Removing a Ring That is Stuck on Your Finger – 2024 Guide
Do you remove the Winnie the Pooh movie where Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit’s doorway because he ate too much? Humans often experience a similar feeling when they go to remove a ring from their finger, only to find it won’t move. Nothing they try will get the ring to budge, just as nothing Christopher Robin and Rabbit tried to do helped move Pooh out of the doorway. Sadly, he had to wait until he lost a few pounds before they could get him unstuck, but this isn’t the case with the ring. You do have options, so try the methods below and see which one works for you.
The First Step
Once you discover the ring you purchased from adinasjewels.com has become lodged on your finger, don’t panic. People often start tugging on the ring hoping this will loosen it and allow it to come off. In actuality, they irritate the finger and might cause it to swell. This makes the ring even harder to remove. Gently wiggle and twist the ring to see if that helps. If not, stop and allow the finger to rest for a bit to reduce any swelling.
When the swelling has gone down, run the finger under cold water for 10 to 30 seconds. This helps to reduce any remaining swelling and may allow the ring to slide off easily. If this doesn’t work, hold the hand above the heart to encourage any excess fluid or blood in the extremity to drain. You can also put ice on the finger, leaving it for only ten minutes at a time, to bring the swelling down to a point where the ring will come off the extremity.
Try Again
If the ring still won’t come, try putting soap, lotion, or petroleum jelly on the finger. These substances make the skin slippery, and this might allow the ring to slide off with ease. Windex offers another option for people who are struggling to remove this accessory. Properties in the glass cleaner help shrink the finger slightly, and the ring may come off with no difficulty. Take care when using Windex, as it isn’t appropriate for delicate pieces. This should be a last resort for this reason.
Wait. Allow some time to pass to see if the ring will come off. It may be humidity or exertion by the wearer has led to the ring being stuck. These situations often resolve themselves in time, and it’s worth a try to see if letting the matter go for a bit works.
However, if the finger or hand has sustained an injury, head to the doctor for help. The same is true when the finger or hand changes colors, a tingling sensation is noticed, or other symptoms of a more serious problem appear. You won’t be the first person to visit a doctor for this reason, and you also won’t be the last. Don’t visit a jeweler in this situation, as time is of the essence in protecting the finger after symptoms of a problem appear.
Additional Home Remedies
Some people find the basic home remedies don’t work. They need to try other methods in the hopes of removing the accessory from their finger. The following are some ways to achieve this goal, and there are others a person might wish to try before seeking help from a jeweler or doctor.
Dental floss may remove a ring. Take a piece of dental floss approximately 12 inches long and thread it under the ring, leaving a small piece under the ring at the base. Keep the large piece of floss for the next step. Using a circular motion, wind the floss around the finger from the base to the tip to reduce swelling. Pay close attention to the area around the knuckle because this is where fingers swell the most. When you get to the tip of the finger, tuck the end of the floss under the portion wrapped around the finger to secure it.
Go down to the base of the finger and grab the small tail of floss. Begin unwinding the floss while holding on to the tail. The ring will move up the finger as you do so until it comes off. This process may need repeating if the ring comes loose but gets stuck again as it moves up the finger.
Another option involves using tape to remove the accessory. Wrap the finger with the tape to compress the skin and minimize swelling. Once the entire finger is wrapped, coat the tape with a lubricant, such as butter or soap. This allows the ring to slide up the tape and off of the finger. Some people recommend using duct tape for this purpose, as it can squeeze the finger more and make it smaller, allowing the ring to slip off easier. Other people, however, say scotch tape or another thin tape works best as the ring has less to go over as it moves up the finger. Try one or both methods to see which works for your situation.
Plastic wrap works in many ways like tape. Wrap the finger tightly with plastic wrap before applying a lubricant to the wrap. When the wrap is properly lubricated, grab the base of the plastic wrap, slide the ring over it and off the finger. The lubricant makes it easy to do so, and the wrap provides you with additional grip to remove the accessory.
If all else fails, see a jeweler. It’s best to have the ring removed, especially if the hand was injured in any way. The jeweler knows how to remove the accessory with minimal damage so it may be fixed and worn again in most cases. However, some jewelers won’t take on this task, as they worry about the associated liability. If this is the case or the finger is changing colors, see a doctor promptly. A ring can be replaced, but a finger can’t. Don’t delay in an emergency situation, as no ring is worth damage to your body or your health.