TikTok User Breaks Thumb After Sleeping With A Ring On

A woman has shared the harrowing story of how she broke her thumb just by sleeping in her ring.

The TikTok user, who goes by @positivami on the video sharing app, posted a clip of her bright red thumb with the ring lodged halfway up it.

"This morning I woke up and my ring felt super tight," she wrote, pulling the ring in the video footage to show it wouldn't move.

"We tried loads of techniques but it wouldn't come off."

She then said it went from "bad to worse" as she and her boyfriend tried to push her swollen thumb down and compress it with dental floss, so that they could slip the ring off.

"Looks like a gammon joint," she went on.

"It went blue so André phoned 111. Stress. It was so sore.

TikTok/ Positivami)

"111 said go to hospital so off we went."

On the way to hospital, Ami said that her thumb was "numb and so painful", adding that she was "sad lonely and scared" as she sat in the waiting room.

The video then showed A&E doctors using a drill to try and remove the ring - something the TikTok user adds "hurt so so much".

TikTok/ Positivami)

And the worst part is it took one and a half hours to get it off altogether. Imagine?!

Ami then had to get an x-ray to see if her thumb - now bruised as well as swollen - was broken. Sure enough, it was.

Sharing a clip of a cast on her arm, she wrote: "Long story short I broke my thumb trying to get the ring off myself.

"Don't sleep in your rings, kids".

While usually not a concern, sleeping in rings or wearing them in the heat can indeed cause your fingers and thumbs to swell due to water retention.

TikTok/ Postivami)

Putting pressure on the hand with the ring on - for instance putting it under your pillow and then lying on it - can also further cause swelling.

But if you find yourself in this situation then make sure you don't try and force the ring off, or you risk breaking it like Ami.

Healthline advise a number of tips to try before calling emergency services, including putting the finger in ice.

"Reduce swelling using the RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) method," they say. "It’s a common step in first aid for strains and sprains.

You can adapt it to help remove a stuck ring:

1. Fully submerge your finger with the stuck ring into a cup of ice water.
2. Hold your hand with the finger in the cup over your head for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove the finger from the ice water. With your other hand, compress your finger above the stuck ring.
4. Slowly and gently ease the ring off your finger. Consider adding some lubrication.
5. You might have to repeat this process a number of times, allowing a 5- to 10-minute break between attempts."

If that doesn't work, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand also suggests squirting Windex (a window cleaner made of ammonia) on the ring and finger in order to lubricate it.

These tips must only be attempted if the finger or thumb is not already swollen. As soon as you see swelling, head straight to A&E.

Topics: TikTok, Life, Real Life

Joanna Freedman

Joanna has worked at Tyla for the last two years, and has a particular interest in highlighting women's issues and telling inspiring first person stories. She's also their resident foodie, and loves covering exciting new beauty launches. Contact her at [email protected].

@joannafreedman