What Hand Surgeons Wish You Knew About Opening an Avocado
Some of the health advice you see on TikTok actually is worth taking.
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As a registered dietitian and former nutrition editor, I feel pretty confident saying that most of the health advice that goes viral on TikTok is questionable at best. Occasionally, though, someone (usually a trained expert) posts a tidbit that’s actually worth taking to heart.
Earlier this month, Erin Nance, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and the creator behind the popular TikTok account @littlemissdiagnosed, posted a PSA earlier this month calling out a certain avocado-cutting technique that I fear too many of us are guilty of using (myself included). “Do NOT stab the pit,” she said, since almost every hand surgeon in America was in Vancouver for a conference. The implication? That holding the avocado in your hand and stabbing the pit can lead to an injury severe enough to require surgery, and hand surgeons have seen these injuries way too many times.
To set the record straight, we asked hand surgeons what they wish you knew about opening an avocado, including which cutting techniques to avoid and how to safely cut the fruit.
At least anecdotally, it seems true that hand surgeons treat a lot of wounds from improper avocado cutting.
“As a hand surgeon, I have treated many puncture wounds to the palm from cutting avocados improperly – at least once or twice a month,” says Korsh Jafarnia, MD, a hand surgeon at Houston Methodist. “Relatively small puncture wounds from even a small kitchen knife can result in damage to a tendon and/or nerve, resulting in a finger that won’t flex and possibly becomes numb.”
Kristopher Downing, MD, a hand surgeon at DISC Surgery Center in San Diego, has also seen numerous hand injuries that happen when someone holds an avocado in their hand to cut it, then loses hold of the fruit and accidentally punctures their palm.
“This is a very common injury,” says Brett Lewellyn, MD, a hand and wrist surgeon at Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute. “We see it typically with three different types of foods: avocados, bagels, and mangos.” When cutting an avocado or mango (incorrectly) by holding it in your palm, the knife sometimes slips off the large pit and into your hand. And when slicing a bagel (also incorrectly) in your hand, it’s pretty easy to cut too far and slice into your palm, Lewellyn explains.
Although the injury might seem minor at first, cutting into your palm can have some nasty consequences.
“The risks of cutting an avocado while holding it in the hand include lacerations of the skin as well as deeper hand injuries such as lacerations of the flexor tendons, nerves and arteries,” Dr. Downing says.
“These injuries to the tendons and nerves often require surgery to minimize the loss of function and nerve damage,” Dr. Jafarnia says. “Recovery from these surgeries can require six weeks in a splint and extensive therapy.”
Although it’s unlikely that you’d cut into a bone with just a kitchen knife, a deep enough cut could introduce bacteria that infects the bone (called osteomyelitis) or joint (called septic arthritis), creating a problem that’s really hard to treat, Dr. Downing says.
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To avoid a potentially serious hand injury, cut your avocado on a cutting board, not in your hand.
Dr. Downing recommends halving the avocado by stabilizing it on the cutting board with your non-dominant hand (remember to tuck your fingers!) and then cutting it lengthwise, rotating the avocado so that you cut around the entire pit. Use a spoon to scoop out the pit, then scoop the flesh out, lay both halves flat side-down, and slice or dice the avocado directly on the board.
Dr. Jafarnia recommends a similar technique, halving the avocado the same way, scooping out the pit, then cutting it into quarters so that you can easily peel off the skin before slicing.
Either of these techniques is fine, as long as you use a clean, dry cutting board — because a wet cutting board increased the risk of slipping, Dr. Lewellyn says — and always cut away from your hand and fingers, never towards.
If you’ve always cut an avocado in your palm, cutting one on a board might take a little bit of getting used to. But if it means avoiding hand surgery, it’s certainly worth it.
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