Hand swelling - rings stuck

[RMarieClaire]

Feel like such an idiot. 33 weeks and suddenly in last 24 hours my slightly puffier hands have swollen alarmingly and now my wedding rings won't come off.

It's relatively warm/muggy at the moment, which I guess won't help, but trying to work out if I should do all I can to get them off (knowing it will hurt and I have CTS, I think, so not at my most dexterous) or if at this point swelling will go up and down?

Firstly I would get checked by a midwife as sudden swelling can be a sign of pre eclampsia. However it’s probably the heat. I had the same problem and I suddenly needed to cut my rings off (just fairly cheap silver) luckily I’d already removed my wedding rings. I think you can get them cut off at a jewellers as I think my mum had to have it done whilst pregnant

As well as seeking medical advice, have you tried running your hand under a cold tap for a few minutes to reduce the swelling?

Oh, thanks. Hadn't thought of pre-eclampsia so will check with midwife. I have low blood pressure and have had throughout so hopefully nothing to worry about, even if it is bloody uncomfortable

Because I have quite small hands they don't look all that swollen. It's only because of the rings and pins and needles that I've noticed it so much today

Get yourself checked asap.

Rub butter over your finger and hopefully your rings will slide off.

They do look quite swollen, especially your thumb. Get checked out. Also google the string ring removal method - there are ways to remove it without cutting

Definitely get yourself checked over.

You need to get them off even if it's not pre-e. I put them on a chain around my neck when I finally got them off. Desperately didn't want to cut them. Try to do it when you're relaxed - panic seems to make it worse! Try to cool your hands down - ice bath on the settee worked well. Olive oil is your friend, try to get it under the ring by rotating it (if you can), or pushing the ring so there's a wee gap under it. Then gently work it over your knuckle. Fingers crossed it comes off. Otherwise jewellers will usually do it.

Run hands under a cold tap to try and reduce swelling, and then oil/washing up liquid/butter on finger and wriggle gently until it pops off.

If that doesn’t work I’d be going to jewellers to get them cut off and leave them there to fix them.

Do give your midwife a call just to make sure excess swelling isn’t related to blood pressure or anything else like that.

Use the string/dental floss technique! I've used it loads in A&E and it works. Good luck! X

Thanks all. Ice, fairy liquid and a lot of pain got me there. Going to call midwife now.

Your local minor injuries unit or A&E department can remove stuck rings. Don’t try too hard to do it yourself or you’ll make it swell more and it’ll be harder for them. If all else fails then they can cut it off and a jeweller can repair it for you.

Agree with PP that you should also let a midwife know in case they want to check you blood pressure.

Oops, crossposted! Glad it came off.

Glad they came off!
In case this helps anyone else in future, you can also try putting your arm straight up in the air for a minute as gravity will mean some of the fluid flows out of your fingers. Then stick your other arm up in the air to take the rings off above your head.

Glad they came off. Hope you and your baby are all ok.

I thought your pic was totally normal for the third trimester and that they didn't look like they would be a cause for concern at all.
What did midwife say?

Thanks all. Midwife wasn't worried - agreed it was likely due to weather change. Told me to watch out for headaches and vision issues but I've been fine. Just the crippling carpal tunnel syndrome to deal with!

My fingers swelled and my rings got stuck over the Easter weekend. Luckily I was with a friend who is a jeweller and she got them off for me with her special technique (I think it's very common for people to get rings stuck on in shops!) She advised me to leave them off for now as it's likely to happen again and so I have them on a chain around my neck.