Suburban boy severely burned after following TikTok trend; hospital spreads awareness

CHICAGO (WLS) — A suburban hospital says at least four people have been treated this year for injuries related to the TikTok trend.

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Whitney Grubb said she heard her 9-year-old son, Caleb, turn the microwave on while getting ready for school.

She assumed Caleb was warming up breakfast, but then she heard a “blood-curdling scream.”

Caleb had microwaved a Needoh cube, a popular sensory toy; the cube filled with gelatinous material exploded on his face and hands.

“The right side of his face was kind of melting off, basically,” his mother said.

Grubb said her son followed a TikTok video, where people microwave the toy to make it more pliable.

“He told me that a friend at school told him about putting it in the microwave,” Grubb said. “It wasn’t anything malicious, it was just kids sharing stories, and unfortunately, he decided to try it.”

The boy said he doesn’t remember much after the toy exploded. But he does remember where he got the idea to put it in the microwave.

“I didn’t know it was a trend on TikTok before, because my friend did it before, but she didn’t get hurt,” Caleb said.

Caleb was treated at Loyola Medicine’s Burn Center. Although the burns were very close to his eye, Loyola Medicine said his vision will be OK.

“Sometimes you take for granted what your knowledge is. That’s commons sense to us, but not common sense to them,” his mother said.

“Unfortunately, Caleb’s is the fourth case we have seen this year with Needoh cubes,” said burn center Advanced Practice Nurse Paula Petersen. “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.”

Loyola said it was sharing Caleb’s story amid National Burn Awareness Week.

Caleb said he’s ready to get back to school and tell his friends not to do what he did nor anything they see on social media.