Avocados have become incredibly popular over the past decade or so. In fact, they have become the defacto fruit of an entire generation (Millennials love their avocado toast!).

For the most part, this is a very good thing because avocados are not just delicious, but also very nutritious. They have lots of great vitamins and minerals, healthy fats, and much more.

A 2020 study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, however, points out one very serious problem with people eating them.

The problem is so serious that it has gotten its own name in the medical community: Avocado Hand.

So, what is the risk?

Knife wounds to the non-dominant hand.

These wounds come about because when people slice open an avocado, they are left holding half of it with the iconic pit in the middle. In order to get the pit out, many people will use one of two methods:

• The Chop – Take a knife in your dominant hand, hold the avocado in your non-dominant hand, and chop it down onto the seed. When done well, the knife will cut into the seed so that it can be easily lifted out.
• The Stab – Take the knife in your dominant hand, hold the avocado in your non-dominant hand, and stab the seed with the pointy end of the knife. When done well, the knife will stick into the seed so that it can be easily lifted out.

The problem with both of these methods, however, is that things often don’t go well.

Avocado seeds are large, very round, and very slippery. This means that if you don’t hit the seed in the exact right spot, the knife can easily slip off the seed and continue going down through the soft flesh of the avocado and into the soft flesh of your hand.

It may sound funny, but it happens. A lot.

According to the study, over 50,000 people had avocado-related trips to the emergency room between 1998 and 2017. The numbers climbed as more and more people began enjoying avocados.

Interestingly, nearly 80% of the injuries involved women, most commonly younger women between the ages of 23 and 39.

This is such a serious issue that the California Avocado Commission has created and published a helpful video that shows people how to safely open the fruit and remove the seed. You can see it here:

Who knew avocados were so dangerous?

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