If your finger’s a bit swollen and you can’t get your wedding band off, this hospital trick might be just the ticket. All you need is an elastic band.


Obviously the first step is to try a bit of lubricant like Windex, but this method—while a bit complicated—should work really well. It’s very similar to the dental floss method we mentioned way back in 2006, but this video should make it much easier to understand the process. Essentially, you wrap the elastic band tightly around the finger, moving toward the ring as you go. Once you get to the ring, try to feed the band through the ring. Once you do, you should be able to start unwrapping the elastic and it’ll bring the ring with it. Check out the video to see it in action (skip to about 1:35 to get to the demonstration).


Ring Removal Technique | YouTube via Reddit