Clever way to remove wedding ring from swollen finger
Have you ever needed to get a ring off your finger and not been able to do it? Sometimes it’s simply because you’re retaining a little bit of water weight, other times it’s because you’ve gained some weight since you first bought your wedding ring and the ring size is too small for your finger… speaking of which, on average your ring size will increase by one size for every ten pounds of weight you put on.
How to cut a wedding ring off your finger:
Normally under these circumstances, the only way to get wedding rings off when they become too tight to slip off your finger using a lubricant such as hand cream, liquid soap, or saliva, is to cut it off. Now there is a right way and a wrong way to do this… the wrong way is to do it yourself by cutting the band with a pair of wire cutters! Not only can you cut your finger if you’re not really careful, but it will create an irregular cut in the ring shank which is difficult and costly to repair.
The correct way to cut a ring off your finger is to visit a local jeweler and ask them to cut your ring off using a pair of ring cutting pliers like the pair pictured to the left. This special tool has one side that is made to slip between the inner shank of the ring and your finger, and a thin saw blade that is used to cut the ring shank, one turn at a time… the process can be tedious and stressful for both you and the jeweler! But it cuts the ring off your finger with the least amount of damage and leaves a straight line which is easier for your jeweler to repair… but there might be an even better way to get a ring which is too tight off of your finger without cutting it off!
How to slip off a ring which is too tight for your finger:
Dr. Simon Carley from the Centre for Evidence Based Emergency Care (CEEC) at Manchester Metropolitan University uploaded this video to YouTube which demonstrates an absolutely brilliant and very creative way to slip a ring off your finger using the rubber strap from an oxygen mask without damaging the ring. I don’t recommend doing it yourself, but it is certainly something which you might want to share with any friends you have in the medical profession because it is likely that they will have to remove a ring from somebody’s finger at some point in their career and people tend to get very emotional when you have to cut off their wedding ring!
It is important to note that this procedure is being demonstrated by trained medical professionals and their original blog post shares some tips, tricks, and warnings that go along with this procedure that should be taken into consideration. Don’t go wrapping yourself up in rubber bands just yet…
