Video: I don’t know why they don’t teach things such as basic toilet plunging in school — years ago, it would have saved me from horror film-like screams, a teary phone call with my dad, and an afternoon of disinfection.

If your pet gets injured, your normal first-aid kit could suffice for most things. But it's a good idea to prepare a specific kit for your dog or cat so that you can be sure you will have everything you need in an emergency.

Whether you’re a university student about to attend their first party, or a grownup with friends who sometimes party a little too hard, it’s good to know what to do when things get out of hand. Here are some of the top tips and skills that can help you help others.

There are some skills you hope you never need to use, but having them could be a matter of life and death.

If you have a cut on the tip of your finger, don't despair when your bathroom first aid box only contains regular, straight plasters instead of those specialised fingertip bandages. You can make one with just two snips of your scissors.

When I get bored at the chemist, I buy gimmicky stuff I don't need. That's how I finally discovered liquid bandage, which it turns out I do need, because it's great for small cuts, blisters, and any cut on my hand. Liquid bandage replaces a normal bandage with a layer of clear liquid applied directly to the wound.

When somebody gets a traumatic injury like a gunshot, it's often not the trauma itself that kills them, but blood loss. In honour of yesterday — Stop the Bleed Day — read on for the basics everyone should know.

Kids fall down a lot, and they hurt themselves a lot. It's a feature, not a bug. You gotta crawl before you can walk, you gotta walk before you can run, and you gotta trip over your clumsy feet 5000 times before your brain can figure out how to operate your limbs.

Stings from a Portuguese man o' war are as common as they are dangerous, yet there's a lack of consensus over the best way to treat these painful pricks. New research published in the journal Toxins reveals that stings from the man o' war (Physalia species) shouldn't be treated any differently than stings from jellyfish, a conclusion that upends conventional wisdom. And no, peeing on yourself is not recommended.

NSW is currently shivering its way through one of the worst cold snaps in memory. Last night, Sydney temperatures dropped to 10 degrees or under - which was a rude shock after weeks of balmy Autumn weather. While we haven't reached frostbite season yet, it can never hurt to be prepared. This infographic explains what to do when Jack Frost tries to bit your nose off.

If you're trying to remember how to do CPR, but the guideline song Stayin' Alive just doesn't stick in your head, New York Presbyterian Hospital has a 40-song playlist you can browse instead. All of the songs are a CPR-friendly 100+ beats per minute.

You're standing on a beach fully clothed, enjoying a nice barbecue when you see someone in the nearby lake flailing. Naturally you spring into action. If you jumped into the water fully clothed, though, you're about to make it a lot harder to save that drowning person - or even yourself.

The cool, glistening waters of public pools are certainly seductive on a hot summer day. But if they're not properly maintained and treated, these public pools spread germs that can cause unpleasant illnesses and ruin the fun. Here's what you need to know to stay safe (and cool) in a public pool.

Nothing ruins a relaxing of day of fishing like catching yourself on your own fish hook. Here are two methods you can use to carefully remove the hook without causing serious damage.

Leeches, those slimy, blood-sucking nightmare creatures, can be found in ponds, swamps, marshes, and lakes all over the world. Here's what to do if one latches onto you, and how to treat the wound afterward.

If, like Liz Lemon, you're afraid of choking when you're home alone, knowing this procedure might give you some peace of mind -- and maybe save your life.

The best way to avoid swallowing fish bones is to pick them out before cooking, but sometimes you'll miss one. If it gets stuck in your throat, this sweet trick will help it move along.

We've all had those moments where we run into things and come away with a nasty bruise, but this DNews video explains why some of us seem to be more resilient and heal quickly while others of us seem to wake up with mystery bruises with no memory of where they came from.

Video: Having a splinter stuck in your skin can be quite painful. The good news is that you can remove most at home, without going to a doctor. The bad news is that you can cause more damage if you don't know the right way to do it.