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Do you think it''s serious if a ring can''t be taken off?

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Rockdiamond

Rockdiamond

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Hi All!
I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this:

I remember once I was in a jewelry store and a pregnant lady came in upset.
Her finger had swollen, and she could not take her ring off.
There is a special saw for this- I''m sure many of you know exactly what I''m talking about.

If the situation wasn''t a pregnant lady- but maybe someone who''d worn the ring for 50 years, and discovers they can not remove it- should they have it cut off to prevent a potential problem?
 
I think anything that you put on, and then can''t take off has the potential to cause a problem. So yeah, I''d want it removed. Besides, I can''t imagine wearing a ring for so long and not getting at least a rash. You can''t wash that part of you! It''s a haven for germs/bacteria.. yuck
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I think it should be cut off, I personally cant image wearing a ring for that long and never removing it, especially if you have gained weight, a tight ring drives me batty.
 
It might be more common that one would think in people in their ''70s and older.
My first thought was to advise to immediately have the ring cut off- it can be fixed.
Then I thought, maybe that''s not the way to go.
Anyway, it seemed like the PS regulars might know if anyone!
 
I would think that if an elderly person cannot take off a ring its bc their knuckles are bigger due to arthritis and that the ring would have to be cut off anyway and wouldn''t ever be able to get back on safely unless they get an arthritic shank put on to easily and safely put the ring on and off.
 
IMO, when it comes to people who have gained weight around their finger, a lot of the time washing up liquid or butter (ew!) will lubricate it enough to eventually slide the ring off the finger. The advantage is that the band does not have to be cut, but in most cases will have to be resized (unless the person wants to wear it on a different finger).
But where the knuckle has been affected by arthritis, this may not work or it may be too painful to try and so the only option may be to cut the ring...
 
Date: 7/29/2009 7:49:21 PM
Author: elle_chris
I think anything that you put on, and then can''t take off has the potential to cause a problem. So yeah, I''d want it removed. Besides, I can''t imagine wearing a ring for so long and not getting at least a rash. You can''t wash that part of you! It''s a haven for germs/bacteria.. yuck
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I''m with elle - anything that you put on and can''t take off has the ptential to be an issue! I''d cut it off, sad as that may be.
 
My MIL''s best friend had this problem, except it was an eternity ring and could not be cut off. She went to her doctor and was given a shot in her finger (to reduce swelling, I assume) and then 24 hours later put her hand in and out of ice for two hours, lubed up her finger and pulled and pulled and pulled. It eventually came off!
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Anyway, her doctor said it wasn''t safe because it was constricting blood flow to her finger. It must have been REALLY tight!
 
Thank you so much everyone!

Ms Halo- wow I''ve never heard of that solution before!

From what I''ve seen the saw they use to cut the ring would work on an eternity band- although it might destroy one or two diamonds.

I also believe that almost any ring cut off can be repaired.
Our solution to the knuckle issue is to put two platinum balls in the bottom of the ring so it can fit over the knuckle....

Based on what you guys are saying, it''s probably smart to have it removed ASAP..which is what I was thinking.
If it did turn into an emergency- such as if , heaven forbid, a person injured a finger and needed medical attention- that could be a far more serious problem.
 
Queen Elizabeth I had to have her coronation ring sawed off on her deathbed. She didn''t take it off at all during her reign of 45 years. However, she was dead and the skin had grown in over the gold. I can''t imagine that!!
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Ok, anyone else feeling...iccky?

Spooky thought TL!!!
 
my Dad wore his wedding band for 24/7 for 15 years after the point he couldn''t remove it with no ill effects.
 
Thanks Karl- I really feel bad recommending someone cut a ring off that they''ve never taken off for 50 years!

Maybe there''s not a lot of situations where it would be a problem......
 
How about applying heat or cold?

Things expand with heat and shrink with cold.
But all things do not to this by the same amount.
How much they chagne is expressed by TCE, or thermal coefficient of expansion.

I'm not sure if the TCE of gold, platinum and human is similar.

Also there is the age-old question, if you heat up a ring and the metal itself expands, would the hole get bigger or smaller. Hmmm.
 
Personally I would tell someone to talk to their doctor to be on the safe side.
I would not be comfortable telling someone yes or no, it is really a medical question and everyone is different.
If it is causing pain or impeding circulation it has to come off of course.
I think a doctor would be best to evaluate that.

I would also depend on the job they do.
A friend of mine works with chemicals and a mild chemical that normally there isn''t a huge risk with got trapped under the typical cheap hollow mens ring and caused a serious chemical burn that almost led to removing his finger.
That happened within a week of him going back to work after his honeymoon.
 
Date: 7/30/2009 7:23:27 PM
Author: strmrdr
Personally I would tell someone to talk to their doctor to be on the safe side.

I would not be comfortable telling someone yes or no, it is really a medical question and everyone is different.

If it is causing pain or impeding circulation it has to come off of course.

I think a doctor would be best to evaluate that.


I would also depend on the job they do.

A friend of mine works with chemicals and a mild chemical that normally there isn''t a huge risk with got trapped under the typical cheap hollow mens ring and caused a serious chemical burn that almost led to removing his finger.

That happened within a week of him going back to work after his honeymoon.
Click to expand...

Bingo! That right there is THE answer. I really felt perplexed about this one, because this type of question is on a totally different level than any discussion on a diamond or gold.
That''s a really terrifying story about the chemical Storm!


Also a very good head scratcher Moh10!
 
If the ring was causing a compromise to her neurovascular system it would need to come off. The risk with leaving it is that her fingers could swell more and she could loose circulation to the tip of her finger, and then it could potentially die and need to be amputated.

Most physician offices do not have the equipment to cut off a ring, she would probably need to go to an ER :-(.
 
I was just thinking if it was just arthritic knuckles I''d probably leave it on because it might be loose enough to keep clean undermeath the ring, and after wearing it for that long it seems a shame to cut it off (unless there was a specific reason why it needed to be removed).
 
It also depends on who is doing the cutting - I know some jewellers may/will have
a special saw and take extra effort to inflict minimal damage, know the best place to cut for the sake of repairs, etc.

However, Fi used to work in a couple different hospitals - when I asked him about this, he said the ring cutting devices were always at best, pretty ancient - and the technique even worse.
And of course in that situation nobody''s considering whether your 4k band can be repaired or not, rightly so!

I also ditto Karl about the medical question. But personally, I would want it cut off by a professional who took utmost care sooner rather than later - just incase I ended up in a hospital bed!
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I had a ring that was stuck on my finger and a friend who was a firefighter put some string underneath the ring and wrapped it around my finger a certain way and was able to work it off that way. I thought for sure I had to have it cut off.
 
When I was doing appraisals in the D.C. area a few years back I would get in customers that were proud that they had not taken their rings off for 20 years or more. Some could take them off and others I had to cut off. You would not believe what one of those rings looks like under the microscope. You would also not believe how much time and effort it takes to get 20 years of yuck off a diamond ring.

Often when a person is checking into a hospital they require that all jewelry be removed. Jewelers have a special tool for cutting off a ring. Most hospitals use wire snips.

I believe that rings should be removed often and cleaned. If they rings cannot be removed I think they need to be cut off and left off until the finger gets to a normal state and the ring sized to fit the new size.

Dimonbob
 
It's not like elderly peoples' fingers are falling off left and right. It's gross to imagine a ring stuck to a finger, but I can't imagine the bacteria being an issue after years and years. Clearly the body has become immune to whatever may be under that ring.

(this is about the bacteria issue. . .contriction of blood flow is an entirely different matter!)
 
I am kinda sorry that I am reading this thread during my lunch hour
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But yes, my medical professional friends say that a ring which can''t be removed can be dangerous especially if it reduces circulation. So she should check with her doctor.
 
Date: 7/31/2009 1:25:17 PM
Author: MC
It''s not like elderly peoples'' fingers are falling off left and right. It''s gross to imagine a ring stuck to a finger, but I can''t imagine the bacteria being an issue after years and years. Clearly the body has become immune to whatever may be under that ring.

(this is about the bacteria issue. . .contriction of blood flow is an entirely different matter!)
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I don''t know if your body becomes immune or just fights the bacteria over and over. I dunno, I still wouldn''t do it. I appreciate the romantics that are proud of never taking their wedding bands off, but just the idea of all the dirt that builds up on the rings and finger, ack.. i guess some of us are just germaphobes.
 
Date: 7/31/2009 2:07:18 PM
Author: elle_chris

I don''t know if your body becomes immune or just fights the bacteria over and over. I dunno, I still wouldn''t do it. I appreciate the romantics that are proud of never taking their wedding bands off, but just the idea of all the dirt that builds up on the rings and finger, ack.. i guess some of us are just germaphobes.
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Yeah, I''m not a germaphob, but do take off my rings all the time, especially when gardening. My wedding band is kind of thick so that with my eng. ring start to bother my fingers even when I''m not doing anything (like now, just typing on PS). I take them off during the day when DH isn''t home and then slip them back on when he gets here! I do have a tan line around my rings from wearing them outside at the park and places like that.
 
Date: 7/30/2009 7:20:10 PM
Author: Moh 10
How about applying heat or cold?

Things expand with heat and shrink with cold.
But all things do not to this by the same amount.
How much they chagne is expressed by TCE, or thermal coefficient of expansion.

I'm not sure if the TCE of gold, platinum and human is similar.

Also there is the age-old question, if you heat up a ring and the metal itself expands, would the hole get bigger or smaller. Hmmm.
Click to expand...
Heat and cold will have no appreciable effect on the metal or in solids in general in the temperature ranges that are safe for us.

The finger is quite another story and its the liquid part of the finger that would be most affected by change in temperature.
However swelling is a complicated physiological process and sometimes heating or cooling can work to reduce swelling.

I would suggest freezing your finger in ice water for 15 to 20 minutes then putting oil on your finger and around the ring and then trying to pull it off.
Alternatively you can try putting your finger and ring in warm water for 15-20 minutes and then hand lotion in and under the ring and then try to pull it off. Either may work depending on the swelling in your fingers.

Good-Luck,

CCL
 
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