high five.

And it's time for our superhero to get back to work.

Bye! Just look where you're going this time!

Next time...our Ouch & About clinic solves your mystery ailments...

That is just an absolutely classic wart.

..and we'll be showing you some of our favourite bits so far.

We bare our teeth, so you see what happens when you don't brush.

-You look really funny.

-YOU look funny!

And Chris discovers the wonders of wee!

-It really smells in here.

-Yes, it does.

-So, we'll see you next time, for more Operation Ouch!

-Operation Ouch!

OK, everyone's got to do Operation Ouch! faces, right?

You got to go, like, "Aah!"

All right, brilliant. You guys are wonderful. Thanks.

I'm happy to suffer in the name of science.

I don't think that any sacrifice is too great when it... Ouch!

It's only the tiniest of needles!