Swollen fingers

[eice164k]

I have an aunt who is bed ridden in a nursing home. Unfortunately the fingers on her left hand have become swollen and we have been told that her wedding ring needs to be cut off. Using a thread or other methods will not work as she cannot straighten out her fingers anyway, they are locked into a fist.

Now, although the home have told us this needs to be done they do not have any way of doing it or getting it done - they did say the had a handy man who could give it a try with a junior hacksaw but I wasn't too impressed with that. The onus is on the family to find out who can do this and arrange for it to be done.

This is my problem I don't know where to start trying to find anyone who would do it and if they could/would be prepared to come to the home.

Does anyone have any ideas? Do jeweller do this sort of thing - and do they make house calls?

[woofgang]

Jewellers will do it, you could ask if one would visit. I had an incident a while ago when my finger swelled up too much to get a ring off and I managed to slide the corner of a pair of nail clippers (large) under the ring and cut it off myself. The blades are away from the finger so its quite safe. This was a ring with a stone in it with quite a fine 9ct gold band,failing that, hospitals minor injuries units keep ring cutters, if you know a district nurse she might be able to borrow a pair.

If the ring is a real immediate problem then your GP might be able to help

[mimififi]

I had to have rings cut off during pregnancy once. I went to the A&E department, they have a little gadget, bit like a tin opener. You could ring and ask to speak to one of them ans see if there is anyway you could hire/borrow this equipment.

Alternatively, you might be able to hire it from your Gp or health care worker???

good luck. And your poor aunt. I'm so sorry for you both.

[Clanad]

Actually, if it's a plain gold wedding band, it is a fairly soft metal. Just a plain pair of what we call side cutters, a pair of snipping pliers used to cut electrical wire will work nicely. It makes a clean cut on top of the closed fingers and it can then be easily repaired if desired as a memento...

[WendyS]

How very distressing for your aunt. I imagine you've tried all the other ways first. If she could bear to put her hand in some ice cold water for a few minutes and then cover her finger with olive oil, this may reduce the swelling marginally and the oil may just make the finger slippery enough for the ring to be eased off. At the last resort (and don't laugh) it might be worth talking to the Fire Brigade. They do all sorts of metal cutting as part of their rescue service. It may be just feasible that they have some very fine cutters which might be able to cut a ring.

[bobclean]

I am a maintenace man at a nursing home, and have had to cut several rings off residents fingers. There are 2 ways, the first (and most preferable) is to use a ring cutter, (which you or the home may be able to borrow from the A & E dept of local hospital). The second is to apply some olive oil between ring & finger, then gently insert the handle end of a teaspoon between soft fleshy part of finger and ring. You can now cut the ring with electrical cutters, using the back of spoon as a shield to protect skin. This second method can cause a little discomfort whilst the pressure of the cutters is applied, and also causes more damage to ring.

[fusilier]

The Local Fire brigade will do it with a specil tool that they keep on their base or vehicles.

I don't think they charge.

[eice164k]

Thank you all for your concern and help - it is very much appreciated.

In reply to In a Pickle, I understand where you are coming from but unfortunately the ring is beginning causing her pain and it is due to medical advice that it has to come off, believe me we have considered and tried all the options.

My aunt is not a widow, she has a fractured spine due to osteoporosis and also suffers from Parkinsons so my uncle cannot care for her at home. He asked for advice on removing the ring hence my question on this site. I have passed on all the ideas I have recieved from you all-he is impressed by the power of the internet - a totally alien world to him.!! He and my aunt have talked about what needs to be done and she actually suggested it may need to be cut off before we were told it had to be done.

Once the ring is removed I am going to have it repaired and put it in a special box for her to keep in her room. We have even toyed with the idea of having it enlarged and putting it back on if the swelling can be reduced permanently but we have been told this is not a good idea as it is a circulation problem and it could happen again, also due the closed fist aspect of her hand it may not be feasible either. Cutting the ring off now looks like being the easy part - opening her hand and straightening the finger to some extent without causing her pain is the new challenge.

Thank you again to everyone who has replied with their ideas and suggestions.