Learn how to pit this perfect fruit the right way.
By Korin Miller, SELF
Avocado sales have surged over the past few years, with Nielsen reporting an 11 percent growth in sales of the fruit in 2016 over the year before. The reasoning is clear: Avocado is delicious. But with all of those purchases comes a bizarre new injury: avocado hand.
Doctors tell SELF that they’ve seen an uptick in people who accidentally stabbed their hand or fingers while trying to cut an avocado and remove the pit. And, while it sounds kind of funny, it can be serious—and may even require surgery.
[post_ads]“On average, I see four or five patients a month who have experienced an injury from removing the pit of an avocado,” Vishal D. Thanik, M.D., assistant professor at NYU Langone’s Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery specializing in hand surgery, tells SELF. “It seems like these food-related injuries go hand-in-hand with trending foods, with avocado injuries becoming increasingly common. Ten years ago, these injuries were rarities.”
Russ Kino, M.D., medical director of the Weingart Foundation Emergency Department at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, tells SELF that he sees this kind of injury all the time. “It’s simply a matter of the knife slipping,” he says. Dustin Calhoun, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at UC Health in Cincinnati, agrees, telling SELF that he sees patients with these cuts to their hands “extremely frequently.”
Marc Leavey, M.D., an internist at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, tells SELF that it’s similar to “bagel hand” a few years ago. “In all cases, you’re not gently slicing,” he says. “If the knife either slips or cuts through quicker than you think, you will really forcibly cut your hand—and it can be a serious cut.”
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Avocado hand injuries can be dangerous because people often cut their palm and fingers, or the sides of their fingers. “Lacerations in these areas can easily cause injury to the tendons and nerves of the hand,” Thanik explains. And that can be debilitating. “Our hands are among the most complicated musculoskeletal structures on our body—they are a complex machine of interconnected muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, nerves, blood vessels, skin, and fat, all tightly packed together,” Calhoun says. “Un-repaired damage to some of these deeper structures can lead to long-term disability.”
Technique is important for avoiding avocado hand. To start, Gina Keatley, a chef and C.D.N. practicing in New York City, tells SELF that it’s important to have a cutting board and sharp knife (more accidents happen with a dull knife, which can slip easily, she says). Then, place the avocado on a clean and stable cutting board, and slice through the skin to the pit all the way around the fruit. Twist the two halves of the sliced avocado away from each other and pull gently to separate them.
[post_ads]“Picking out the pit is where most people run in to trouble,” Keatley says, noting that there are three ways to do this safely. You can use your fingertips, scoop it out with a spoon, or carefully chop the heel of the knife (i.e., the rear, bottom part of the blade) into the pit then twist and pull the pit free from the flesh. If you go the latter route, Keatley recommends using the edge of the cutting board or the lip of a container to pry the pit free of the knife. “Do not use the knife like a spoon,” she warns. “This may not end well for your hands, as it is very easy to go through the avocado and into your hand.”
If you do end up injuring your hand while cutting an avocado (or anything else), Leavey recommends rinsing the area to make sure there’s no debris in the wound and then holding pressure over the area for three to five minutes. If it’s still aggressively bleeding after that, it’s a good idea to go to urgent care or the ER. Persistent bleeding is a sign that you probably need stitches, Thanik says, and any numbness in your fingers or an inability to flex them are signs that you may have a deeper injury that won’t go away on its own.
Avocado hand treatment can vary depending on how severe the injury is. “Treatment can be simpler, like just suturing the skin, or more complicated,” Thanik says. If you cut or injured the nerves or tendons in your finger, you’re probably going to need hand surgery and possibly even physical therapy afterward.
[post_ads_2]
Of course, plenty of people cut avocados daily without any problems. But, even if you have a good track record of avocado-cutting with an unconventional method, Kino says it’s important to be smart about how you slice into the fruit. “Trying to avoid injury by putting the avocado down on and cutting away from your hand—never towards it—is a lot more sensible and safe,” he says.
Avocado sales have surged over the past few years, with Nielsen reporting an 11 percent growth in sales of the fruit in 2016 over the year before. The reasoning is clear: Avocado is delicious. But with all of those purchases comes a bizarre new injury: avocado hand.
Doctors tell SELF that they’ve seen an uptick in people who accidentally stabbed their hand or fingers while trying to cut an avocado and remove the pit. And, while it sounds kind of funny, it can be serious—and may even require surgery.
[post_ads]“On average, I see four or five patients a month who have experienced an injury from removing the pit of an avocado,” Vishal D. Thanik, M.D., assistant professor at NYU Langone’s Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery specializing in hand surgery, tells SELF. “It seems like these food-related injuries go hand-in-hand with trending foods, with avocado injuries becoming increasingly common. Ten years ago, these injuries were rarities.”
Russ Kino, M.D., medical director of the Weingart Foundation Emergency Department at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, tells SELF that he sees this kind of injury all the time. “It’s simply a matter of the knife slipping,” he says. Dustin Calhoun, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at UC Health in Cincinnati, agrees, telling SELF that he sees patients with these cuts to their hands “extremely frequently.”
Marc Leavey, M.D., an internist at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, tells SELF that it’s similar to “bagel hand” a few years ago. “In all cases, you’re not gently slicing,” he says. “If the knife either slips or cuts through quicker than you think, you will really forcibly cut your hand—and it can be a serious cut.”
[post_ads_2]
Avocado hand injuries can be dangerous because people often cut their palm and fingers, or the sides of their fingers. “Lacerations in these areas can easily cause injury to the tendons and nerves of the hand,” Thanik explains. And that can be debilitating. “Our hands are among the most complicated musculoskeletal structures on our body—they are a complex machine of interconnected muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, nerves, blood vessels, skin, and fat, all tightly packed together,” Calhoun says. “Un-repaired damage to some of these deeper structures can lead to long-term disability.”
Technique is important for avoiding avocado hand. To start, Gina Keatley, a chef and C.D.N. practicing in New York City, tells SELF that it’s important to have a cutting board and sharp knife (more accidents happen with a dull knife, which can slip easily, she says). Then, place the avocado on a clean and stable cutting board, and slice through the skin to the pit all the way around the fruit. Twist the two halves of the sliced avocado away from each other and pull gently to separate them.
[post_ads]“Picking out the pit is where most people run in to trouble,” Keatley says, noting that there are three ways to do this safely. You can use your fingertips, scoop it out with a spoon, or carefully chop the heel of the knife (i.e., the rear, bottom part of the blade) into the pit then twist and pull the pit free from the flesh. If you go the latter route, Keatley recommends using the edge of the cutting board or the lip of a container to pry the pit free of the knife. “Do not use the knife like a spoon,” she warns. “This may not end well for your hands, as it is very easy to go through the avocado and into your hand.”
If you do end up injuring your hand while cutting an avocado (or anything else), Leavey recommends rinsing the area to make sure there’s no debris in the wound and then holding pressure over the area for three to five minutes. If it’s still aggressively bleeding after that, it’s a good idea to go to urgent care or the ER. Persistent bleeding is a sign that you probably need stitches, Thanik says, and any numbness in your fingers or an inability to flex them are signs that you may have a deeper injury that won’t go away on its own.
Avocado hand treatment can vary depending on how severe the injury is. “Treatment can be simpler, like just suturing the skin, or more complicated,” Thanik says. If you cut or injured the nerves or tendons in your finger, you’re probably going to need hand surgery and possibly even physical therapy afterward.
[post_ads_2]
Of course, plenty of people cut avocados daily without any problems. But, even if you have a good track record of avocado-cutting with an unconventional method, Kino says it’s important to be smart about how you slice into the fruit. “Trying to avoid injury by putting the avocado down on and cutting away from your hand—never towards it—is a lot more sensible and safe,” he says.
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