In France, a 2007 decree allows anyone, trained or not, to use an automated external defibrillator. The device talks you through each step, analyses the heart rhythm itself and only delivers a shock if one is needed, so the risk of shocking someone by mistake is tiny. During cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR or defibrillation cuts the chance of survival by about 10%. Knowing where your nearest one is could save a life.
Chlorine on its own is fairly gentle. But when it combines with urine, sweat and other grime from swimmers, it forms chloramines, which cause stinging eyes and that classic 'chlorine smell'. A well-kept pool barely smells at all. Shower before you swim and never pee in the water.
Muscle mass slowly shrinks with age, putting independence at risk. But in 1990, a study had nursing home residents aged 86 to 96 train their legs for eight weeks: their strength more than doubled. Muscle responds to training at any age. Getting up from a chair without using your hands is already an exercise.