Gruesome injuries while cutting avocados have been reported across the country.
There is a real danger to people who don’t know how to cut an avocado properly, and injuries related to the popular fruit are on the rise.
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In an "epidemic" known as "avocado hand," emergency room doctors are now seeing more injuries related to cutting avocados, and some of which are quite serious.
"What is happening is that people are cutting this fruit which has a hard shell and soft fruit and a hard pit and they misjudge and their knife skims off and then they cut their hand," Daniel B. Polatsch, MD, Co-Director of the New York Hand and Wrist Center at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Photos of people injured while cutting avocados have been popping up all over social media. Actress Meryl Streep sliced her hand so badly she had to have reconstructive surgery.
The apparent rise in injuries has led some to call for warning labels on avocados.
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There are ways to cut an avocado safely, as shown to Inside Edition by the folks at Avacaderia, a restaurant in Brooklyn.
First, place it on a surface, like the kitchen counter, and not in your hand. Slice it gently long ways until you feel the pit, spin the avocado around the blade of the knife, then give it a twist so it comes off in two halves.
After the avocado is sliced in half, take the knife and give the pit a quick knock and twist the knife gently, the pit will then be removed. Then use a spoon to scoop out the fruit.
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