Official Luthiers Forum!

Last friday I was working on a parts guitar I built a long time ago. I had decided to work on the finish and try to improve it through a little careful sanding and buffing(always anxious to improve my finishing skills). After a few hours of this (by hand mostly) I got tired and decided to take a break. While resting for a while, I noticed my left hand and fingers were pretty stiff and tight. I looked down at my left hand and noticed it was swelled pretty badly, and that my wedding ring was cutting into my finger, cutting off the circulation. In a panic, I literally watched the finger continue to swell. Thinking the ring, being gold, would be fairly soft, I first tried diagonal cutting pliers, then end nip pliers. No luck, the ring was too hard. So I pulled out the hacksaw. Not a good idea, as it was hard to control and i began drawing blood. In desperation, since my only other option was the emergency room(no thanks), I removed the blade from the saw and very carefully suceeded in cutting off my wedding band. Hated to do it, but at least I still have my finger. (I am glad I did not use the cutting wheel on my angle grinder, which I did consider for a second as I watched in panic as my finger continue to swell around the ring)But the swelling and the pain has kept me from using my hands very much. On top of all of that, I woke up wednesday with my right hand swollen to around twice it's normal size. The swelling finally went down today, but I'm still in quite a bit of pain. I have nerve damage in my arms and hands from diabetes, as well as arthritis. But I'm not sure which this is. I'm also uninsured, on a fixed income and have no cash to see a doctor. It will have to wait until I can afford it(maybe next month).For now i'll have to mostly rest them, and watch what I do with my hands. Have any of you experienced anything similar, and if so, any advice you can give? Thanks.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

The closest thing to this I have experienced was 14 years ago when my youngest son was born. While my wife was in delivery, I had to rush out to the car to grab a pair of wire cutters and rush back to the birthing room to cut off her wedding ring, as her finger was swelling and the ring was cutting into her skin something terrible! That gold ring was VERY tough indeed to cut through!

I bought her a new ring later

Shouldn't this be in the off-topic part of the forum?

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

This is scary. See if you can find a free clinic. I have seen people holding their hands over their heads at work to keep the swelling down. They use a support such as a bar on a stand to hold onto. I elevate my feet to keep minor swelling down. Elevating does help, but you need to see a doctor.

That's why I usually don't wear a ring

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

I don't wear my wedding ring anymore. Working full in my woodshop takes its toll in so many ways, partly risking damage to the ring, partly risking my digits.

Your swelling may have been due to the actual effort, or some chemical sensitivity. A couple of hours of hand sanding does sound like a lot of strain!

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

I'm going to print this out and keep it for my wife every time she asks why I don't wear my ring. You'd figure after 8 and half years of marriage she'd stop asking...

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Jamie M

Good advice not to wear rings when doing any kind of manual labor, sports etc. As an Orthopaedist for over 30 years I saw way too many fingers lost from rings catching on something during a slip and fall and literally pulling the finger off.
As far as the swelling and pain, if it does not improve significantly in a day or two you should get it checked. It could be something serious. Online advice is worth about as much as you pay for it. Good luck.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Have you considered a potential allergic reaction? Was there anything particularly unusual you did this time? Maybe you came into contact with some different woods, chemicals, or other substances? I think anything that almost causes you to lose your finger should definitely be checked out. Insurance or not, your health should be your top priority.

An internet forum on guitar building is one of the least appropriate places to look for medical advice.

I understand your reluctance to pay to see a doctor, but you have no idea if the episode was serious or not. If you are developing some kind of chemical sensitivity, the next exposure could cause some serious damage.

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

Not necessarily. Just like the guitar advice you get here, some my be worthless, even harmful, some may be worth a million bucks. But it's definitely "buyer beware".

Sometimes MD's are stumped and a key piece of information gleaned elsewhere is valuable.

When it comes to the occupational hazards of a specialized industry like this, the accumulated wisdom of a large group can be quite valuable.

Would I take medications or treat a serious injury based on online advice...no way. But I may get some very helpful info to put into the mix.

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

dude...go see a doctor!

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Mitch

Thanks for all the replies. First off, if this is posted in the wrong place, I apologise. I'm fairly new, and to be honest, I wasn't aware of "Off Topic", as I spend most of my time in the archives. The reason I posted here is that there are a lot of folk here that have been doing this a long time, and I thought there was a good chance others here had experienced this or something like it. As for the chances of an allergic reaction, unless I'm allergic to polyuerethane, which is what this particular guitar is finished with, that's pretty much ruled out. The guitar is made of alder, but I never went down to bare wood. I do have a physician, but sometimes I need to wait to see him because of finances. I'm scheduled to see him in March related to diabetes management and testing, and will bring this up with him then. Should it get worse in the meantime, rest assured, I WILL seek treatment. Again, thanks guys.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I guess this would be one more reason to vote for anyone supporting universal single payer health care.