Medical professionals have issued an urgent warning after a viral internet trend of microwaving "squishy" toys left several children with severe burns requiring surgery in Scotland.
According to the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) in Glasgow, six children have been treated for injuries linked to the online craze over the past eight months.
The trend involves heating the soft, squeezable toys to make them more pliable, which builds internal pressure and causes them to explode.
Burns specialists noted that the gel inside these products remains extremely hot and adheres to human skin, prolonging the burning process and leading to deep, severe injuries.
Children Require Skin Grafts
Among those injured was eight-year-old Joseph Erskine from Clackmannanshire, who required a skin graft on his chest and hand following an incident in May.
His mother, Stephanie Ewing, explained that her son had seen the trend online and started the microwave for a remaining 40-second cycle left by a previous user.
"He had already wiped off the burning gel which had also taken off his skin.
He was saying that his squishy burnt him and we initially thought he meant a chemical burn.
Then he told us that he had put it in the microwave," said Ewing.
Doctors harvested skin from the child's thigh to repair his chest, and he must now avoid direct sunlight on the graft site for two years.
"We were shocked as it had never crossed our minds that he would do that with a toy.
He has never used the microwave before," said Ewing.
The incident has forced the active youth to pause all of his usual weekly sports clubs while recovering.
Another parent, Gina Rowe, reported that her 11-year-old daughter, Scarlet Rowe, suffered severe swelling and burns to her face and eyelid in May just hours after purchasing the toy.
Medical staff monitored the young girl closely due to the dangerous proximity of the injuries to her eye.
"We didn't realise what had happened at first, it just looked like slime on her face.
It was only after a few minutes we realised it had been heated and was burning her skin," said Gina Rowe.
Fortunately, Scarlet did not require a skin graft operation during her hospital stay.
"Thankfully, no graft was required but it is so close to her eye that this could have been a lot worse," said Rowe.
Growing Number of Preventable Injuries
Sharon Ramsay, a burns nurse at the RHC, confirmed that the hospital is encountering an increasing number of these preventable injuries.
"When these toys are heated, the contents can explode and stick to the skin, causing deep burns," said Ramsay.
Ramsay warned that the boiling contents inside the toys cause severe, permanent physical damage upon impact.
"These injuries can be very serious and may require long-term treatment, including surgery and rehabilitation," said Ramsay.
In some cases, children are left with permanent scarring. Medical teams remain focused on minimizing long-term scarring through specialized physical therapy.
In a separate enforcement action, UK officials targeted retail stores selling non-compliant versions of the squeezable items.
Gloucestershire Trading Standards independently seized 1,968 unsafe squishy toys over the last three months due to chemical odors, lack of safety labels, and suspected counterfeit origins.
Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards at Gloucestershire County Council, urged shoppers to be cautious and to check toys carefully before buying.
"Parents and carers have every right to expect that the toys they buy are safe.
These products can look harmless, but if they haven't been made to the right standards they can pose a real risk to children," said Hodgkinson.
Health officials emphasized that healing from these injuries involves extensive long-term rehabilitation. Parents are strongly urged to speak to their children about the risks.
