# I just glued my fingers together. How do I get them unstuck?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [May 14, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150 "2003-05-14T07:08:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/1 "2003-05-14T07:08:36Z")
:smack: That’ll teach me to try to be crafty!
The glue in question is Aleene’s Premium Bond Super Gel. (Instant Adhesive! Prise Immediate! Adhesivo Instantaneo!)
The main ingredient is ethyl cyano acrylate. The packaging says to wash with soap and water. Hasn’t helped. I’ve also tried finger nail polish remover.
Someone please help me!
---
### Author:  [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/2 "2003-05-14T07:22:22Z")
Cyanoacrylate adhesive is a very fast setting and strong adhesive. It bonds human tissue including skin in seconds. Experience
has shown that accidents due to cyanoacrylates are handled best by passive, nonsurgical first aid. Treatment of
specific types of accidents are given below.
SKIN CONTACT
Remove excess adhesive. Soak in warm, soapy water. The adhesive will come loose from the skin in several hours. Cured
adhesive does not present a health hazard even when bonded to the skin. Avoid contact with clothes, fabrics, rags, or tissue.
Contact with these materials may cause polymerization. The polymerization of large amounts of adhesive will generate
heat causing smoke, skin burns, and strong, irritating vapors. Wear nitrile or polyethylene gloves and apron when
handling large amounts of adhesive.
SKIN ADHESION
First immerse the bonded surfaces in warm, soapy water. Peel or roll the surfaces apart with the aid of a blunt edge, e.g. a
spatula or a teaspoon handle; then remove adhesive from the skin with soap and water. Do not try to pull surfaces apart
with a direct opposing action.
EYELID TO EYELID OR EYEBALL ADHESION
In the event that eyelids are stuck together or bonded to the eyeball, wash thoroughly with warm water and apply a gauze
patch. The eye will open without further action, typically in 1-4 days. There will be no residual damage. Do not try to open
the eyes by manipulation.
ADHESIVE ON THE EYEBALL
Cyanoacrylate introduced into the eyes will attach itself to the eye protein and will disassociate from it over intermittent periods,
generally covering several hours. This will cause periods of weeping until clearance is achieved. During the period of
contamination, double vision may be experienced together with a lachrymatory effect, and it is important to understand the
cause and realize that disassociation will normally occur within a matter of hours, even with gross contamination.
MOUTH
If lips are accidentally stuck together, apply lots of warm water to the lips and encourage maximum wetting and pressure
from saliva inside the mouth. Peel or roll lips apart. Do not try to pull the lips with direct opposing action. It is almost
impossible to swallow cyanoacrylate. The adhesive solidifies and adheres in the mouth. Saliva will lift the adhesive in one
half to two days. In case a lump forms in the mouth, position the patient to prevent ingestion of the lump when it detaches.
BURNS
Cyanoacrylates give off heat on solidification. In rare cases a large drop will increase in temperature enough to cause a
burn. Burns should be treated normally after the lump of cyanoacrylate is released from the tissue as described above.
SURGERY
It should never be necessary to use such a drastic method to separate accidentally bonded skin.
---
### Author:  [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/3 "2003-05-14T07:46:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Avoid contact with clothes, fabrics, rags, or tissue.
Damn. It.
Okay, I am soaking. At least I didn’t glue my eyes shut or my mouth closed. :rolleyes:
Thanks for the info.
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### Author:  [@Dragline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragline)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/4 "2003-05-14T12:57:47Z")
Okay, so how did you type your question???
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/5 "2003-05-14T14:05:12Z")
Time.
Your skin secretes oil. Because of this, very few glues will stick to your skin after 12 hours.
So give it time…
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### Author:  [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/6 "2003-05-14T14:14:37Z")
**Dragline** , I glued the thumb of my left hand to the second and middle fingers of my left hand, so I still had one hand left. I can type effectively (but slowly) with my right hand only as a result of repeatedly injuring my left wrist in high school/early college.
My fingers are pretty much back to normal, but I can tell that there’s still some glue under my fingernails.
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### Author:  [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/7 "2003-05-14T15:37:54Z")
Since someone’s already posted some actual serious info and given you some assistance, I feel a little better about posting this - trust me, I’m not mocking you, but this is just too good to pass up:
Take a hint from your user name - SLICE!
:: rimshot ::
Sounds like you’re pretty much unstuck, so I’m not really a heartless bastard for joking, am I?
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### Author:  [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/8 "2003-05-14T16:22:13Z")
ACC (superglue) and it’s cousins respond to acetone as a solvent. Get some fingernail polish remover…
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### Author:  [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/9 "2003-05-14T16:36:55Z")
**scout1222** , nah, you’re not a heartless bastard. You’re a _funny_ heartless bastard.
Actually, my username is the nickname given to me in college because I used to keep myself awake to cram for tests by drinking the school’s cheap variant of orange slice. Or I did, until my roommate pointed out that it didn’t have any caffeine.
(Hmm. Gluing myself together, drinking non-caffeinated drinks to stay awake–I don’t know that I’m entirely qualified to fight ignorance.)
**vunderbob** , thanks for the suggestion. As I said in the OP,
> [@](#):
>
> I’ve also tried finger nail polish remover.
Apparently, cyanoacrylate adhesive is its own special brand of evil. I have; however, been successful in unsupergluing things using acetone in the past.
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### Author:  [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/10 "2003-05-14T17:54:17Z")
See the pathetic thing about reading instructions like that is that you know that if they actually have a procedure for unglueing your eye from your eyelid… someone, somewhere has done it.
OWOWOWOWOW!
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### Author:  [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/11 "2003-05-14T18:54:48Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by slice \*
>
> **vunderbob** , thanks for the suggestion. As I said in the OP,
> Apparently, cyanoacrylate adhesive is its own special brand of evil. I have; however, been successful in unsupergluing things using acetone in the past. \*\*
Sorry, I didn’t catch that…
I had a lot of fun one time building a model, and I glued my left thumb to it’s 2 closest companions. The day AFTER my wife ran out of polish remover…
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### Author:  [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/12 "2003-05-14T19:18:17Z")
What? You mean you didn’t have any of your own nail polish on hand?
I have gotten some amazing tales of “this one time I glued myself to the…” today. Almost all of them have been solved by acetone.
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### Author:  [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/13 "2003-05-14T20:25:51Z")
Supergluing your eyeball to your eyelids? :eek:
Oh, god, I think I just found a new nightmare.
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### Author:  [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/14 "2003-05-15T03:20:26Z")
Just wanted to chime in with the nail polish remover advice. I recently built a sculpture piece involving roughly twenty bajillion Hershey’s Kisses, all superglued together in a cube.
Did I glue my fingers together? Oh, yes, yes I did. Fingers to fingers, fingers to desk, fingers to kisses, hand to knee (just once). Nail polish remover became my best friend. Get thee to a drug store.
Peace,
~mixie
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/15 "2003-05-15T05:53:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \*
> \*\*Supergluing your eyeball to your eyelids? :eek:
> \*\*
Those tiny Superglue bottles do look similar to eyedroppers, especially when you take off your glasses…
(_Not_ speaking from experience, thank god.)
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### Author:  [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/16 "2003-05-15T06:26:20Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by slice \*
> \*\*What? You mean you didn’t have any of your own nail polish on hand?
> \*\*
I second (or third, or fourth) the suggestion on nail polish remover. Note, it’s nail polish **remover,** though, **Slice,** not nail polish.
If you glue your fingers together, nail polish won’t help at all. Well, except it could help you look _faaaaab-ulous_ while waiting for help.
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### Author:  [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/17 "2003-05-15T07:10:53Z")
Once I superglued my toes together just to see what would happen. I was very bored that day. My toes came apart on their own.
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### Author:  [@The\_MacDairmuid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_MacDairmuid)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2003, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/18 "2003-05-15T09:46:47Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by slice \*
> \*\*:smack: That’ll teach me to try to be crafty!
>
> The glue in question is Aleene’s Premium Bond Super Gel. (Instant Adhesive! Prise Immediate! Adhesivo Instantaneo!)
>
> The main ingredient is ethyl cyano acrylate. The packaging says to wash with soap and water. Hasn’t helped. I’ve also tried finger nail polish remover.
>
> Someone please help me! \*\*
With a very sharp knife, at the first non-joined knuckle on each digit.
😉
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### Author:  [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/19 "2003-05-15T11:37:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _originally posted by Satisfying Andy Licious_
> Note, it’s nail polish remover, though, Slice, not nail polish.
> If you glue your fingers together, nail polish won’t help at all. Well, except it could help you look faaaaab-ulous while waiting for help.
Of course, I meant nail polish _remover_. Although your suggestion is a good one. If I did need to go for medical attention, perhaps I could shock them with my stunning beauty and my stupidity would be overlooked.
I’m happy to report that I am glue-free, having soaked my hand in warm water and invested in a small scrub brush, which seemed to help get the glue residue off after I was able to separate my fingers.
---
### Author:  [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-glued-my-fingers-together-how-do-i-get-them-unstuck/175150/20 "2003-05-15T16:47:11Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Satisfying Andy Licious \*
> \*\*I second (or third, or fourth) the suggestion on nail polish remover. Note, it’s nail polish **remover,** though, **Slice,** not nail polish.
> If you glue your fingers together, nail polish won’t help at all. Well, except it could help you look _faaaaab-ulous_ while waiting for help. \*\*
While nail polish won’t help except for fabulousness in this situation, it can normally be used _as_ nail polish remover with nails. Paint it on over, and then wipe off.
Meh.
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