The 11-year-old girl was rushed to hospital with facial injuries, and may need skin grafts
Scarlet Rowe was left badly injured after trying a trend she saw on social media (Kennedy News and Media)
A mum has warned against a dangerous social media trend that nearly blinded her daughter after a squishy cube bought from Tesco exploded onto her face. Gina Rowe was in the living room with her family eating a takeaway when they heard screaming from the kitchen.
The 35-year-old rushed into the kitchen to find her 11-year-old daughter Scarlet Rowe with ‘glittery slime’ across her face. The mum-of-six had recently bought a three-pack of squishy cubes while shopping in Tesco and presumed one of the toys had burst onto Scarlet’s eye.
Gina was then told her daughter had heated the squishy cube in the microwave to make it more malleable, but the item had exploded and showered Scarlet with molten goo. Gina later learned that Scarlet was following a viral trend she’d seen on social media in which squishy toys, often soft, gel‑filled stress and fidget products, were microwaved to make them more pliable but more susceptible to bursting and causing injury.
Scarlet was taken to A&E where doctors cleaned the burns around her left eye, but warned that she may need a skin graft in future. Gina, who works as a retail merchandiser, is now warning other parents about the dangers of this online trend after her daughter was nearly blinded when attempting the challenge.
In light of the incident, toy manufacturer One for All, said they’ll be changing the packaging and adding a ‘Do Not Heat’ warning to the product and all similar items as an ‘additional precaution’ in future. Gina, from Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, said: “The kids were in the kitchen eating and me and my husband were in the living room eating with the two older kids.
“We were none-the-wiser that anything was going to happen. We heard a bit of screaming and commotion and thought the kids were just fighting.
“We got up to see what was going on and Scarlet was by the kitchen sink with the cold tap running saying ‘it’s in my eye’. She turned her face and I saw the glittery slime stuff. I thought the squishy [we had bought from Tesco] had popped.”
“I just gave them a cube and never thought anything of it. I just thought it was a normal squishy cube that will burst at one point and get thrown in the bin. I wiped it from her eye. We weren’t aware that it had been put in the microwave, she was screaming ‘it’s burning’.
“Then one of the kids told us she’d put it in the microwave. She said she’d only put it in there for 10 seconds and squeezed it then it exploded straight up onto her left eye.”
Unbeknown to Gina, Scarlet had seen videos online of people heating their own squishy toys in the microwave to make them more pliable and wanted to give it a go. Scarlet was taken to University Hospital Cross House in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire to treat her burns, and was then referred to another hospital to consider a skin graft in the future.
Gina said: “They’re waiting for the swelling to go down to see whether she’ll need to go down the route of a skin graft, but hopefully we won’t have to. We don’t know if she’ll be scarred, we just have to wait to see how it heals. “It’s blistered and [the skin] is open.
“We talked to Scarlet since and she said she’d seen this online, she’s just not been aware of the dangers of it. Usually I’m quite on the ball with different trends but I had no idea this was even a thing, it’s definitely dangerous. She could’ve lost her sight and potentially been blind, squishies are now banned in the house.
“Don’t be naive in thinking your kid won’t do it, I didn’t think my kids would follow online trends. It happens in the blink of an eye.” Tesco said they were sorry to hear about the incident. The retail giant also said items like this should never be put in the microwave and they advise parents to read safety information included with all products for children.
One for Fun said in light of the incident they will be adding a ‘Do Not Heat’ warning to this product and all similar items as an additional precaution. A spokesperson for One for Fun said: “We are aware of an incident in which a child was injured after placing one of our squishy cube toys in a microwave as part of an online trend.
“The product is not designed or intended to be heated, microwaved, or altered in any way, and existing safety guidance advises against misuse. Our thoughts are with the child and their family, and we wish them a full recovery. We strongly urge parents and carers to supervise children’s use of toys and to discourage participation in potentially dangerous social media challenges or trends.”