Frankie Cordeira Jr.

Description: 'Avocado hand' injury on rise sending people to ER... Cutting avocados is tricky business and leads to hand injuries each year. Cutting avocados is tricky business and leads to hand injuries each year. Photo: Nick Wagner AP 'Avocado hand' is sending people to the ER because people don't know how to cut their fruit Here's another story to add to the negative avocado coverage: Beyond the skyrocketing costs and exorbitant avocado toast prices avocados are also a ruiner of hands (for a select few). The London Times issued a public service announcement of sorts on avocado injuries with physicians saying that the avocado's rise in popularity has led to an increase in injuries. The Times called it a "global phenomenon." It seems that the avocado-eating masses are mishandling their fruit resulting in a multitude of slash and/or stab wounds that have led to "serious nerve and tendon injuries requiring intricate surgery." In the most extreme cases the Times reported that patients never regained full use of the injured hand. (In itscoverage of avocado handling earlier this month the New York Times stated the wife of one of its employees racked up a $20000 hospital bill due to an avocado injury.) Doctors in the U.K. have apparently dubbed the injuries "avocado hand." RELATED: Avocado Prices Have Doubled in the Last Year and Show No Signs of Slowing Down It seems that avocado hand is so commonplace the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons wants to warn people about the safety risk with one doctor suggesting a safety label to be placed on avocados. From the Times: Simon Eccles secretary of the association and former president of the plastic surgery section of the Royal Society of Medicine said: "People do not anticipate that the avocados they buy can be very ripe and there is minimal understanding of how to handle them. 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?" The Times admitted there are no hard stats on the number of avocado injuries but Eccles claimed he sees about four patients a week with an avocado-related injury. A search of the hashtag #avocadoinjury yielded photographic proof of the phenomenon food site Munchiesreported (although admittedly this writer could only scroll so far under this Instagram hashtag before stopping). If you're curious as to what avocado hand statistics are available stateside the New York Times' article noted that the "United States [doesn't] track kitchen injuries by ingredient." Jezebel consulted with an orthopedic surgeon at NYU Langone's Hand Center who called it a "classic injury" that hasn't necessarily spiked in popularity but is instead a seasonal injury (i.e. waves of people come in around the same time of year such as Cinco de Mayo when everyone is attempting to make guacamole). Worried that you need to brush up on your avocado knife technique? Grub Street has five videos to coax you through the process your uninjured hands will thank you.
By Frankie Cordeira Jr.
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