9-year-old boy left with terrifying facial burns as shocking social media trend emerges

The Illinois mother of a boy who was inflicted with horrific facial injuries after following a viral TikTok has shared the shocking moment she knew something was wrong.

Whitney Grubb was getting the car ready to take her two children to work when she heard the microwave start, which she assumed to be her nine-year-old Caleb Chabolla heating up his breakfast.

But a split second later, Grubb heard a 'bloodcurdling scream' coming from the kitchen. It turned out that Caleb had been microwaving a popular sensory toy, the Needoh Nice Cube which was designed to prevent fidgeting and reduce anxiety.

After opening the door, the squishy gel-filled cube exploded sending scalding hot material at the nine-year-old's face and hands. The young boy siad he could not remember what happened, but that he had been following a TikTok trend that a friend had told him about.

Caleb was seriously burned after putting his Needoh Nice Cube in the microwave (Loyola Medicine)

The viral social media trend that resulted in Caleb's hospitalization involves heating up toys to make them more pliable, but with microwaves capable of heating plastic up to 200F in a matter of seconds, this can be incredibly dangerous.

Worryingly, Grubb's son does not use social media, but instead had heard it from a friend and then tried to replicate it.

His mom said: "It wasn’t anything malicious, it was just kids sharing stories, and unfortunately, he decided to try it."

When the Illinois mom rushed in to find out what was causing her son to scream, she tried to give him a shower to wash the burning substance off his skin.

The thick and rapidly cooling material, as well as Caleb's excruciating pain, caused her to race him to an emergency room to have it removed. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was then transferred to Loyola Medicine’s Burn Center.

Caleb's face and hands were coated in the substance when he opened the microwave (Loyola Medicine)

The nine-year-old was forced to stay overnight for treatment by burns specialists, as well as an opthalmologist after the searing hot substance landed near his eye, causing it to swell shut.

Caleb's terrible accident came to light after Loyola Medicine shared his story to highlight the risk posed by microwaving toys, which has already seen a number of other children sent to the specialist burns unit this year.

Paula Petersen, burn center advanced practice nurse, said: “Unfortunately, Caleb’s is the fourth case we have seen this year with Needoh cubes.

"Caleb is very lucky he didn’t sustain greater injuries. These trends can be extremely dangerous for young people who are less likely to consider or unable to understand the serious consequences.”

Thankfully, Caleb's eyesight was not damaged in the incident, and he has since returned to his fourth grade class, where his mother says he is a 'social butterfly'.

Caleb has since returned to his fourth grade class (Loyola Medicine)

But medical professionals are warning that viral TikTok trends are driving a surge in injuries to children being admitted to hospitals.

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

“Whether it’s these toys that clearly have a label that say ‘don’t heat,’ but kids aren’t going to read labels. Or it’s ramen noodles coming out of the microwave that kids spill on themselves, or little kids pulling hot coffee off the counter.

"These are injuries we see every year at the burn center. Thirty percent of our patients are pediatric patients. I think it’s every day common things in the home that are burning these kids and we want to make sure that parents should be diligent about what’s in their house."