{"id":10728,"date":"2020-09-05T10:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-09-05T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=10728"},"modified":"2021-06-08T15:05:52","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T20:05:52","slug":"avocado-hand-the-danger-posed-by-the-trendy-fruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/avocado-hand-the-danger-posed-by-the-trendy-fruit\/","title":{"rendered":"Avocado hand: The danger posed by the trendy fruit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For treatment of minor injuries<\/p>\n

Find urgent care near you<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Avocados aren\u2019t just a favorite for Millennials. The fruit has become increasingly popular in the U.S. in the 21st Century.<\/p>\n

Loaded with healthy fats and low in sugar, the fruit has earned a reputation as a healthy alternative to other snacks, but it also brings about a rather unique risk.<\/p>\n

Avocados send nearly 9,000 people to the emergency room each year \u2013 many of them for hand injuries that come from unsafe cutting techniques, a phenomenon known as \u201cavocado hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people go to cut their avocados for guacamole, they hold the avocado with one hand and then they use a paring knife, which is sharp, with the other hand. And as that paring knife hits the pit of the avocado, it slips. Then the tip of the knife plunges into the hand and can cause damage to nerves and to tendons,\u201d said Ramsey Ellis, MD<\/a>, a fellowship-trained hand surgeon at OSF HealthCare.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvocado hand\u201d injuries can be minor cuts, but significant injuries could damage nerves or tendons and may require surgery.<\/p>\n

Avoid avocado hand<\/h2>\n

As avocados ripen, the flesh becomes softer.<\/p>\n

Misjudging how hard or soft the inside of an avocado is can lead to injury.<\/p>\n

Whether you prefer your avocados firm for slicing or mushy for guacamole or avocado toast<\/a>, proper cutting technique is the key to avoiding injury.<\/p>\n

Instead of holding the avocado in the palm of your hand, place the fruit on a level cutting surface.<\/p>\n

You hand should never be under the sharp edge of the knife.<\/p>\n

You can also consider buying a specialized tool to make it easier to remove the hard pit from center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a variety of special tools on the market that are between three and five dollars that allow you to safely cut and then stab the pit of an avocado and remove it, and that can prevent a lot of injury,\u201d Dr. Ellis said.<\/p>\n

When accidents happen<\/h2>\n

If you do slice your hand, apply pressure to the wound immediately to stop the bleeding.<\/p>\n

The fastest and safest way to get the care you need is by going to your nearest urgent care<\/a> or emergency department<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If the injury is severe, call 911.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OSF HealthCare surgeon educates and advises how to avoid the unique risk that comes along with this healthy fruit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":10844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[429,2,677,215],"coauthors":[757],"class_list":["post-10728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous","tag-emergency","tag-health-tips","tag-safety","tag-urgent-care"],"yoast_head":"\nAvocado hand: The danger posed by the trendy fruit | OSF HealthCare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OSF HealthCare surgeon educates and advises how to avoid the unique risk that comes along with this healthy fruit.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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