Another day, another trick of the trade.
Today we have a patient presenting with a very painful wrist after slipping on the icy driveway as she was retrieving her Sunday paper.
She has no obvious deformity and no neurovascular compromise but her hand is quite swollen so we better get that ring off whilst we still can.
….but curses! It doesn’t seem to want to slip over her knuckle, even after an obscene lathering of KY jelly.
Now it transpires that this ring has a lot of sentimental as well as monetary value…..so before we reach for the ring cutter let us offer them this option..….
step 1.
First pass a decent length of strong suture material (we actually have some thick fishing line set aside for just this purpose) under the ring.
Have the longer end on the distal side of the ring.
This method should never be considered if you suspect a fracture of the finger.
step 2.
Take this distal end of the string and begin wrapping it snugly around the finger. Continue wrapping around and around, spiralling over the knuckle and down the finger.
This can become a little uncomfortable (nurses code for painful) for the patient, so try to do this smoothly and quickly. Let them know it might hurt a bit but will probably save their ring from a costly trip to the jewellers.
step 3.
Next, and this requires a little practice, hold the distal end of the string against their finger, grab the proximal end.
Unwind the string, moving around the finger, whilst pulling firmly and maintaining tension.
Continue pulling on the string and unwinding it ‘over’ and ‘around’ the ring…..with a little luck the ring will slowly slide down and off the patient’s finger earning you some rightful admiration. (Keep the ring cutters handy in case it becomes too uncomfortable or fails to budge.)
We have an electric ring cutter that will slice through most rings if we need to get them off in a hurry.
step 4.
Now..give it a quick polish. (KY Jelly brings jewellery up a treat.) Present the intact ring to her, quickly reassess the neurovascular status of the finger and calmly proclaim, “just doing my job ma’am …..just doing my job.”
Walk a way with a barely perceptible swagger in your step.
At 32 weeks pregnant, I discovered my wedding band, engagement ring and my mother’s eternity ring were completely stuck on my fingers. Living in a hot climate, in Saigon, I found they just would not budge. We tried every suggestion on the internet, from ice (fingers swell less but the rings contract too in the ice cold), to olive oil, window cleaner to dental floss (wrapping the finger). The floss is like a tourniquet and stops circulation, cutting into the finger, and is very painful. I tried, my husband tried the Windex and twisting method, but all were too painful and had little effect. We couldn’t get near the knuckle! I desperately did not want to cut the rings, but had resigned myself to the fact this would have to happen.
In one final attempt, I thought I would combine lots of methods to really say I had done everything. It worked! All 3 removed after 1 ½ hours. Most of the time was spent getting cold and elevating to reduce swelling. First ring: 5-10 mins, the other two less than 5 mins each to remove. PHEW!
1) Make your hands cold, but not with ice. Cold water may work, but here in Vietnam, I am never cold so more than just my hands swell. I turned the air con to the coldest temperature, put a fan on too and sat for half an hour in the cold, until I had a few goose pimples!
2) Whilst getting cold, I elevated the hand so my fingers were above my heart. The most comfortable way to do this was to rest my elbow on the arm of the sofa and just stick my hand in the air!
3) Spray the finger liberally with window/glass cleaner. The internet is full of tips using Windex, but I couldn’t get that, I used another brand that worked fine.
4) Follow the procedure outlined here for wrapping the finger using twine or dental floss. I found that the floss cut into my finger and it started to turn blue. I nearly gave up, but read somewhere that ribbon could be used. The ribbon needs to be firm but not so tight it stops circulation. It should be wrapped many times with lots of overlap. I sprayed the ribbon with more glass cleaner until it was soaked through before slowly unwinding the ribbon, constantly pulling the end under the ring up towards the finger tip, in short, slow tugs. Near the knuckle it looks like it won’t go, but be patient, suddenly it will pop over the top and will be off!
I had a friend who always said nurses and doctors called things “uncomfortable” because they couldn’t spell “excruciating”. LOL
Great tip.
Soap failed, oil failed, and ice failed, but this worked! I used curling ribbon. And, yes, it hurt, but only briefly and it worked!
This sounds great but I found it too painful and was scared to get the ring stuck and have bad pain too.
YIKES! I tried this and it was just too sore. Had to stop.
I was able to remove the ring on the first try! Thanks for the advice, Ian! (although there must be a way to explain this method without using the terms “distal” and “proximal”)
It really works! I just removed my wedding and engagement rings, which were sized over twenty years ago at 4 1/2 (teeny finger back then!) – these days, my finger’s a size 7. I used narrow ribbon and wound as directed. I held the fingertip end of the ribbon with my teeth and unwound, pulling steadily, being hopeful and trying to ignore the burning sensation and suddenly – ring’s off! I waited a few minutes and did the second ring in the same manner, thinking “no way this ring is ever coming off” – but – IT WORKED! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving two special rings, and teaching me a new trick
Thank you so very much for your advice and the explanatory
pictures. It worked brilliantly and saved my engagement ring and
wedding ring when my finger was swelling during pregnancy. It is
such a relief that I did not have to cut them to get them off!
Thanks again.
it did work when my 12 year old son made the mistake of placing his mood ring on the wrong finger whilst taking a shower. last minute my wife googled and this website came up. it was a painful experience for him and a learning experience as well. thank you!!!
Thank you times a million!!!!!
Worked like a charm!!!!
wow what a fantastic trick!!!!! thank you after getting my wedding ring firmly stuuck on my rapidly swelling painfull finger it was a blessing to find this page what a relief yes ok it hurts but its worth it my advice to anybody in same predicament is try it !
Thanks for the tip. I had been trying to get this ring off for three or four weeks with no success. I even tried putting a hose clamp over the knuckle to compress it but to no avail. After using this method I had the ring off in under one minute. I used some natural polished dark thin hemp (waxed) and it worked like a charm.
Later….The Woodman!!!!!!!!!! ;>)
May all the good and blessings fall on you like April’s rain! My wife, pregnant, couldn’t remove her ring anymore and it started to be painful. Thanks to you, we removed it in one minute. I’m spreading your link around.
Zillion of thanks,
David, Nairobi
Thanks heavens for this page! I had my wedding band stuck on my right hand (i moved it as I had some irritation on my left) and the finger immediately above the ring had been swelling for 3 days making the ring cut into the ‘web’ between my fingers. I used curling narrow parcel ribbon, wrapped towards the fingertip, and a bit of WD40i. I did it alone (used my teeth to brace the winding bit or ribbon!) and found the pictures essential! Thank you for preventing me from having to cut my wedding ring! : )
This does work. Rushing out the door one night I accidentally put my engagement ring on my right hand and my fingers are larger on this hand. It was fine for a day or two then started to hurt. We tried lots of tricks but this worked best. We used a ribbon as that compressed more skin. It did hurt and it was slow but I am very happy to have no ring on that finger
i have used the trick of my finger that has been swollen for three days…very painful trick but it worked thank you…i actually had four rings on my fingers before i fell the other day and hurt my knuckles which caused swelling and made the rings stuck… 2 rings worked with the water and soap trick…and one just came out with the string trick …but one is way swollen with fluid inside i dont know what to do about it but if worst coms to worst ill go to hospital.
Yes this really does work. i worked in orthopaedics for quite a while and occassionally a patient with a wrist or arm injury made it past the ED nurses with a valuable ring still intact and swelling occurring. A very experienced (translation, OLD) nurse taught me this when i was a baby RN and it was invaluable, never met a ring i had to cut off yet! Patients were alway amazed and Very grateful (talking chocolate of course is there any other kind?)
Interesting. Yet another simple method could be this one. Soak your hand in soap water for about 5 mins. Then pluck the ring inch by inch (mm by mm
. If it doesnt work probably follow this technique later.
This method does work..i had my engagement ring jammed in my middle finger (i was just trying it on) and couldnt get it off. Had tried everything, and then tried this one. I used the thread used in stitch kits and also put some lubricant once it was tightly wond. The initial couple of unwinding hurt, but then the ring slid off like magic!! Thank you for the great advice.
My husband bought me a bottle of Ring Release for Christmas & this stuff really works!! It is worth a try…good luck!!
this shit don work come on people lets be real logical here i bought a ring yesterday and it was too small so it got stuck my knuckle started to swell so i couldnt get it past the knuckle went to the hospital they used lubricant and they twisted it and and pulled upward at the same time wala! it came off in a matter of 5 mins and im talking bout this ring was so tight on my finger it was turnin purple
It works.
I was skeptical at first, but after four or five minutes it came off. It was extremley painful, but it came off.
I was skeptical, as I suspect my fingers are unusually fat – but I used wide ribbon (the kind used on Christmas packages that often called curling ribbon – due to the curls created by running the scissor blade down the length of it), iced down my hand before I started and greased the offending finger with an hemerrhoid cream.
It hurt a bit, but it worked like a charm! I haven’t been able to get my engagement ring off in over three years. I had them size it way too tight back in the day because I was afraid of losing it. Now I’m going to leave it off til they can size it properly!
Thanks a million.
I tried last night after several attempts and finger sore after each attempt. I used the satin dental floss (minty) and Windex. Within a few minutes the ring slipped right off. Now I had not taken my rings off in about 10 years. Engagement ring came off with vasoline the other week. I was so excited I didn’t want to have them cut the ring and possible damage it. Yes if they can resize it due to the pattern they have to do something but I didn’t want my fat fingers be the cause of possible destroying it.
Not always a sure fire method and in some cases this can actually make matters worse depending on how long the ring has been stuck. Most times, having the ring cut by a jewler will cost around $20 and the cost to resize it. Heck you will need the ring resized anyway so why not save time and panic and jsut let them cut it and make the needed re-size.
OMG!!! Thank You soooooooo much!!!! I put my class ring on my middle finger instead of my ring finger yesterday because my ring finger has a cut on it right where my class ring sits. So I thought that I could still wear it by putting in on a different finger….boy was I stupid….finally I saw this website and I tried it and it worked!!!! I used beading wire and vaseline!!! =)
OMG!! I have been freaking out the past few days over a stuck ring.
Finally tried this and wow!! It works!!!! Used dental floss =)
Thank you thank you thank you!!!!! Whoever thought of this in the first place is a GENIUS!!! This worked so well. Though painful with my engagement ring (because you can’t just rip the floss off as easily) my wedding band came off in seconds!! Thank God for my husband’s quick thinking when I told him that I wanted the rings off because they were hurting and need to be resized. We are bookmaking this page for future reference! I am so grateful!!!!
THANK YOU! FI’m 31 weeks pregnant and I took my wedding rings off about a month ago as a preemptive measure but I was really missing wearing them and my hands didn’t appear to be all that swollen. So I decided yesterday to see if I could still wear them. They went on fine, but by last night I could tell they weren’t coming off. I tried everything but they wouldn’t budge. This worked in a matter of minutes and my rings are still intact (and sitting in a box, not to be tried on again for many months!).
This is amazing. I have had a ring stuck on my finger for more than a year. I had gained weight and it just would not come off. I have tried and tried with everything from olive oil, to ice compresses, fluid pills, and have worked on it so much that my finger would swell more and ache. I found this remedy on your website, did not have floss available but used yarn, wound it, sprayed with windex and it came right off the first time. I did have to play with the string at the tip of the knuckle. My husband could not beleive it. Thanks so very much.
I can hardly believe this method worked! My ring has been stuck for a few months after having a baby. I tried everything and was considering getting my ring cut off. Luckily I found your website. After a whole day of trying everything, a little dental floss and windex slipped it right off! THANK YOU!
Put a ring on Sunday, could not get it off! What goes on, should come off, right? WRONG! Sure appreciated your tips…I used the ribbon. It was painful but WORKED! Also, thanks for the picture. It really helped.
I am a nurse working in an outpatient surgery center. I have been using this method for years. Instead of dental floss though, I keep a spool of narrow (1/8 to 1/4 inch) ribbon on hand. I had found that the dental floss tends to cut the skin if the ring is especially tight.
With the ribbon, you can overlap it slightly. It works great. I also use Windex on the really tight ones.
Thank you so much, my wifes finger is free of that blasted ring!!! Although we did need a third person to hold the ‘distal’ end whilst I unraveled, otherwise I don’t see how we could have done it. Practice I guess. Thanks
window cleaner really helps when also using dental floss.
thank you!
After olive oil, ice and too many painful tries failed me this morning I searched the web for tips and the combination I tried worked the first time. Your method was my foundation. I sprayed my finger with Windex first, then I used about 4 feet of Glide tape and wrapped my finger beginning from the fingertip side first as one reader suggested. With my hand held out, palm side down, my daughter grasped both ends firmly, tugged on the end pointing towards my shoulder as I pushed up from the bottom of the ring. It began moving, moving, moving, and then it was OFF! Only a little bit of discomfort and now a lot of relief.
The yarn really works. I’ve had a ring on my hand for a few years now that I could not remove. Now going to have surgery and it had to come off. I had heard about the yarn removal from a co-worker who is a nurse. I looked it up and did it to my ring. It worked like a charm. The ring came off and now I will get it sized larger. I wrapped from the bottom up to just past my knuckle which was the biggest spot to get over. Thanks.
Thank you so much for these instructions! I was a little skeptical at first, but sure enough, it worked! Like Nancy, I recommend winding the string further up the finger, so you have additional assistance getting it over the knuckle. I used dental floss and olive oil and it removed the ring I thought impossible. Give it a try…
I tried it first without success and then waited until later in the day and applied topical antihistamine to my finger (Benadryl spray) and used “Glide” dental floss, which has a particularly slick finish. My best advice is to not give up when the string is completely unwound and the ring is still above the knuckle, I continued working the the string (pulling both ends) toward finger tips…I was determined not to push the ring back on and sure enough, off it came. Really appreciate the tip and hope the additions can help someone else!
As a veteran 15-year EMT with Harrison Community Ambulance in Harrison, Idaho, I and other EMT’s have used this remarkably successful technique with great results, much to our satisfied patients’ delight. I would recommend its use — a very effective alternative to having to get out the ring cutter!
Thank you so much for posting this trick on the Internet. My engagement ring was stuck on my right hand – I had put it on that finger and when I tried to get it off it had gotten very swollen. I tried too hard to get the ring off and my finger was very red and swollen for days. I let it calm down…iced it and elevated it. And finally last night my fiance used this trick and got the ring off!! My next step was cutting it off…so thank you for saving me the trouble!!! He used the “tape” dental floss and didn’t even have to put the floss on very tight. But he was able to push the ring up while unwinding…and today my finger is free! Thank you!!
My husband attempted to remove his ring. He could not remove it. I followed the method here with floss. I did not allot enough floss and my husbands finger turned purple. I used ky jelly and he pulled it off. The ring did move as directed. Had I used enough floss, I am confident the ring would have removed without the jelly.
Thank you!
Ok I am 5 months pregnant and the swelling krept up on me, till finally today when I decided I should probably remove my ring there was no way!!! I tried everything and had no luck. This method was the last step before cutting my precious ring and it worked! It really hurts but well worth it, I would recommend using the windex on the finger also when pulling off the string, also I used dental floss. I had never heard of this method but trust me it worked!
omg this worked so well my engagement ring, which was a bit small to begin with suddenly wouldnt come of, and iv been torturing my finger all day untill i came up on this and it worked like magic
I’ve used this trick. It works. It’s a pain to explain the trick over the phone (I’m a Triage/Advice RN) and well worth the time.
[...] Remove a stuck ring. Nothing is as frustrating as trying to get that stuck ring off the patients rapidly swelling finger. Its worth an absolute bomb and the patient would prefer to loose their finger rather than have you cut it off. With a length of dental floss and some lubricant you have a chance to make a new (and wealthy) friend. Here’s how. [...]
gosh! thanks for the tip; it worked great! although i had quite a bit of pain; it felt a lot better than going through all the pain if using lotion and olive oil! thanks; once again! :]
We do a similar technique but start at the finger tip end this way the pain is lessend as the pressure flows back into the hand,prior to applying the string wrap your fingers around patients and squeeze for compression.
Four months after giving birth to our son, my wife decided it was time to put her wedding band back on, where it promptly began cutting off circulation. We used the method described above, and although it hurt her like crazy, the ring came off. Thanks for the tip!
Sweet trick! I can’t wait to try it one day.
Worked first time with a cold hand and some parcel wrapping ribbon (having practised on other hand first!). Thanks a million.