Weddingbee boards

When I worked in the OR I pulled/cut off some truly disgusting wedding bands. It is a rule that all jewelry has to be removed when having surgery, and often if it hadn't been taken off in 5+ years it was impossible to get off without cutting - so we cut them off before the patient was anaesthetized (so they were aware we would do it). Once, a lady refused to allow us to remove the ring so we cancelled her surgery!! But I digress, I have seen black goo, green goo, white fuzz, and chunks of skin come off from under those rings. One man had an abscess lining the area under the ring, and he had to have a surgery to debride the area.

So gross!! I make a point of taking my ring off every time I wash my hands to wash and dry the ring, and the area underneath it!

@veganglam: It is pretty nasty ... usually one of us (the nurses) would disinfect the ring, and take a few minutes to scrub the nasty finger with disinfectant at some point before we sent the patient to recovery. We made sure the patient saw the grossness under the ring before we put them under anaesthetic, hoping that they would learn their lesson!

@gcwest: It isn't just about skin growing over it ... but what bacteria, fungus, and yeast grow under it! It stays wet and warm under there ... perfect environment for nasties to breed!

This is one thing that worries me! i have very small fingers and I was scared to death that it would fall of my finger it too big because my finger gets a lot smaller when its cold. i know this is usual but the difference between hot and cold of my finger varies a lot. i decided that I would get the smaller of the two sizes and even now, even though it's not uncomfortable it does kinds look a little "trench-like" when i take it off--but only a little. I tried the differences in sizes between the small one i got and the little bigger one and honestly I was too worried to get the bigger one because of my cold hand, but when i'm warm this one swells up a little. Currently my ring is a size 5.25. 

Any suggestions?

ETA: Also, I do take my ring off often to clean the ring, put lotion on, and dry underneath my ring. I think i could start taking my ring off at night so it wouldn't be so bad. 

@MissAsB:yeah it doesn't hurt unless I'm super overheated, I was just worried about it getting nasty underneath, but I think if i keep taking it off to clean it'll be ok. 

So gross.  I am forwarding this story to my mom ASAP...

i dont take off my ring unless i am cooking and have my hands in food, lotion, gardening, cleaning, or its getting cleaned (which is at least twice a month!) i wear it in the shower, to bed, etc. and i have never had any problems.... its just common sense people. i do however take out my earrings to clean them about once a week, same thing with my nose ring :) i take perfectly good care of my jewelry (and my body) even though i wear it 99 percent of the time.

I clean my ring myself twice a month (or less...it's kind of an as-needed thing) and obviously take it off for that. Other than that, I take it off if I'm cooking something messy, putting on lotion, or doing dishes. I've started taking it off in the shower as of tonight, because that article freaked me the hell off. I take my navel ring out once a week for a good sterilizing as well, though it gets washed every night in the shower.

Okay... I worked at a mall jewelry store. And although there was an occasional person who came in with a really gross ring on, I never saw it happen as often as the article alluded to it happening.

That said, there is a good point made in the article. Jewelry has to be maintained. It has to be cleaned and inspected on a regular basis--even jewelry that is not worn on a regular basis. Prongs can become bent, stones and clasps can become loose, and metal can weaken. If jewelry is worn all the time, it can get dirty and crusty and fungus can grown in the crevisis.

I take my wedding rings off every day when I bathe. I also clean them a couple times a week. But I also have a pinky ring that I wear that I almost never take off. It's a 2mm white gold band. It sits at the first knuckle of my pinky, and there is a groove in my finger where it sits. Most of the time I forget it's there, but I do check it every once in a while, and so far it's been fine and so is my finger.

So never taking your rings off is not recommended, but you don't have to take them off every day. And they can be very durable with the proper care.

My FI always makes fun of me for cleaning my ring at least once a week. But I bar at work a lot and so my hands are constantly getting covered in milk, espresso, and whip cream. I also take my ring off to put lotion on and often to dry my fingers and underneath the ring so it doesn't dry out. So, really, me cleaning my ring a million times a month isn't such a bad thing after all. I could never imagine them having to cut it off of me.