A schoolgirl was left in a coma and inflicted with horrific third-degree burns after a popular squishy toy she microwaved exploded in her face.
Scarlett Selby from Festus, Missouri, put a NeeDoh cube into the freezer and then microwaved it for a few seconds to make it more malleable after allegedly seeing a video of people trying to do the same on TikTok.
But harmless playtime soon turned to a living nightmare when she took the toy out and it exploded – showering the seven-year-old’s face and chest with red-hot goo.
Horrified dad Josh Selby, 44, raced over to her when he heard a ‘blood-curdling scream’ and desperately tried to claw the sticky substance off her skin and clothes.
The machine operator rushed Scarlett to hospital where doctors placed her in an induced coma over fears the burns on her mouth would cause her airways to swell up and close.
Five months on from the ordeal on October 1, Scarlett faces an anxious wait to see if she’ll need skin grafts on the second and third-degree burns she sustained.
Doctors are warning other parents to take note of the incident, to prevent similar scenarios from happening.
Dr William Schaffner, who based out of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, told DailyMail.com: ‘Toys are not made to be microwaved, so children and adults are strongly advised not to do so. Tragic events such as exploding toys that cause serious burns can result. Beware – take care!’
Scarlett Selby, aged seven, was left in a coma and inflicted with horrific third-degree burns after a popular squishy toy she microwaved exploded in her face
Toy company Schylling Toys, which manufactures NeeDoh toys, have a warning on their website that reads ‘Do NOT heat, freeze, or microwave, may cause personal injury’
And similarly Dr Matthew Harris, co-chair of pediatric emergency medicine at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, warns: ‘Toys often contain plastic or metal that can expand or ignite during heating in the microwave.
‘This could set fire to the microwave and cause an explosion that can lead to devastating burns and blunt trauma.
‘It’s critical for parents to educate their children not just about the danger of putting any object in the microwave, but even some plates and plasticware can ignite and cause a fire or explosion.’
Scarlett’s mom Amanda Blakenship said her daughter had seen clips of people microwaving the toy online and wanted to try it out for herself.
She is also urging anyone with these toys to throw them out to prevent the same thing happening to anyone else.
Toy company Schylling Toys, which manufactures NeeDoh toys, have a warning on their website that reads ‘Do NOT heat, freeze, or microwave, may cause personal injury’.
TikTok said they don’t allow content that shows or promotes dangerous behaviour, while YouTube said the safety of users is an ‘utmost priority’.
Recalling the chain of events, Mr Selby said: ‘She’d frozen the NeeDoh cube the night before and the next day she showed me it was rock solid and was playing with it.
‘She stuck it in the microwave. I was watching her and saw her touch it to check it wasn’t too hot when she pulled it out.
‘It all happened so quickly. I heard her scream and it was like a blood-curdling scream. It had exploded all over her chest, mouth and chin.
‘My first thought was to try and wipe it off her. Whenever I touched her, my hand stuck to her. It was really thick and sticky.
‘I ripped her shirt off of her because it was stuck to her shirt as well. I took her as quickly as I could to the hospital.
‘I was a complete mess. She spent a week in the hospital and for three days of that she was in the coma. I don’t think I could speak to anybody without crying the entire time.’
Scarlett’s mom Amanda Blakenship (pictured) said her daughter had seen clips of people microwaving NeeDoh cubes on other people’s TikTok and YouTube accounts and wanted to try it out for herself
Hairdresser Ms Blakenship said her daughter was ‘still screaming in pain’ after the 30-minute drive to St Louis Children’s Hospital, in St Louis, Missouri, and when they arrived, she was placed into an induced coma.
The 35-year-old said: ‘She was in so much pain. She was still screaming when we got to the hospital and it’s a good 30-minute drive from where we live. It was terrible how scared she was and how much that hurt her.
But harmless playtime soon turned to a living nightmare when the toy exploded – showering the seven-year-old’s face and chest with red-hot goo
‘I was panicked, devastated, terrified and heartbroken. It was [something] she followed that she’d seen on TikTok and YouTube.’
Scarlett was placed on a feeding tube for the duration of her week-long stay in hospital due to her lips being so badly burned.
Doctors decided against performing a skin graft on her, but her mom believes she may need one in the future as she’s been left with such ‘profound’ scars.
Ms Blakenship explained: ‘She ended up not getting the skin graft.
‘After consulting with the doctors we’re going to give her a couple of years, maybe until she’s around 12, to see how her body grows and depending on if the scar stretches out and grows with her.
‘The scarring is just so bad. We’re still putting creams and silicon ointments on it daily – they’re such profound scars that stick up off of her skin.
‘She does get upset about it sometimes. I’ll catch her looking in the mirror after the bath and she’ll just cry.
‘She gets very self conscious and I’ll see her trying to cover her scar up with her shirt when we’re out in public sometimes, or she’ll come home from school and say another kid asked her about it.
‘I tell her she doesn’t need to be embarrassed about it. She went through a lot and it was a terrible, terrible accident.
‘She came out of it and she’s so strong. She’s still beautiful and those scars make her who she is.’
Doctors decided against performing a skin graft on her, but her mom believes she may need one in the future as she’s been left with such ‘profound’ scars
Scarlett’s family say that they are still putting creams and silicon ointments on her burns daily to help them heal
Scarlett’s dad is now urging anyone who has the toy to throw them out to avoid the same thing happening to them.
He said: ‘I would have never thought of something exploding outside of the microwave like that.
‘For that to happen to my daughter was the hardest thing that I’ve gone through. I’ve told absolutely everyone to throw them out if they have them.
‘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.
‘It should not be sold like it is and it definitely should not be marketed the way it is. If something can explode like that, it definitely shouldn’t be frozen.’
In response to the incident, Schylling Toys told this website: ‘Ensuring the safety of our consumers is fundamental for Schylling.
‘We were disappointed to see there had been a trend on social media demonstrating product misuse of our NeeDoh brand.
‘Misusing a NeeDoh product by microwaving, heating, or freezing is dangerous and may cause injury. Schylling has partnered with social media companies, such as TikTok, to remove influential content containing NeeDoh product misuse.
‘Additionally, Schylling has added a product warning to NeeDoh packaging and our website to help combat product misuse.
‘Schylling has made the Consumer Product Safety Commission aware and will continue to cooperate with them.’
TikTok said they don’t allow content that shows or promotes dangerous behavior.
They also said they have created technology that alerts their safety teams to sudden increases in violative content linked to hashtags to help detect potentially harmful trends.
YouTube said it is a 13+ platform and accounts found belonging to people under 13 without parental supervision can either set up a supervised account or will be terminated.
They said they have strict rules prohibiting content that features minors engaging in dangerous activities, including content related to challenges that pose an imminent risk of physical injury.
They said the safety of users is an ‘utmost priority’ and they ‘vigorously remove this type of content’.
