Doctors sound alarm about squishy toys social media trend: "It was really scary, it felt like a dream"

A viral social media trend involving squishy toys is sending a growing number of children to hospital burn units.

Doctors are concerned about fidget toys, which are squishy and popular with kids.

But when they're warmed up to make them more pliable, they can explode and cause serious injuries.

Jameson McNally, 12, is back at Nemours Hospital Thursday with the doctors who treated her for this nasty burn on her face.

"It was really scary, it felt like a dream, like I didn't think it was real, but it was," she said. 

It happened after heating a squishy toy in the microwave for just a few seconds to make it softer and easier to play with.

"When I squished, it went on my face," McNally said.

"The plastic can't handle the heat, and the liquid aspect of this explodes," said Dr. Duane Duke, who is a Nemours pediatric surgeon.

Duke is sounding the alarm after treating a growing number of kids injured by exploding plastic.

"They've caused burns to the face, neck, chest, even larger parts of the body," Duke said. "And the burn is a chemical burn, because these things contain a chemical substance that has some sugars in it that heats up to quite a high temperature and can cause a burn very quickly."

Duke is worried because it's a social media trend — a TikTok challenge — that's encouraging people to heat up the fel filled fidget toys.

"I was like, 'Oh, good grief,'" Duke said. "There's so much information on the internet and children don't know. They don't have the ability to discern what's a good idea and what's a bad idea."

Jameson was treated with topical antibiotics and recovery creams, but she said she didn't see anything on social media. She found out about it from a friend.

Many of the toys have warning labels not to heat them, and some makers are partnering with social media platforms to remove videos promoting the dangerous trend.

Doctors said there's also a danger if the toys are left in hot cars, which can also cause them to explode and cause injuries.