Exceptional Eyebrows Operation Ouch!

-He's Dr Chris.

-He's Dr Xand.

Yes, he's still got his beard.

And we're still identical twins!

Your body's amazing, and we're going to show you why.

HE HONKS, THEY LAUGH

We're head-to-head in Operation Takeover...

-BOTH:

-Man overboard!

ALARM BLARES

..Ouch & About hits the wards...

That might be the squishiest nose I've ever seen.

..First Aid is back...

Let me check his pulse to see if his heart is beating.

Meet our new brilliant Ouch patients.

Hello!

And our lab experiments will blow...your...mind.

It's an amazing view.

Are you ready to join us?

I can't see a thing!

Coming up today on Operation Ouch...

Operation Ouch!

..we get in a right muddle...

Chris, I've messed up. I feel a bit silly.

..we're on a quest for medical quirks...

Wow, that is a big mouth.

..and things get a bit hairy...

What is on your face?

..but first, time to head down to the...

-Where are we going again?

-The emergency department.

Oh, yeah, the emergency department.

Now come on, Chris!

It's that way.

At the emergency department in Liverpool,

seven-year-old Ava is waiting with her mum.

What have you hurt, Ava?

-Me hand.

-Oh, your finger's looking swollen.

How did that happen?

Ava was happily jumping on her trampoline with her mate, Chloe,

but it all went wrong with the crab.

It was that wicked pirate Pincers O'Crabbie, ooh, aar!

-I'm not sure.

-It was, listen up.

-PIRATE VOICE:

-I've had a proper thinky,

I know how she hurt her pinky.

-No, Xand!

-Ava was doing fancy landings,

so amazing at the old handstandings.

-Stop!

-In came the crab with his pincers ready...

-No Pincers O'Crabbie.

-Oh, all right, then.

Ava went from a handstand into the crab gymnastics move,

and she bent her little finger back.

-BOTH:

-Ouch!

You won't be doing that again in a hurry, will you?

The docs have sent Ava straight to X-ray to see if there's a break.

Get ready for your close-up, Ava.

Fantastic, Ava, that's you all finished.

-Thank you.

-Time to find out what the damage is.

-I'm really nervous.

-Don't worry, here's nurse Jenny Cardiss.

When it comes to fixing fingers, she's a dab hand!

Here's Ava's X-ray, and looking at her X-ray in this view,

you can see that she has a fracture to her middle phalanx,

of her little finger.

You've got a little break to the middle bone there.

So I think I'd like to get her

assessed tomorrow morning if that's OK?

-Yeah, that's fine.

-The plastic surgeons will assess her,

and they'll decide whether or not she'll need some kind of

intervention and maybe surgery on it.

Ava's little finger is temporarily strapped up, and she'll be back to

see a surgeon tomorrow.

-Bye, Ava.

-Bye!

Next morning, she's back.

And here's surgeon Pundrique Sharma to look at this dodgy digit.

We follow the edge of the bone.

Boom! So you are quite smooth.

So, does Ava need an operation?

I don't think anything's bent sufficiently out of shape

that we need to do an operation.

-Phew! No operation needed here.

-But you do need a splint and cast.

Any final questions?

What's your favourite TV programme?

Erm...

-HE CLEARS THROAT

-Obviously Operation Ouch, Ava.

That's the correct answer.

-Yeah.

-Thank you!

So that's this one all wrapped up.

It feels weird.

-Or is it?

-Bye!

-Bye!

Find out later on.

And now to our lab.

It's time for some big body experiments.

Some of them gory...

This is not for the squeamish.

..some extreme...

It's freezing! We're ready, are you?

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

Today, we're looking at your eyebrows!

Xand, what are you doing?!

And what is on your face?

Do you like my new look?

I thought I'd see if longer eyebrows suited me, but to tell the truth,

I'm having trouble seeing anything.

I can't find the mirror.

I mean, you can look if you want, but I promise that you look absurd.

And there's actually a good reason why your eyebrows are the length

they are, and it's largely to stop them getting in your eyes.

These aren't exactly practical, but if I style them a little bit...

Did you know that every hair on your body has a set maximum growing

length? Now, some of the hairs on your body,

like your eyelashes or eyebrows,

will have a much shorter maximum length compared to the hairs on your

-head.

-So unfortunately,

I'll never be able to grow my real eyebrows as long as this,

which is a real shame.

And in fact, however long you try and grow the hair on your head,

it will only ever get to its maximum growing length, too.

And I have just the sample in the Cupboard Of Everything, to prove it!

Now, what I've got here is an amazingly long hair sample.

Look, it's 110cm long.

Honestly, Xand, you have to start

giving your samples their proper names.

This is Aneesha.

Yeah, Aneesha, sample, whatever.

Now, Aneesha, how long have you been growing your hair?

-One year.

-Wow!

Aneesha's hair grows as fast as Xand's eyebrows.

We can tell what growing stage your hair is at by looking at one under a

microscope. I need a sample.

Aneesha, would you mind?

Sure, I've got this, Chris.

-Ow!

-Here you go.

-Thank you.

-What was that for?

I needed a sample!

-YOU'RE the sample!

-SHE SIGHS

This freshly plucked hair from Xand's head

is still in the growing stage.

It has a very dark root.

This is where the cells are busy multiplying,

making the hair grow longer and longer.

Some of the hairs on your body,

like the ones on your head,

this can last for up to five years.

While, for other hairs on your body, like your eyebrows, it lasts

for just a few months, always keeping them shorter.

Right, Aneesha, I think we need another sample.

-Oh, know you don't!

-Don't worry, Xand,

we'll just grab one that's fallen out already on to your shoulder.

-Here you go.

-This hair fell off Xand's head.

Unlike the freshly plucked hair,

there are no live cells around the root,

so they are no longer multiplying like this one.

This shows us that the hair is old

and stopped growing long before it fell out.

Every hair on your body has a maximum growing length,

and your body is amazing at knowing

which hairs should be longer than others.

Which is why your eyebrows should never, ever get into your eyes.

Aneesha, would you mind?

-Sure.

-Ow!

-Get back in the cupboard.

-Xand!

So, your eyebrows will always be short,

but have you ever wondered what they are actually for?

-Ta-da!

-Xand, what have you done now?

I'm just getting ready for our experiment.

One of us needed to not have eyebrows, so ta-da.

Well, good job. Wait a minute! Is that my bathing cap?

No, no this is the Dr Xand Patented Eyebrow Eliminator.

-Why is it blue?

-There was a mix-up at the factory?

Throughout human evolution, we've lost much of the hair on our bodies,

but our eyebrows still remain.

Now, scientists argue that one of the jobs of eyebrows

is to keep rain and sweat out of our eyes, but is this true?

To find out, I'm going to drop water over Xand's head, as if there was a

massive rain storm, or he was very sweaty.

Oh, that's very unpleasant.

It doesn't feel like it's flowing down my face in the normal way.

And what will happen with shampoo?

Argh!

It's very peculiar.

No eyebrows means the liquid flows straight into my eyes.

But any good experiment needs a control.

And in this case, the control has to have eyebrows, which means it's you.

So it's Chris's turn.

Let's see if having eyebrows does a better job of protecting his eyes.

It certainly feels like most of the water is being guided off here and

running down the side of my face.

You can see that Chris's eyebrows are diverting the water flow around

the side of his face.

Whereas poor old eyebrowless Xand had liquid running into his eyes.

And now the final part of the experiment, the shampoo.

No, it didn't keep the shampoo out of my eyes, that really stings!

So, eyebrows were good enough to keep water out,

but they failed miserably with shampoo.

Eyebrows are not 100% effective.

Can I have a little water rinse, please?

We've shown you that every hair has a maximum growing length,

so certain hairs like eyebrows are stopped from getting too long.

And we've shown you that your brows are very good at protecting

your eyes from things like rain or sweat, but they're not perfect.

But we kept them for another important reason,

they're really useful for making

good facial expressions and communicating

with other people.

-We're both... BOTH:

-Ouch & About!

I'm hitting the wards with my Ouch bleeper.

Have you got a question for me?

Argh.

And I'm hitting the streets to answer your medical mysteries.

At the hospital, Xand's busily...playing tennis?

I'm about to beat Dr Chris's record. 97, 98, 99...

-BEEPING

-Oh, no, a bleep!

You'll never beat my record.

Get to your first call.

It's from Muhammad, who was rushed to hospital after he fell on to some

-railings.

-Hi, Muhammad, how are you?

-Good.

-Now, have you got a question for me?

How does my windpipe work?

What's the diagnosis, Doc?

It sounds to me like a case of...

That's a mouthful.

The medical name for your windpipe

is your trachea, and it runs from

the back of your throat, down,

and splits in half and goes into each of your two lungs.

Now, the windpipe has one very important job -

it has to not collapse,

so your windpipe is made up of a tough stuff called collagen,

with cartilage rings,

and the cartilage rings keep it open

and stop it collapsing,

so even if you squeeze your throat a little bit,

you can't collapse your windpipe,

so you've always got air going into your body.

But you did more than push on it, didn't you, Muhammad?

I mean, you actually jabbed a hole in it with a fence.

It hit my throat, under my throat,

then I had a small hole.

Now, what kind of ambulance did you get?

I didn't get an ambulance, I got a helicopter.

You got a helicopter?

-Yeah.

-Do you know what they did in hospital, then?

-Stitched me.

And so now the hole's mended, you've got a bit of a plaster on there.

-And how are you feeling?

-A little bit good.

Well, you have done a brilliant job

and you have earned an Operation Ouch sticker.

Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, bye!

-Thank you, bye!

Meanwhile, I'm Ouch & About on the street.

Dr Chris, I've got a question for you.

Why does the brain work

and why do we have thoughts?

How does the brain work and why do we have thoughts?

That might be the hardest question that is possible to ask anyone.

What your brain does

is it's a way of taking in information from all your senses, so

from your eyes and your ears and your skin and your mouth,

and then your brain decides what to do with that information

and controls your body.

But, "why do we have thoughts?" - no-one knows the answer to.

So to answer that question,

you are going to have to become a cognitive neuroscientist,

do you think you could do that?

Yes. I'll try.

You'll try. Good for you.

Here you go.

Back with Xand, another call's come in.

It is from Kate-Lou and Ella,

who are visiting their sister in hospital.

Hi, Kate-Lou, hi, Ella, how you doing?

-Good.

-Have you got questions for me?

How come I've got a bigger mouth than me sister?

And what's YOUR question?

How come I've got eczema and me sister hasn't?

What's the diagnosis, Doc?

Sounds to me like a case of...

Now, that's a record!

Let's start with your big mouth.

Show me how big your mouth is.

Wow! That is a big mouth.

So everyone has different sized mouths,

and most of that is about your genes.

Everyone gets a slightly different combination of your genes,

but even Dr Chris and I, who have the same genes,

we should be the same in everything. Actually, one of us would have

a slightly bigger mouth, I just don't know which.

OK, eczema.

Why have you got eczema and your sister doesn't?

Well, some bits of eczema are genetic,

but you don't have all the same genes as your sister,

you've got a few different ones, but also,

everyone grows up in a slightly different way.

So all the other things in the environment that cause eczema,

like which germs you're exposed to and what things live on your body,

they'll all be a little bit different from your sister as well.

Have I answered your questions?

-Yes.

-You have both earned Operation Ouch stickers.

Thank you very much.

-Bye!

-Bye!

-Job done for today, clinic closed.

Remember Ava? She had her finger fixed in the emergency department.

And now she's back.

Oh, she's hurt her back?

No, she's hurt her finger.

Why did you mention her back?

Well, she's back in the emergency...

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

Earlier, Ava came to A&E with a very painful pinkie.

Ava was doing gymnastics on the trampoline with her friend, Chloe.

She went from a handstand into a crab

and she bent her little finger back.

-BOTH:

-Ouch!

-Ava's X-ray showed it was broken,

so her hand was put into a cast.

Perfect, that's the job done and dusted.

Not so fast - one week later, Ava's back.

It really hurts with the cast on.

And here to help is advanced nurse practitioner Simon Mimford.

Let's take it off and have a look and see if it's OK.

Sometimes casts are a bit too snug,

so they need to be removed.

Do you know what you can do now?

-Itch!

-Wash your hands!

-MOTHER:

-Yes, please!

-Thank goodness!

It's a good job they don't have pongovision.

Phewy! What's next, nurse Simon?

I'm going to give her a bespoke plastic finger splint

that will still keep her hand in a good healing position but also not

quite cramp her style too much.

Sounds cool, and to show us how it's done is senior physiotherapist

Joanne Moore.

First, she draws around Ava's finger to make a template.

And you thought you were coming to therapy, not an art class.

Then Joanne take a sheet of plastic and cuts out a small section.

I need to put it in some hot water, OK?

Cos that will make it go nice and soft.

So, it's gone all floppy.

Now it can be cut to size and finally shaped to fit Ava's hand.

Is it too hot?

-No, it's fine.

-Awesome.

Ava needs to wear this splint for a couple of weeks.

And the best bit is, Ava won't have a stinky hand this time.

Pongtastic.

-BOTH:

-Bye, Ava.

Bye!

Still to come, we're in a pickle...

This would basically be disastrous.

..things go snap...

-Can you wiggle it?

-..and we spill the beans...

Argh! My leg.

But first, did you know a sneeze...

..is faster than a cheetah?

It can travel up to 100mph.

Wow! Bless you.

Amazing people do lots of important jobs inside and outside hospitals

that help to keep you safe.

But what will happen when we have a go?

My problem now is that I'm stuck!

This is Operation Takeover.

Can you guess who today's hospital hero is?

Well, here's a clue, they work with these.

Can you guess it? We're about to take over the job of today's hero,

pharmacist Emma.

Emma is one of 37 pharmacists

organising the medicine at Alder Hey.

So, as doctors, we've written thousands of prescriptions.

They come up here to pharmacy, but what happens to them next?

-Emma?

-We'll make sure that all the information is on the prescription

that we need to get the medicine to the child.

Looking around us, there are hundreds of medicines.

How much do you know about all of them?

We know what the right dose is,

we know what each of the medicines contain

and what they can be used for.

I always thought doctors know lots about medicine, but actually

pharmacists know much more, don't they?

-Yep.

-OK.

-Not so clever, after all.

-No.

A pharmacist's job doesn't stop in the medicine room.

Hello, Grace.

My name's Emma, I'm a pharmacist on the ward.

They also deliver the medicines directly to the patients,

passing on their knowledge and advice.

What do you lot think of the pharmacists?

Cos when the pharmacists come in, they're nice and kind and helpful.

And she explained, like,

what's going on in my tummy.

And they are hard-working people.

Thanks, everyone! It's a lot to live up to.

We've seen just how important pharmacists are

in helping to make you feel better.

But will our careers as pharmacists be a bitter pill to swallow?

Get it? Good, eh?

Get it?

It's time for us to take over as pharmacists!

Our challenge is to successfully prepare three prescriptions

and deliver them to the eagerly waiting patients and staff.

Yep, but I don't think Emma has much faith in us.

The prescriptions are fake,

they've given us coloured beads instead of tablets,

and the medical names are a bit suspect.

Snotatrexil?

Burpamol?

She'll be judging us on three things - number one...

Fill the bags with the right medicines in the right quantity.

Also to make sure that when you do hand the medicines over

that you give the correct advice.

Phew, Xand, you're up first.

Burpamol, twice a day with food for seven days.

Two times seven equals 14.

Salivaton, 11, 12, 13, 14.

Watch and learn, Chris.

Burpamol... Hot on your heels, Xand.

13, 14.

Salivaton, 12, 13, 14.

This is easy.

Snotatrexil, three times a day for three days is nine.

Three, four, argh! Oops, I think a few extras went in there.

Well, let's see if you do any better, Chris.

-Six... Oops.

-No, didn't think so.

I'm sure it will be fine.

I mean, maybe I shouldn't be mixing the pills in the same bag.

We have both failed at that prescription.

Hopefully, the last one's a bit easier.

Five days of Burpamol.

-OK.

-We have got the patients waiting on these medicines.

-I know. I know.

-Come on, Xand.

Ten. Ten pills.

There are patients waiting.

Nine, ten.

I'm off to the wards.

Right behind you.

Jack, nurse Katie and Kieran are all still waiting

for their medicine and the very important pharmacist advice.

Is Jack here?

So, I'm Dr Xand. I've got Burpamol and Salivation for you.

We might have to let Mum have that, actually.

I should have given it to Mum.

-Oh, well.

-Not going to give any advice, then?

OK. Is Jack in here?

So you've got... This is where I'm in trouble.

Because I've forgotten if the green ones are Burpamol.

Do you know what colour Burpamol is?

Ha! Epic fail, Chris.

I'm going to have to take this prescription back to the pharmacy.

I feel a bit silly.

On to the next one for me.

I'm looking for Katie.

-Yeah.

-And I have a prescription for you.

So this is meant to be for Snotatrexil and Pussaloxate,

and I'm missing a bag.

Oh, no.

What I have now is a bundle of bags and a bundle of prescriptions,

it all looks the same. I have no idea which is which.

This would basically be disastrous.

Chris, I've messed up. I've muddled up all my bags and all my

-prescriptions. I don't know which is which.

-Why didn't you do that?

Oh! I tied little knots.

I tied mine like little party bags.

I might have to go back and get the one I've given out.

That's it, Xand's out.

Disqualified.

You're the last man standing, Chris.

Is nurse Katie here?

I've got a prescription here,

it's for Snotatrexil and Pussoloxate,

but I've put all the pills together

in one bag, and you don't know which colour Pussatrexil is?

And you don't just want to have a guess

and hope that it all turns out well?

Surely he should be disqualified too?

Wait. Wait. I have one last chance to redeem myself.

Kieren, so this is your Burpamol,

which you have to take twice a day with food for five days.

So I'm going to leave them with you.

Bingo. That's one accurate prescription

with the right medicines,

delivered to the right patient with the right advice. Thoughts, Xand?

I think you got lucky, but only judge Emma can decide.

Xand started really well,

but he muddled up all the bags and he actually left the medication

with the wrong patient, so he is disqualified.

Chris spotted his mistakes before handing any of his medicines out,

and he actually even managed to get one prescription correctly

-to the right patient.

-OK.

So who's the winner, Emma?

Dr Chris, you just were slightly more organised.

Yes! Victory.

That is not a triumph!

A career in pharmacy awaits me.

I doubt it.

Well, I think we've both learned today

how important the job of the pharmacist in the hospital is.

And I think it is definitely best left to the professionals.

Have the prescriptions back.

Have the pharmacist coats back.

Thank you.

One of Xand and my favourite activities in the summer

is to have a barbecue.

And today, we're having my favourite - sausages.

But remember, a barbecue in the garden can also be full

of potential danger!

Don't stay out in the sun too long or you can get burnt.

Not a worry for me, Chris, I never use anything less than factor 30.

All right, well, be careful when you're playing ball games,

or you could hit someone on the head.

Not if you only use it for air guitar.

Well, in that case, we can get on and enjoy the barbecue.

Xand, food's ready - sausages and piping hot beans.

Argh, my leg.

The piping hot beans have burnt my leg!

Injury alert.

What should you do if someone is badly burnt?

Well, the correct answer is B.

Let's see if this lot get it right.

They've not had any advice, so they're winging it.

Go!

Nicolas and Rohanna are both pretending

that they've been badly burnt.

Quick everyone, they need your help.

OK, Let's go.

They've used alcohol gel,

which would be very painful if you had a burn.

They're putting on a gauze bandage, right on to the burn,

not a good idea on a severe burn.

You have to take a picture!

They've thought of using the phone, but unfortunately,

they've used the phone to take a selfie!

OK, done!

Time to show you how it should be done.

Argh!

Oh, it hurts, I've burnt myself.

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

But it's always best to get an adult.

Don't worry, Xand, it's going to be fine.

We pour cold running water over it

for ten minutes using a hose, like this.

That is the most important thing you can do because it reduces the

temperature and it reduces scarring.

So we do need to get Xand to hospital,

and a good way of doing that

is by calling 999.

After ten minutes of cold water,

we then want to put clingfilm on, and put it on the burn like that.

So when you get a bad burn, you lose the top layer of skin,

and that means you're at risk of infection,

and so clingfilm acts like temporary skin.

Well, thanks, Chris, my burn's feeling better already.

-Who's ready to have another go?

-KIDS:

-Yes!

So if you see someone who's badly burnt, you must...

-How's the leg, Xand?

-Oh, it's much better, thanks.

Good. Good. What are you doing with these sausages?

Well, I've eaten mine - they were delicious by the way -

but I'm afraid yours got badly burnt,

so I've poured cold water on them for ten minutes

and then I wrapped them in clingfilm.

HE SIGHS

Is it time?

-Almost.

-Is it time now?

Almost. It's time to head to the emergency department...

-..now.

-Yes!

12-year-old Isaac has walked,

or should I say limped, into the emergency department with his dad.

What's happened to your foot?

I think I have a broken toe.

Oh, how did that happen?

Isaac was at his jujitsu class, he's an orange belt.

Well, I'm a black belt.

Really? You never said.

Can he do the helicopter chop?

Er, not sure.

The chicken snap kick?

Just a minute, Xand, you're making these moves up.

Isaac had a move against a tough opponent.

Oh, I'm impressed.

He was picked up by the leg and flung through the air.

Wow!

But he landed awkwardly on his foot.

-BOTH:

-Ouch!

I done this six other times to my bones.

Six?! No way!

Where's the doc, before he breaks something else?

Ah-ha, here's Dr Alex Damazer, to examine Isaac's foot.

Can you wiggle it? Oh, a little bit.

Broken toes are often classified as minor breaks

-and are sometimes left to fix themselves.

-Is that sore?

-Yeah.

-Dr Alex needs to check if this break is more serious.

I am going to get an X-ray of your foot, because the bit

where you're most sore is right in the joint,

and then we will make a plan from there.

Even though your little toe is tiny,

it has three bones in it called the phalanges, and they're connected to

a metatarsal bone in your foot.

All of these could be broken.

That's perfect, thank you.

Dr Alex, what's the score?

And if you have a look, can you just see there...

-Mm.

-That bit's a bit broken, and that bit's a bit broken.

-OK.

-Having said that, the joint isn't affected,

which is the bit we were worried about.

-Oh, OK.

-And broken toes heal very, very well.

Good news, Isaac doesn't need a cast,

so nurse Bea Roberts gets to work strapping his broken toe to the

neighbouring toe to hold it in place.

Isaac should be back at jujitsu in about two weeks.

Hi-yah!

-Xand!

-Bye, Isaac!

Next time on Operation Ouch, the pressure's on...

That is extremely stressful.

..we're in a twist...

You see where the bone's pressing up against the skin.

..and we face the music.

So that's it till next time from Super Xand and his space cape.

And Operation Ouch.

Wait! My cape?! Ah! Stop!

Wait! My cape!

Keeps sweat and rain out of our eyes!

HE CHUCKLES

Children, who are about to go home and take medicines with them...

Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry!

LAUGHTER

Aha-ha!