Around the world, brightly-colored squishy toys marketed as harmless \u201csensory\u201d gadgets designed to be squeezed, stretched and smushed have surged in popularity.<\/p>\n
But behind the viral appeal of NeeDoh toys<\/a>, doctors say a dangerous pattern is emerging \u2014 one that is sending children and teens to the hospital with severe burns amid \u201cblood-curdling screams\u201d of pain, requiring everything from skin grafts to medically-induced comas for treatment.<\/p>\n And all it takes for disaster to occur is for the toys to be heated, frozen or microwaved, whether as part of a viral social media challenge or totally by accident.<\/p>\n The NeeDoh Nice Cube has been linked to recent burn hospitalizations after being heated or microwaved in social media challenge videos. Schylling<\/p>\n NeeDoh toys are typically filled with a gooey material that can transform into a thick, glue-like substance when exposed to heat. A popular model, the Nice Cube<\/a>, contains a natural sugar-based filling that expands rapidly when heated, increasing internal pressure and, in some cases, causing the toy to burst.<\/p>\n Despite clear manufacturer warnings that read \u201cDo NOT heat, freeze, or microwave, may cause personal injury,\u201d doctors say children are being exposed to increasingly dangerous online trends encouraging exactly that.<\/p>\n The issue is not just the toy, but the social media environment pushing children to experiment with it, according to Dr. Alicia Webb, MD<\/a>, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children\u2019s of Alabama.<\/p>\n \u201cParents need to be aware of this trend and all dangerous social media challenges because they can pose a serious risk to children, and the children participating are not yet mature enough to recognize the danger for themselves,\u201d she told the Post.<\/p>\n Burns are already one of the most common injuries in children, but these NeeDoh cases are proving especially severe because of the way the heated material behaves.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hot NeeDoh toys can easily explode, causing burns to the face, eyes, mouth, body, and can even cause internal damage if the hot substance is swallowed,\u201d explained Webb. <\/p>\n Dr. Michael Cooper<\/a>, director of Burn at Northwell\u2019s Staten Island University Hospital, added that children are especially vulnerable because their skin is thinner and more delicate than adult skin, allowing heat to penetrate more deeply in a shorter amount of time.<\/p>\n \u201cEven a brief contact with a hot substance can cause significant tissue damage,\u201d Cooper said<\/p>\n These warnings are not theoretical.<\/p>\n Scarlett Selby was placed in a medically induced coma after a NeeDoh toy exploded and caused severe burns. Kennedy News & Media<\/p>\n In Missouri, 7-year-old Scarlett Selby was placed in a medically-induced coma<\/a> after a NeeDoh toy exploded in a microwave and coated her in molten, sticky substance. The goo clung so tightly to her skin and clothing that her father struggled to remove it without causing further injury.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all happened so quickly,\u201d her father told Kennedy News while recounting the harrowing nightmare. \u201cI heard her scream, and it was like a blood-curdling scream.\u201d<\/p>\n She later required a skin graft after doctors treated burns near her mouth and airway. <\/p>\n Similar cases, Webb said, mirror what she is seeing in her own emergency department: \u201cI personally have taken care of several children and teenagers who have been burned while participating in the current NeeDoh microwave trend.\u201d<\/p>\n In the UK, Bella, 10, suffered severe facial burns<\/a> after a friend attempted a TikTok-inspired freezing and microwaving challenge involving a NeeDoh-style toy, leaving blistering and missing skin. <\/p>\n \u201cShe has been referred to the burns unit and told she won\u2019t be able to have her face in the sun for at least 2 summers,\u201d revealed her mother in a Facebook post. \u201cThey aren\u2019t sure if it will scar.\u201d<\/p>\n Bella suffered facial burns after a TikTok-inspired challenge caused molten toy material to splatter across her face. Facebook \/ The Hartcliffe Dingles<\/p>\n In Chicago, 9-year-old Caleb Chabolla was left with second-degree burns<\/a> after a microwaved Cube burst across his face, with doctors reportedly needing to remove damaged tissue caused by the hot, molten material. \u201cThe right side of his face was kind of melting off, basically,\u201d his mother told ABC 7.<\/p>\n In another case in New Mexico, a 13-year-old girl suffered third-degree burns<\/a> after a toy left inside a hot car for hours exploded when squeezed, releasing scalding gel onto her arms and legs.<\/p>\n