Don’t Put a Ring on It: Stay Safe While Working on Your Home

Here we are, in unprecedented times, adjusting to changes in our daily lives.  Many of us are working from home, or home because we’re taking a pause to stay healthy.  With downtime, the first thing that comes to mind for many is, what needs to get done around here?  Home repairs top the list, and we at CED aim to help keep you safe while you’re getting things done.

Have you ever heard of ring avulsion?  Most of us have not, unless you happened to see late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon explain his bandaged left ring finger and a clumsy fall in his kitchen that caused ring avulsion to happen to him – complete with surgery and rehab. And maybe follow his advice to not google it.

Most rings worn are reminders: special gifts, engagements, wedding bands.  They become part of us, and sometimes they’re never taken off.  However, this seemingly innocuous habit can cause severe damage to the finger if the ring is caught on something and forcefully pulled away from the finger, causing soft tissue damage that ranges from swelling and bruising of the finger to stripped tissue and amputation.

While the situation sounds gruesome, ring avulsion is rare.  Reports show us that about 150,000 cases happen each year.  These accidents don’t just happen to people in specific careers – police officers, plumbers, members of the military – if you wear a ring, depending on what you are doing, it can happen to you. Keep this in mind when working through your to-do list at home. To avoid becoming a statistic yourself, the fix is simple; when doing any home repairs or using any tools in or outside of the home or playing sports, take off your rings before you begin.

Our CED engineers have seen cases of this.  Our recommendations: if you find yourself in the situation where your finger is amputated, call 9-1-1, wash the finger, put it in a bag, and place that bag in another bag full of ice.  If the finger is still attached, keep it elevated with an ice pack on it to reduce swelling.  We’re all staying home to be healthy, so let’s stay safe while we are home, as well.

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