A seven-year-old girl was left in a coma after copying an online squishy toy trend which left her with life-changing injuries.
Scarlett Selby, seven, from Missouri, was placed into an induced coma after a toy exploded while she was playing with it.
The young girl was copying a TikTok trend that she had seen on the platform, when the tragic accident occurred.
The NeeDoh cube toy retails for $9, and is used in the same way as a stress ball.
Inside the squishy cube is a non-toxic and jelly-like compound created from PVA glue.
Recalling the heartbreaking experience, Scarlett’s dad, Josh Selby, 44, remembers hearing a ‘blood-curdling scream.’
“It all happened so quickly,” he said.
“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.”
Her mom, Amanda Blakenship, added: “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.
“I was panicked, devastated, terrified and heartbroken.
“It was [something] she followed that she’d seen on TikTok and YouTube.”
The American couple are now urging any parents of children who play with this toy, to throw them out.
Josh said: “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.
“It should not be sold like it is and it definitely should not be marketed the way it is.”
After seeing the trend on social media, Scarlett put her cube in the freezer overnight, before microwaving it the next day.
Josh recalled: “I heard her scream and it was like a blood-curdling scream.
“It had exploded all over her chest, mouth and chin.”
The dad added: “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.”
The seven-year-old was placed in a coma over fears that the severe burns on her mouth would cause her airways to swell up and close.
Doctors decided not to perform a skin graft on the girl while she was in hospital, but her mom worries that she may need one in the future, due to her ‘profound’ scars.
Toy company Schylling Toys, which manufactures NeeDoh toys, has a warning on its website that reads ‘Do NOT heat, freeze, or microwave, may cause personal injury.’
