An Alabama teenager and his family are warning about the dangers of a viral social media trend after he suffered third-degree burns when a microwaved sensory toy exploded.Eli Blackmon, now 13, was 11 when he saw videos on TikTok showing people putting NeeDoh squishy toys in the microwave in order to soften them.The NeeDoh, a sensory toy similar to a stress ball, is described on the company’s website as a "gratifying super soft, super stretchy dough filled groovy glob."DANGEROUS TIKTOK TREND LEAVES BOY BADLY BURNED AS DOCTORS ISSUE WARNING"I thought it was harmless because an adult tried it and nothing happened," he told Fox News Digital this week."When I took it out, my older sister held it for a few minutes, then I was playing with it.As soon as I squeezed it, it burst and the hot gel exploded onto my neck, chest and hands."An Alabama teenager and his family are warning about the dangers of a viral social media trend after he suffered third-degree burns when a microwaved sensory toy exploded.
(Fallon Blackmon)The hot gel caused third-degree burns on the boy’s neck and chest."At first I was just feeling frantic because I wasn’t sure what was going on because he was just screaming and not communicating," the teen’s mother, Fallon Blackmon, told Fox News Digital.'BEANTOK' TREND GOES VIRAL WITH WILD GUT HEALTH PROMISES — HERE'S WHAT EXPERTS SAY"My husband is a fire medic and I work in emergency call taking, so I had a little knowledge of how serious it was.That obviously didn’t keep me from panicking on the inside."She was not aware of this trend before her child's injury, she said."If I was aware, we would have had a conversation about not doing it."Eli Blackmon had weekly visits with the burn unit for four months, during which the doctors scraped off dead skin and performed wound care.
(Fallon Blackmon)Eli Blackmon recalled feeling extreme pain after the injury."I thought I was going to die.I kept telling my parents, ‘I don’t want to die, I’m sor...