KCOA often sees patients looking for us to treat an upper extremity injury in Kansas City. One of the biggest takeaways you should leave with from this article? Take your rings off.
Why it’s important to remove rings after an upper extremity injury
One of the first things you need to think about if you injure your finger, wrist, elbow, or arm is to remove any rings, bracelets, or watches. Injuries to the upper extremity often result in LOTS of swelling and these constrictive devices can cut off the circulation to your hand or finger.
how to remove a ring when treating an upper extremity injury in kansas city
Options to remove rings include:
- Elevation & soaking in ice water (be careful not to apply ice directly to your skin)
- Using a glass cleaner (such as Windex)
- Using Lotion
- The dental floss trick
Glass cleaner, really?! Yes! A scientific explanation has not yet been discovered. However, there are a few suspected reasons why glass cleaner works to remove rings after an upper extremity injury.
- It lubricates the skin and ring, but not so much that it cannot be removed.
- One of its ingredients is a surfactant, which decreases surface tension and may allow for easier removal.
- It may temporarily cause constriction (or shrinkage) of the skin around the ring.
Dental floss? Absolutely! If for some reason the glass cleaner does not work you can place a piece of dental floss through the ring and wrap around the swollen area towards the tip of the finger, then pull on the end closer to the hand and the ring hopefully will gradually wind around the swollen finger.
Discover more tricks for safely removing a ring and treating an upper extremity injury in Kansas City. If these techniques do not work, or you do not want to deal with removing a ring yourself, head the the Emergency Room and the ring can be cut off.
Need more help to treat an upper extremity injury in Kansas City?
The surgeons at KCOA are widely renowned in the community and across the midwest for innovation in the industry. We’d be happy to help you with any of your orthopedic concerns!
Contact us for more information or to schedule an appointment.
