Remove rings without cutters
Here’s a resourceful way to remove objects such as rings, washers, etc., from swollen fingers when ring cutters aren’t readily available, recommends Lane A. McVity, RN, BSN, patient care manager for the ED at Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH.
Using umbilical tape, which is similar to electrical tape, though slimmer, begin wrapping the finger at the distal end tip and overlap slightly moving proximally toward the object that is stuck, McVity explains.
Many times, the pressure you produce by wrapping will overcome that of the object that is stuck, pushing the blood underneath, says McVity. "When the wrap gets to the point of the object, you can cut the tape and attempt to push that end beneath the object [though this isn’t always necessary] and slide it off of the finger, over the wrapping," she explains. "Umbilical tape is quite smooth and allows this nicely."
This method is especially useful when an object is large, as is the case with a washer or other similar objects, thus rendering ring cutters useless, notes McVity.
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