FAB - First Aid Base Training

One of the most useful emergency tips I teach is also one of the least known.

Did you know you can contact the UK emergency services by text message?

The service was originally designed for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech-impaired people, but it can also be invaluable if you're somewhere with poor signal or in a situation where speaking out loud is not safe.

The catch?

You need to register before the emergency happens.

Because when someone has collapsed, a child has stopped breathing, or you're in danger yourself, your brain isn't (always) thinking clearly. It's not the moment to be searching online for instructions.

It takes less than a minute:

1 Text REGISTER to 999
2 Read the reply
3 Reply YES
4 You're phone is now registered to text 999

If you ever need to use the service, remember the 3 Ws:
• Which emergency service do you need?
• What is wrong?
• Where are you?

Every time I mention this during first aid training, somebody says:

"Why has nobody ever told me this before?"

So now I'm telling you! Take 30 seconds and do it now.

Hopefully you'll never need it.

But if you do, you'll be very glad you took a minute today.

Have you already registered your phone?



Please note:
✔ Register before an emergency happens
✔ If you change your mobile number, register the new number
✔ The service only works in the UK
✔ If possible, always call 999 first – texting should be used only when calling is not possible.

The human body is just amazing...
A little bit of knowledge can save a life!

May 20, 1999. Medical student Anna Bågenholm fell through ice while skiing in Norway. Trapped underwater for 80 minutes. Body temp: 13.7°C. Heart stopped. Doctors said "You're not dead until you're warm and dead." She survived. Works today as radiologist at the same hospital.
May 20, 1999. Near Narvik, northern Norway.
Anna Bågenholm, a 29-year-old Swedish medical student, was skiing with friends on a late spring day when everything went wrong in an instant.
She hit a patch of ice, lost control, and fell head-first into a frozen stream.
The ice closed over her. She was trapped underneath, in water barely above freezing, unable to surface.
Her friends immediately tried to pull her out. They couldn't reach her. She'd gone under too fast, been swept slightly downstream by the current beneath the ice.
Anna was conscious. For several minutes, she fought—trying to break through the ice, trying to find a way out.
Then she found an air pocket—a small gap between the ice and the water, where creek flow had created a tiny breathing space.
For 40 minutes, Anna Bågenholm clung to rocks underwater, her face pressed to that air pocket, breathing in the freezing dark while her friends desperately tried to reach her.
Her body temperature was plummeting. The water was nearly 0°C. Hypothermia was setting in rapidly—first shivering, then confusion, then the shivering stopped as her body shut down non-essential functions.
After 40 minutes in the water, Anna's heart stopped.
She went into cardiac arrest, still trapped under the ice, her body temperature dropping toward levels incompatible with life.
Her friends couldn't save her alone. They'd called for help immediately, but in remote northern Norway, rescue takes time.
Another 40 minutes passed. Anna was underwater, not breathing, her heart silent, her body temperature falling.
Eighty minutes total.
When rescuers finally pulled her from the water, Anna Bågenholm was, by any conventional measure, dead.

THE RESCUE:
A rescue team with specialized equipment finally reached the site. They cut through the ice and pulled Anna's body from the water.
No pulse. No breathing. Pupils dilated and non-reactive. Skin gray-blue.
They immediately began CPR and transported her by helicopter to Tromsø University Hospital—about 100 kilometers away, the nearest facility with the expertise and equipment to handle severe hypothermia.
When Anna arrived at Tromsø, her core body temperature was 13.7°C (56.7°F).
For context, normal human body temperature is 37°C (98.6°F). Mild hypothermia is 35-32°C. Severe hypothermia is below 28°C.
Anna was at 13.7°C.
The coldest recorded body temperature ever survived by a human.
Her heart had been stopped for over an hour. By all conventional medical understanding, she should have been dead—or if revived, should have had catastrophic brain damage from oxygen deprivation.
But the medical team at Tromsø refused to give up.
They operated on a principle of hypothermic medicine:
"You're not dead until you're warm and dead."

THE SCIENCE:
When the human body gets cold enough, metabolism slows dramatically. The brain needs far less oxygen. Cellular processes nearly stop.
This is why drowning in freezing water is different from drowning in warm water. Warm-water drowning: brain damage begins within 3-5 minutes of oxygen deprivation. Cold-water drowning: the brain is protected by hypothermia.
Anna's extreme cold was, paradoxically, what saved her.
As her body temperature dropped, her brain's oxygen needs decreased. At 13.7°C, her brain was in a state of near-suspended animation—not functioning, but not dying either.
If she'd been in warm water, 80 minutes without oxygen would have meant irreversible brain death.
In freezing water, there was a chance.
The medical team at Tromsø, led by Dr. Mads Gilbert and Dr. Torkjel Tveita, knew this. They'd treated hypothermia before, though never a case this extreme.
Their plan: rewarm her slowly and carefully using cardiopulmonary bypass (a heart-lung machine), and hope her heart would restart once her body temperature rose.

THE TREATMENT:
Anna was placed on a heart-lung bypass machine—the same technology used in open-heart surgery.
Blood was removed from her body, warmed, oxygenated, and pumped back in. This warmed her from the inside out, raising her core temperature millimeter by millimeter.
It's a delicate process. Rewarm too quickly, and you risk "rewarming shock"—dangerous heart rhythms, electrolyte imbalances, cellular damage.
The team worked for hours. Anna's body temperature slowly climbed: 14°C... 15°C... 18°C... 20°C...
Still no heartbeat.
25°C... 28°C... 30°C...
At around 30°C (86°F), nearly 9 hours after the accident and over 3 hours into rewarming, something appeared on the heart monitor.
A single beat.
Then another.
Anna Bågenholm's heart started again.

THE RECOVERY:
Anna survived the rewarming. Her heart was beating. But enormous questions remained:
Would she wake up? Would she have brain damage? Would she be able to speak, move, think?
The medical team was cautiously pessimistic. Even with the protective effects of hypothermia, 80 minutes without circulation usually causes severe brain injury.
Days passed. Anna remained unconscious, on a ventilator.
Then, gradually, she began to wake.
Her eyes opened. She could respond to commands. She could speak.
Incredibly, Anna had no major brain damage.
She did have severe nerve damage in her hands and feet from frostbite—she'd gripped frozen rocks for 40 minutes underwater. She required extensive physical therapy to regain full function.
But cognitively, mentally, she was intact.
Weeks became months. Anna's recovery continued. She regained mobility, dexterity, strength.
Ten years later, Anna Bågenholm completed her medical training and became a radiologist.
She works at Tromsø University Hospital—the same hospital that saved her life.
She literally walks past the intensive care unit where she lay, technically dead, being slowly brought back to life.

WHY SHE SURVIVED:
Anna Bågenholm's case is now taught in medical schools worldwide as an example of hypothermic protection and the limits of resuscitation.
Several factors contributed to her survival:
Extreme cold: Her body temperature dropped so low, so fast, that her brain's oxygen needs decreased dramatically before significant damage occurred.
Youth and health: At 29, Anna was young, fit, and had no underlying medical conditions. Her body could withstand the trauma.
Air pocket: For the first 40 minutes, she was able to breathe—meaning her brain had oxygen during the initial period, buying crucial time.
Fast rescue response: Though 80 minutes felt like an eternity, rescue teams arrived as quickly as possible given the remote location.
Expert medical care: Tromsø University Hospital had expertise in hypothermia treatment (common in Arctic regions) and access to cardiopulmonary bypass equipment.
Refusing to give up: The medical team continued resuscitation efforts far longer than standard protocols would suggest, operating on the principle that hypothermia victims can survive what would be fatal in normal temperatures.

THE IMPACT:
Anna's case fundamentally changed how emergency medicine approaches hypothermic cardiac arrest.
Before 1999, conventional wisdom said:

After 10-15 minutes of cardiac arrest, brain damage is inevitable
Resuscitation efforts should be limited in duration
Survival from severe hypothermia (

Now... I understand how that fable started.... 😂

When you do a First Aid course for Pladis, a British confectionery and snack foods company and they are so happy with you that you get a huge bag of ‘goodies’ 🍪 🧁 🍫

🔍🤩 Discover the Fascinating World of Bones! 🤩🔍

Did you know? The tiniest bone in your body is the stapes, also known as the stirrup bone, located in the middle ear. It's just a mere 0.1 inches long but plays a crucial role in hearing by transmitting sound vibrations to the inner ear! 🎶👂

And here's something wild: the hyoid bone in your throat is the only bone that isn't connected to any other bone. It floats there, held together by muscles and ligaments, helping you swallow and speak like a pro! 🗣️🍴 It's that bone they check to see if you have been strangled 😳🕵️‍♀️

The femur, aka the thigh bone, takes the crown as your longest and strongest bone. It can handle up to 30 times your body weight and, pound for pound, beats both concrete and steel! 💪🏗️

But not all bones are built tough. Take the lacrimal bone near your eye socket – it's one of the most delicate bones, playing a role in the tear drainage system. 😢👁️

Finally, let’s talk flexibility! Your ribcage might surprise you with its ability to expand and contract thanks to cartilage between each rib. This flexibility cushions your vital organs while making sure you're comfy while breathing! 🫁✨

Bone science is amazing, right? We really, really do need to look after them!!!

So, how then, can we enhance our bone health?
Here are some practical and enjoyable (?) tips!

1. 🥛 **Prioritize Calcium Intake:** To build strong bones, ensure you're getting enough calcium. Include calcium-rich foods like dairy products, tofu, kale, and spinach in your diet.

2. 🌞 **Ensure Adequate Vitamin D:** it is essential for calcium absorption. Enjoy moderate sun exposure and incorporate vitamin D-rich foods like fish and eggs into your meals.

3. 🏃‍♂️ **Engage in Regular Exercise:** Keep your bones healthy with regular physical activities such as walking, dancing, or even lifting groceries as weights. Exercise contributes significantly to bone strength.

4. 🚭🍷 **Limit Smoking and Excessive Alcohol Use:** Reducing or eliminating smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can greatly enhance bone health and overall well-being.

5. 🧘 **Practice Balance and Mindfulness Activities:** Engage in yoga or tai chi or try to stand on 1 leg with your eyes closed every day, to improve balance and reduce fall risk while promoting inner peace.

Following these steps and your bones will thank you now and well into the future! 😄🌟

Osteoporosis is a condition that secretly weakens our bones, it can haunt people of all ages, regardless of life stage 😱. Although you might imagine it’s something only older people have to worry about, the truth is a bit more bone-chilling! The risks and implications of osteoporosis change as we journey through life, and it’s time we all get clued in on how to keep those bones strong and healthy!

Adolescence is prime time for building bone mass. Our bodies are bone-building ninjas in those initial years! Maximum bone mass is usually reached around the early 20s. But beware! 🤺 If you miss this critical period, it could mean future danger—higher risk of fractures as we grow older.

Adulthood. Now, if you’ve made it here with those bones intact, don’t get too relaxed, as adults, our bone density takes a nosedive, especially after age 30. Losing even a small amount each year can set us up for osteoporosis in later life. Hormonal changes, particularly for women during menopause, can accelerate bone loss like a runaway train. 🦴💪

Those golden🤩years. 🌟 Having osteoporosis can make these feel more like juggling with china plates—fragile! Falls become serious business, with a potential for severe fractures just lurking around every corner! No matter your age, preventing falls and maintaining balance through activities can help keep you upright and smiling. 😉

Hello, wonderful people! I thought, this week, let’s dive into the curious world of osteoporosis—a tricky condition that might be quietly lurking in plain sight. No, it’s not a long-lost dinosaur species 🦕(even though it sounds like one!). Instead, osteoporosis is a silent challenger to our bones 🦴, causing them to become as delicate as chalk due to issues with bone renewal.

So, how does this sneaky condition manage to stay under the radar? Well, osteoporosis typically doesn’t make its presence known until—ouch!—a fracture happens.
“Your bones are quiet, until they break!”

So, let's discuss a little science behind osteoporosis. Bones are incredibly dynamic structures. They're always breaking down old tissue and building new, like tiny construction sites. Osteoporosis kicks in when there's an imbalance in this process.

Who can be affected by osteoporosis, you ask?
Well, ahum, anyone who has bones 🤣!
Typically though, it's more common in older adults, especially post-menopausal women. That’s right ladies, we get the short end of the bone-stick yet again, thanks to lower oestrogen levels.

The Royal Osteoporosis Society says one in two women over 50 in the UK will get a fracture due to osteoporosis. And that just doesn’t need to happen!!

But, men aren’t off the hook though; as testosterone levels decline, they’re also at risk.

And here's a kicker: lifestyle choices like smoking 🚬, excessive alcohol consumption 🍷, and even certain medical conditions can increase the risk. Basically, osteoporosis isn’t picky when choosing its next bone to nibble on.

So, stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Have you heard about the Gender CPR Gap? Well, it exists! - Almost 1/3 of people are too afraid to give lifesaving CPR to a woman because they're worried about touching her breasts!? 😱
Lioness Millie Bright has been campaigning to highlight the issue facing women. Millie says, "CPR training empowers you to respond fast & potentially save lives. Your family, your friend, a stranger - It could happen to anyone of us & regardless of gender, we need to treat every 'body' the same when it comes to CPR’. To be clear - If I ever collapse PLEASE PLEASE give me CPR & forget about my b***s!"

Ah nothing better than a decent latte in the back office of a Sainsbury’s before my course starts.
Happy After-Easter everyone ☕️ 🐣