This Exists: ‘Avocado Hand’ is Now an Actual, Real, Diagnosable Injury
Well, this is it. We’ve reached peak basic in the United States of America. ‘Avocado Hand’ is a real injury, and if you go to a doctor saying you have it, chances are you’ll be understood. According to an piece in The London Times, surgeons have seen an increase in stabbing injuries due to guacamole gone wrong.
The The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons has a solution: They’re calling for safety labels to be placed on everyone’s favorite fruit. Simon Eccles, the former president of the Royal Society of Medicine told the Times, “We don’t want to put people off the fruit but I think warning labels are an effective way of dealing with this. It needs to be recognisable. Perhaps we could have a cartoon picture of an avocado with a knife, and a big red cross going through it?”
According to the Times, there’s no official data on the number of avocado-related injuries at this time. But, it does seem pretty common. One woman said that she injured herself while trying to make brunch for a crowd, and when she went to the hospital, she was told she was the fourth patient with an avocado-related injury that day.
Plus, the injuries can be pretty bad. The New York Times ran a piece earlier this month in advance of Cinco de Mayo called “How to Cut an Avocado Without Cutting Yourself.” The inspiration for the piece was a colleague’s wife, who had sliced her hand so badly that she ended up in the emergency room.
Aside from the financial cost, lots of people with “avocado hand” suffer from serious injuries. According to The Times‘ piece, “this laceration can cause significant nerve, ligament, tendon or bone damage that requires surgery,” which is a major sacrifice when you consider that the injured party was just trying to cut up some fruit.
So this doesn’t happen to you, here are some tips from The Times:
If you’re new to or nervous about avocado-cutting, or for an extra layer of protection, place a folded dish towel between your hand and the avocado half before whacking the stone to remove it (Use a dish towel to carefully remove the pit from the blade, or gently smack the edge of the knife handle on the edge of a trash can. It should pop right off.). And always use a sharp knife so it doesn’t slip off the stone. Lastly, if you find that cutting is requiring a lot of effort or pressure, stop right there. The avocado is either not ripe enough, or your knife is dull. Both can lead to injury.
Best of luck.
[image via Elena Vasilchenko/Shutterstock]
