Emergency admission data: "Avocado hand" cases rising - More women affected

At a clinic in northern Germany, the number of cases of so-called "avocado hand" is increasing. This refers to specific cuts to the hand caused by improper preparation of avocados, according to a spokesperson for the University Clinic of Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) with locations in Kiel and Lübeck. The, albeit small, evaluation of over 80 cases from emergency admission data from early 2020 to mid-2026 shows a significant increase in these cuts: in 2020 there were 8 cases, in 2024 there were 18 and last year there were 21 cases.

Furthermore, women were disproportionately often affected. Thus, 81.9 percent of women injured themselves while cutting an avocado. It also showed that more than half of those injured were between 20 and 29 years old (44 cases).

The medically known as "avocado hand" injury requires, according to the information, in many cases surgical, sometimes microsurgical care. An increase in such cuts had also been found by a US team a few years ago, which analyzed 50,413 cases from 1998 to 2017. It registered over 3,000 cases from 1998 to 2002 and over 27,059 cases from 2013 to 2017. This increase correlates closely with the growing avocado consumption in the USA, writes the team in "The American Journal of Emergency Medicine".

Injury and consequences

The "avocado hand" occurs according to UKSH because the anatomy of the palm of the hand and the texture of the fruit play unfavorably together. Typically, one holds the avocado half in the hollow, non-dominant hand and cuts the pulp with the dominant hand or levers the hard, smooth core out with the tip of the knife. If the blade then slips off the core or glides unexpectedly easily through the soft shell, the knife hits the palm of the hand or the finger bends with force.

Important structures such as flexor tendons, finger nerves and arteries run close to the skin there. Injuries often lead to severe bleeding and sometimes even to a loss of finger function. Even after a successful operation, the hand remains usually immobilized for weeks and needs intensive physiotherapy.

How to protect oneself

In order to minimize the risk of permanent functional restrictions of the hand, the clinic advises the following: when halving the avocado, it should not be held in the hand, but placed flat on a stable cutting board. Also, the core should not be levered out of the fruit with the knife blade, but a spoon should be used. If the pulp is to be diced, the avocado must remain on the cutting board, it was said.