The avocado has become to go-to brunch ingredients for millennials world wide. But what most don’t know, is that the avocado can pose a serious health hazard if the stone is not removed correctly, and now (finally) doctors are calling for a safety warning. ‘Avocado hand' is fast becoming an all-too familiar injury with A&E departments experiencing an increasing number of people with the injury.
According to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London, they treat about 4 patients a week with avocado hand injuries. That’s not all, the St Thomas’s hospital in London staff now expect a ‘post-brunch surge.’ Avocado hand happens when you go to remove the stone, but the avocado is softer than expected so you slice through to your hand. It’s making me feel squeamish just thinking about it.
The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons is even calling for safety labelson the fruit, with directions on how to cut them safely. People have been known to cause themselves nerve damage and tendon injuries which can require surgery. And on that note, let me tell you my story.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a moment I would rather forget (she says telling everyone and anyone reading The Debrief) when I cut my hand open trying to get the stone out of a little avo. It was a warm-ish day back in 2015, I had just moved into a lovely new flat in Nottingham with shiny floors. I was getting ready for my part-time job as a waitress, but needed to eat first. So, I reached for an extremely ripe avocado and some toast. As I cut the avocado, I realised it wasn’t ripe, but that didn’t stop me. The knife went in, I tried to remove the stone and oh shit the knife went all the way through my bloody hand. All.The.Way.Through.
Before I could cry, I pulled out the knife (sorry) and blood went all over my nice new shiny floor. I then panicked, and called my father. He would know what to do – he didn't because he was over a hundred miles away in Suffolk. I called a taxi instead to take me to the hospital. At this point I had probably lost a lot of blood, felt quite faint, but thought changing my blood-stained top was a good idea. It wasn’t. Can I just add I didn’t cry, not once. I think that’s pretty brave, just saying.
Off I went to the hospital in a taxi, where I felt seemingly calm but probably about to pass out. My boyfriend met me there in a panic, I had about 3 different hand X-rays and then was sent to another hospital to have a hand doctor look at it. Because the knife went all the way through and out the other side, they decided surgery was best. Off I popped home where I ate Nandos, but had to have it cut up for me like a baby because I couldn’t use my avocado hand. The next day I headed back to the hospital, was put to sleep, and now my two years later my hand has a lovely little scar that reminds me every time I eat avocado just how dangerous they are. Oh, and I also still have nerve damage down one side of my finger.
I am aware just how ridiculous this story is, and how #basic I am. But Meryl Streep cut her hand back in 2012 when promoting her movie Hope Springs in the EXACT SAME WAY. Me and Meryl, basically twins. And yes, I still eat avocados.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.