Viral social media squishy toy trend leaves kids severely burned

A viral social media trend involving squishy toys is sending a growing number of children to hospital burn units, as parents, doctors and even the company behind the trend's viral toy sound the alarm.

The injuries stem from videos encouraging people to microwave squishy toys, often soft, gel‑filled stress and fidget products, to make them more pliable. Doctors say heating the toys causes the gel inside to rapidly expand, sometimes rupturing the outer layer and spraying scalding material onto skin.

One of the latest cases involved a child in Britain who suffered severe burns and potentially permanent scarring to her face after she and a friend microwaved a squishy toy that later exploded, her mother, Charlotte, told the BBC. The girls had seen videos of the trend circulating on social media.

“When placed in a microwave, the internal gel heats quickly, causing pressure to build until the toy explodes, often moments after being picked up or squeezed,” Steven Valassis, a board‑certified emergency medicine physician, told Parents.com.

Valassis added that the nature of the gel makes it particularly hazardous. "The hot, thick substance adheres tightly to the skin causing second-degree burns that can be deeper and more damaging than injuries caused by a hot liquid because the gel remains in contact with the skin longer,” he explained.

Charlotte said her 10-year-old daughter, Bella, “was in absolute tears” and it “looked like she'd been whacked in the face,” after a squishy toy exploded on her, adding, “I could see the scald mark and there was skin missing and blisters."

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'One of the scariest things ever'

Charlotte said she did not realize microwaving squishy toys was a widespread trend until other parents contacted her after she shared Bella’s experience on Facebook.

“I searched it and saw videos of kids and adults showing how ‘fun’ it is to put the toys in the microwave to make them more elastic,” she told the BBC.

Among those who responded was Gemma Wells, who shared photos of her own child with facial burns. “It was one of the scariest things ever,” Wells wrote. “It was traumatizing.”

Wells, Charlotte and their children are just a few of a growing number of families who've spent time in the burn ward due to exploding squishy toys.

Four cases in one month

In January, Caleb Chabolla, 9, was sent to a Chicago-area hospital after microwaving a squishy toy that subsequently exploded, spraying the gel-like material all over his face.

Speaking to ABC7, Caleb's mother, Whitney Grubb, said the scalding material stuck to his skin. "The right side of his face was kind of melting off, basically," Grubb said.

Caleb told the outlet that he wasn't aware of the trend on TikTok, but that his friend had microwaved her squishy and "didn't get hurt."

Loyola University Medical Center, where Caleb was treated, said his was the fourth case they had seen in the first month of 2026.

"We see the negative results of TikTok challenges all the time," said Loyola University Medical Center Burn Outreach Coordinator Kelly McElligott. "The people who are getting hurt don't necessarily post the TikToks. You're just seeing the fun ones where it looks cool."

One week in a burn unit

Over in Indiana, 12-year-old Kelsey Dybala suffered severe burns to her neck and face after microwaving her squishy in five-second intervals for one minute.

"All of a sudden, I heard, 'It burns! It burns! It burns!' and I was like, 'What did you do?'" Kelsey's mom Stacey told local media outlet, WTHR.

Kelsey said she watched numerous videos of other people microwaving their squishies on TikTok and YouTube. "I'd seen a bunch of things saying if you put it in the microwave it gets softer," Kelsey said. "I had started to actually see that people were doing it and people were encouraging it."

Kelsey ended up needing a skin graft and surgery for second-degree burns on her chin and third-degree burns on her neck. She spent one week in the burn unit of a local children's hospital.

Induced coma

One of the earliest and most medically challenging stories came out of Missouri, where 7-year-old Scarlett Selby was placed into an induced coma for three days in March 2025. According to Scarlett's father, Josh, his daughter first froze the toy overnight, and then microwaved it the following day.

Josh said he was aware that Scarlett microwaved the toy. Moments after she removed it, though, Selby heard his daughter scream and discovered that the toy had exploded, coating her body in a scalding gel.

When they arrived at the hospital, doctors opted to put Scarlett into an induced coma, afraid that her airways might swell shut due to the severity of the burns on her mouth. She was also placed on a feeding tube, and ultimately spent a week in the hospital.

“I’ve told absolutely everyone to throw them out if they have them,” Selby said of the NeeDoh brand Nice Cube that scarred his daughter. “The product that’s in it is like glue, so you essentially have hot glue exploding on you. Once it touches you, there’s no way to get it off.”

Why kids and adults alike are hunting for viral NeeDoh squish toys

Hidden dangers

Despite being around for a while, squishy toys have recently gone viral, due in large part to the popularity of one brand, NeeDoh.

Charlotte in the UK noted that her daughter's squishy was “unbranded.” Both Caleb in Chicago and Kelsey in Illinois, as well as Scarlett in Missouri, were reportedly burned by NeeDoh Nice Cubes.

The toys are generally marketed as “nontoxic,” but because of the virality, more and more companies are coming out of the woodwork and getting their toys on shelves, meaning it’s difficult to know exactly what’s going into them.

On top of that, Consumer Reports notes that toy companies are not required by U.S. law to disclose the ingredients or material makeup of their products.

At the end of the day though, it isn't necessarily a toxic or allergenic material that's sending kids to the hospital, but rather the molten temperature of the viscous substance inside.

For instance, Charlotte said that Bella's toy had a “silicone outer layer” hiding the scalding inner gel. “They couldn't feel how hot it was inside, so her friend squeezed it, which is when it burst on to both of them,” Charlotte said.

Viral trend 'disappointing', says NeeDoh maker

As the most recognizable name in the industry, USA TODAY asked NeeDoh’s parent company, Schylling Inc., about reports of people being injured by the products it helped popularize.

In a statement, Schylling said it was “disappointed” that people misusing the products had become a viral trend. It has since added a “safety warning” to all of its NeeDoh packaging and e-commerce listings, hoping to educate consumers.

“Misusing a NeeDoh product by microwaving, heating, or freezing is dangerous and could cause injury to the consumer,” Schylling said, adding it has “partnered with social media companies such as TikTok to remove influential content containing NeeDoh product misuse.”

TikTok echoed that sentiment, telling the BBC that any content depicting dangerous or harmful behavior violates the company’s guidelines and is removed from the platform.

This story has been updated with a new headline.

Drew Pittock can be reached at [email protected].