Nassau County's fire marshal is warning residents after two girls on Long Island were burned when a NeeDoh squishy toy was microwaved and burst.
What happened?
According to CBS News New York, the incident happened in Floral Park and involved girls ages 4 and 8. Officials said the burns were connected to a social media challenge centered on microwaving NeeDoh, a popular gel-filled fidget toy.
"A toy that was heated up in a microwave that burst, burning two girls ages 4 and 8," Nassau County fire marshal Michael Uttaro said, per the publication. "We determined it was associated to a TikTok media challenge."
Families in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and New Mexico have shared similar accounts of children with serious burns tied to the same trend. In the Long Island case, the toy's gel ruptured and exploded, and doctors treated the girls at a hospital.
Schylling, the Massachusetts-based toy company that manufactures the product, said it is coordinating with platforms to take down content showing this kind of misuse.
The company also said NeeDoh packaging already warns consumers not to warm, freeze, or microwave the toys.
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Why does it matter?
Dr. Adam Berman of Long Island Jewish Medical Center told CBS News, "Burns, especially with growing children, they can be devastating, can cause permanent visual issues, the airway, trouble swallowing, breathing."
Doctors warned that tissue can be seriously damaged even after only brief contact with the hot material once it bursts.
This kind of injury fits a pattern that's become familiar with viral trends: a challenge spreads faster than the safety warnings meant to stop it, and kids get hurt testing something before adults realize there's a risk.
Manufacturers, platforms, and regulators are increasingly playing catch-up with viral trends, which means parents are often the last line of defense between a video and an emergency room visit.
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A similar chemical-safety warning has already led officials overseas to pull look-alike squishy toys from shelves, showing this isn't the first time the popular toy category has drawn safety scrutiny.
What's being done?
"Ensuring the safety of our consumers is fundamental for Schylling," the company said. "We are disappointed to see there has been a trend on social media demonstrating misuse of our NeeDoh products."
Schylling added that "misusing a NeeDoh product by microwaving, heating, or freezing is dangerous and could cause injury to the consumer."
If a toy has already been microwaved or otherwise altered, it should be kept away from children and not treated as a normal play item. If a burn does occur, prompt medical care is important.
"Something that should seem harmless, but, really, these toys are not intended to be used in this way," Berman said.
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