An increasing number of people in the U.K. are accidentally cutting their hands when trying to remove the stone from avocados, leading to British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons to call for safety labels on the popular fruit. 

The injuries, known as 'avocado hand', are much worse than just small cuts, local media The Independent reported.

Many people have caused themselves serious nerve and tendon injuries which require surgery and can leave you without full use of your hand, it said.

“People do not anticipate that the avocados they buy can be very ripe and there is minimal understanding of how to handle them,” Simon Eccles, former president of plastic surgery of Royal Society of Medicine, was quoted as saying.

“We don’t want to put people off the fruit but I think warning labels are an effective way of dealing with this. It needs to be recognisable. Perhaps we could have a cartoon picture of an avocado with a knife, and a big red cross going through it?”

There are no figures for how widespread the problem is, but given the fruit’s global appeal, it’s thought that the injury has affected people around the world.

Back in 2012, Meryl Streep was pictured with a bandaged hand after an injury involving an avocado, and figures suggest that over 100 people a year give themselves avocado hand in New Zealand.

The problem may not be at endemic levels, but at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, Eccles says he treats about four patients a week with avocado hand. 

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